Beside him on the overlook, Jassyn studied the glimmering spring, spine stiff with quiet tension.
Lykor’s attention lingered on his curls whipping in the wind, a splinter of discomfort still lodged between his ribs from their conversation the night before.
Focus,Aesar chided, yanking their gaze back to the desert as he paced in their mindspace.My brother’s head is going to burst if we delay any longer.
“I don’t see any tracks leading from the dunes,” Jassyn said, shading his eyes.
Vesryn let out a sharp breath, his patience already worn to the bone. “Can we move now?” His fingers twitched, the fair skin of his hands reddening.
“I don’t like this,” Lykor muttered. The back of his neck prickled. Below, the palm trees swayed lazily, their shelter from the sun a cruel temptation in this inferno. “Something isn’t right.”
“Of course it’s not right!” Vesryn snatched Lykor’s arm. “We need to start searching. Warp us down there.”
The second Vesryn’s hand clamped around him, Lykor tensed. Lip curling, his gaze slid to where the prince’s fingers dug into his skin.
“Remove your hand,” Lykor growled, fangs extending. “Or I’ll tear it off.”
Chest heaving, Vesryn leaned in, eyes wild with a desperation that bled into recklessness. “Get me closer to that oasis. Now.”
Lykor clenched his gauntlet, metal screeching. Aesar hovered on the cusp of nattering, but Lykor shoved the unwelcome intrusion aside.
His muscles flexed. Decision made, he’d send the prince sprawling.
Jassyn’s hand settled on his shoulder—not forceful, but heavy with reason.
Lykor stilled, the irritation in his veins simmering instead of exploding. He wrenched himself free from the prince’s grip, stepping away from them both.
Jassyn’s voice was quiet, but there was an undercurrent of urgency beneath the surface. “We need to see if there are any signs of them below.”
Retracting his fangs, Lykor exhaled slowly. “Whoever is here,” he growled through gritted teeth, “they surely outnumber us. We should have brought reinforcements.”
Vesryn’s frustration erupted. “Fuck this!” Essence twisted from his fingers as he ripped open a portal. He stalked through, vanishing into the void.
Lykor swore, swiveling to track the pressure of magic next to the water below. He snagged Jassyn’s arm, wrenching the world around them as he warped after the prince.
The moment Lykor’s boots slammed onto the bank, he summoned an arsenal of shadows—a reflexive offense. Scanningthe dappled darkness in the undergrowth, his heart pummeled his ribs, each thud resonating in his skull with warning.
Disregarding the prudence of an illusion, Vesryn’s boots kicked up sand as he stormed along the shoreline, trampling caution underfoot.
Muttering to himself, Lykor pursued him. It was too late to backtrack now.
Jassyn followed, eyes flicking around their surroundings as his fingers skimmed over the reedy vegetation. There was a sharpness to his movements, a wariness that deepened the line between his brows.
Motion snagged the corner of Lykor’s vision—a shadow darting just out of sight. His head snapped to the side, but the brush was still, the air thick with deceit. He rolled his shoulders as if he could shake off the unease scratching at his bones.
Ahead, the prince crouched at the pool’s edge. The crystal surface lay undisturbed, mirroring the cloudless sky—a serene lie lapping idly at the sunbaked shore. Vesryn rose, face pale beneath the raw flush of sunburn.
Lykor’s gaze locked onto the tangled mess of armor at his feet and the tunic clenched in his fist—Serenna’s tunic.
Lykor sneered. “So it seems the girl and the lieutenant found plenty of time to”—his eyes sliced toward Vesryn’s—“shed their clothes.”
The prince’s jaw clenched, his voice a low hiss. “Or maybe whoever took them stripped them down.” He jabbed a finger toward churned sand. “These tracks don’t belong to them.” Without waiting for a response, Vesryn strode off, inspecting the other impressions in the ground.
Lykor folded his arms, gaze narrowing on the scuffed earth, where the shallow imprints betrayed something lighter than the weight of boots.
Jassyn frowned “They just…appear. Out of nowhere.”
Aesar’s voice slipped into Lykor’s thoughts, quiet but strained.Do you think whoever took them portaled in and out?
