The sorcerer had only two crowns left to earn, and he’d make his move during this hunt he’d concocted for the signing of the pact. Teryn couldn’t imagine how the sorcerer would succeed without using force that would be consideredtaking, but after what he’d just witnessed, he harbored no hope that Morkai didn’t already have a plan.
45
Cora thought she might retch if she was forced to endure the swirling colors of the tunnel much longer. Green, blue, gold, and brown, along with the occasional brighter hue, whirled before her in a horizontal vortex as far as she could see. It looked as if the landscape and sky had warped and spun to form this strange passage. The sensation it created was like riding through the forest at a breakneck pace but significantly more disorienting. While the ground felt smooth and steady beneath her feet, she almost lost her balance several times. With her arms pinned to her sides, she couldn’t use them for stability. Instead, the only thing keeping her from falling was the invisible tug that forced her to follow in Fanon’s wake.
Cora was about to send a volley of curses at the Elvyn male’s back, demanding he slow down or free her from this nauseating place, when the tunnel ceased spinning. The greens and browns spread out like a wave from her feet while the blues and golds formed the sky overhead. They were in a dense forest, the mossy floor the brightest shade of emerald. The tree trunks were thicker than any Cora had seen, their branches towering high overhead. Some held clusters of glowing pink or white mushrooms that were nearly as large as she was, while unfamiliar birdsong filled the air. Tiny insects with jeweled wings flitted in clusters here and there, but none came close enough for Cora to get a good look. Were they pixies? She would have been enchanted by the stunning environment were it not for the current situation. The pain of the collar piercing her neck. The void she felt without her magic.
Fanon rushed on ahead, giving Cora and Valorre no time to adjust to the sudden change of terrain. His magical tether tugged them along, and now Cora had plenty of obstacles to avoid tripping over.
“Fanon,” Etrix called, still beside her. “Release the human and unicorn. Let them proceed at their own pace.”
“If the Veil is torn, we don’t have time to dally,” Fanon said.
Yet, despite his words, Cora felt that tug disappear. Though her arms were still pinned, she no longer felt as if she were being dragged. She paused to regain her equilibrium, but she managed only a single breath of relief before the tug returned. She was forced to step forward. This time the pressure disappeared as soon as she began walking on her own. Fanon’s unspoken threat was clear: stop walking and he’d resort to dragging her again.
That made any chance of running away impossible. Besides, where would she go? She needed to get back home. Find the Forest People. Return to Ridine. Save Teryn from Morkai. To do any of that, she needed to astral travel. Needed her magic back. Needed to free her arms and get this damn collar off her neck.
She glanced at Etrix, careful not to angle her head too far to the side. Any drastic motion sent a renewed sting of pain where the collar dug into her flesh. At least she felt no trickle of warm blood, which told her the wounds weren’t too deep. The Elvyn met her gaze with a tense smile. Whether he kept close to her out of care or caution, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that, so far, he was the only one of the three who’d shown her an ounce of concern. Perhaps he’d help her. First, she needed to better understand her situation.
“What is the Veil?” she asked.
He narrowed his eyes. “You confessed that you entered through the Veil. If that’s the case, how do you not know what it is?”
Her mind raced, but she found her answer easily. Keeping secrets and telling lies to cover them was as familiar to her as her own skin. “I know I came through the Veil, but I don’t understand what exactly it is.”
“You’re asking about the Veil?” Cora was startled to find Garot suddenly between her and Valorre. Before now, he’d been walking behind them.
“Garot,” Etrix said with the same warning tone he’d used on Fanon.
Garot shrugged. “What? She’s clearly not dangerous.”
“We’ve yet to establish?—”
“The Veil is like a curtain between your world and ours,” Garot said, a smile stretching over his round face. His tone had taken on a whimsical quality, like a bard telling a tale.
That explanation did very little to clarify anything for Cora, but it sounded like a way back to her world. If she couldn’t use her magic, then perhaps she and Valorre could escape through the Veil?—
Wait. Would Valorre even want to return with her? Her eyes flicked to him, trotting on the other side of Garot. This was his true home. The place he’d come from.
I stay with you, Valorre conveyed in that same clipped style of communication as before. She wondered if it was his magic or the translation enchantment that allowed their connection to remain. It didn’t seem like he could speak to the three Elvyn, and they hadn’t bothered to address him when they’d inquired about him having come from her world. Once again, her connection with Valorre defied reason. Well, all but one.
The witches amongst the Forest People had kept pets now and then, and some had even claimed an animal as their familiar. She’d always scoffed at the claim. To her, it was another unimpressive quiet magic she hadn’t put much value in. But she valued quiet magic now. Very much so.
Which made her wonder…was Valorre her familiar?
You are my home,he said, and she didn’t need her magic to glean his conviction.This is no more home. Sorry I brought us.
Her heart warmed and broke all at once.Are you in danger here? Is that why you left?
Don’t remember.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t take us any farther by Path,” Garot said, stealing her attention. “Mymorais weaker once the Blight begins, which is why we’re proceeding by foot.”
Several words stuck out to her.By Path. The Blight. But one lingered in her awareness. No, it was…two. When he’d saidmora, she’d heard two words at once:moraandmagic. His mouth had formed anOto suggest the former had been in his language and the latter had been the translation. That was the first time she’d heard two words simultaneously. Did that mean…shesort ofknew the word in its native tongue?
Insigmora.
Morkai.
