But Lykor’s gaze remained fixed on their hands, the ruby light in his eyes glowing softly. “You…” His jaw clenched, voice so low that it barely stirred the night. “You see me. Not him, like everyone else.”
Hesitantly, as if testing unsteady ground, Lykor unfurled his fingers, letting them align with the back of Jassyn’s. It was the barest pressure, a whisper of touch, the kind that spoke louder than words.
Maybe Jassyn had reached for him for a reason—because Lykor never demanded, never took. For all his scorn, his aggression, his threats of ruin, Jassyn felt something different in his presence that he hadn’t in years. Safe.
Without warning, Lykor tensed, his hand snapping closed. Disentangling himself from his cloak, he surged to his feet.
“Aesar’s time is after the moons rise.” The words were clipped, flat. A door slammed shut.
Jassyn blinked, barely breathing, caught in the wreckage of the shattered moment. The warmth of Lykor’s touch barely had time to settle before it dissipated, chased away by a chill that rushed to fill the absence.
Lykor stumbled away from him, almost as if his body was about to give way. But he caught himself, straightening with a fluid movement that wasn’t quite his own.
“Ihatewhen he does that,” Aesar huffed as he yanked at his cloak. “No warning—justdraggingme out.”
Scanning the area, he turned, eyes flicking between Jassyn and the empty space where Lykor had been sitting, confusion creasing his brow.
Still reeling, Jassyn cleared his throat. He opened his mouth, then hesitated. What could he even say?
“We were…talking,” Jassyn offered. Though the statement felt inadequate, too simple to describe what had transpired.
Aesar arched a brow, glancing from their secluded perch over to the campfire. “So that’s why he blocked me out.”
Locked in some animated discussion, Vesryn and Fenn—who must’ve returned while they’d been lost in conversation—were each clasping a Starshard and channeling Essence into the gems. Knees drawn up to her chest, Serenna was glaring at both of them, a shield surrounding her in a protective cocoon.
Aesar hummed to himself, the sound amused but thoughtful. “Wait. Lykor was…talking?”
A faint smile tugged at Jassyn’s lips as he pushed to his feet. Fenn was gesturing wildly now, cackling when the prince launched a snowball at his face. “I think we might be missing Fenn’s reenactment of Vesryn getting swallowed by that golem.”
“In that case, I’ll ask him to start over.” Aesar grinned as they turned toward the fire. “I do enjoy hearing about my brother getting devastatingly humbled.”
The fire’s warmth beckoned, but Jassyn hesitated, his steps slowing. He cast a glance over his shoulder, lingering on the spot Lykor had left behind.
CHAPTER 42
SERENNA
Serenna quickened her pace, breath curling into wisps as she caught up to Jassyn. Ahead, Vesryn and Aesar vanished through a portal behind Fenn, the latest in a series of rifts guiding them through the mountain pass.
“What did you say to Lykor last night?” she asked, freeing the question that had been circling her mind since dawn.
Jassyn hesitated, adjusting his grip on his pack as he glanced at the waiting gateway.
“Nothing,” he said a shade too quickly.
Serenna raised her brows. Jassyn wasn’t prone to lying, but it was clear he was withholding something. Aesar had been present since their conversation, while Lykor had remained conspicuously absent—he hadn’t even appeared to interrogate Fenn after his return from the fortress. Though Fenn’s report had been unremarkable, merely confirming that the humans had claimed the keep as their own.
“Did you scare him off?” she pressed, needling him with a lighthearted jest.
Jassyn exhaled, driving a hand through his curls. “We might’ve reached…an understanding and—”
“Are you two coming or what?” Vesryn’s head reappeared on their side of the portal, silver hair catching the morning sun.
Serenna rolled her eyes. So much for answers.
“You’re going to want to see this,” he added before disappearing once more through the void.
Hefting his pack, Jassyn wasted no time slipping through the shimmering veil.
