“At least I have her scent in case she is a threat. How are you? The spell, did it hurt?”
“No, I’m fine.”
There was no telling what the sorceress had done to her. Dyna didn’t feel any different, but she had the funny sense that they would meet again.
Chapter 34
Lucenna
The invisibility spell hid Lucenna perfectly. She stood in the street, unseen by everyone in the market. She watched as the wild strapping man ushered the redheaded girl away. Dyna, he had called her. And she was a sorceress. Proven by the flicker of Essence Lucenna felt from her.
That was as startling as being discovered.
Lucenna waved a hand over her invisible merchant stall. It lifted into the air, shrinking in size to a miniature figurine before it whizzed toward her. She opened the flap of the black satchel hanging from her shoulder, and the stall flew inside. She slipped into a nearby alley and leaned against the brick wall to catch her breath.
The time spell had required a lot of power, and it had spent a significant amount of her Essence. It was foolish to use such a spell, but she panicked. That was the first occurrence someone had discovered what she was. Her first instinct had been to defend herself. She decided at the last second to let Dyna go with a warning. But now her spell may have alerted any Enforcers within Azure to her presence.
Their sole purpose was to capture escaped sorceresses and return them to the Magos Empire. They had been hunting her for years. She had to be careful not to attract them, or worse yet—her father. Although Lucien would have warned her if any were in the area. She evaded capture for so long because she had his help.
Lucien would scold her thoroughly if he knew she put herself at risk. He probably already knew. He was her twin brother after all. Lucien could always sense when she used large bouts of Essence or whenever her emotions roiled her magic.
And she had done both.
On cue, a familiar tick throbbed against Lucenna’s temples steadily. She groaned and frowned down at her satchel. White light streamed from the edges of the opening, pulsating in a matching rhythm. It was coming from her Orb, but she didn’t want to answer it. She already knew what he would say.
Lucenna pushed his inquiry aside, assuring him she was all right through their sibling link. That would only placate her overprotective brother for so long.
She hurried down the alleyway, heading east. Her invisibility spell remained as she navigated the maze of alleys guided by small black smears marking the way at each corner. The smudges of paint blended in well with the dirty brick walls. It was not noticeable to anyone not knowing to look for them. Placed there by the ferryman who smuggled people and contraband in and out of Corron.
She reached the dead-end of an alley deep in the bowels of the city. There was an opening in the brick wall, big enough for someone to slip through. Lucenna went in and came out on the side of a steep hill thick with trees. A thin worn trail cut through the carpet of dead leaves and moss. Careful not to slip on the muddy slope, she made her way down the hill to a secluded lakeshore shrouded in overgrown shrubs. The rowboat was not there. The ferryman must be working.
She sat on a log with an impatient sigh. Her eyes watered from the sun shimmering on the surface of the lake as the water lapped on the bank. She curled her nose at the stench of the muck and mire, trying not to breathe it in. Her heel bounced as she watched the patch of woodland hiding a secluded stream that veered off Loch Loden. That was where the ferryman would come.
Where was he?
Her temples ticked again with Lucien’s call. He wouldn’t stop until he knew she was safe, and if she didn’t answer, he would use other means to contact her. Lucenna rolled her eyes and reached in her bag. It was bottomless, enchanted to hold an endless number of items. Stardust really was useful.
She pictured her Orb and a glass ball the size of a small melon appeared in her palm. It throbbed with dazzling light. White fog swirled inside like trapped smoke. After undoing her invisibility spell, she tapped the surface, and the fog ebbed, revealing her brother’s image.
Long, pearl-white hair framed Lucien’s sculpted face. A knot formed between his white brows as he studied her and her surroundings. He was in his bedroom by the view of his large bed behind him and the floor to ceiling bookshelves. Beside him rested his staff made of ash wood, carved around a jagged cerulean crystal that matched the color of his robes. Sunlight from his bedroom window shone in his lipid lilac eyes.
Seeing she was safe he arched an eyebrow. “Lucenna.”
She imitated his stern expression and serious tenor, “Lucien.”
“I thought your purpose in Corron was to earn coin. Care to explain why you meddled with the Time Gate?”
Lucenna balked. “You sensed from the Magos Empire that I stopped time?”
He smirked. “I did not, but thank you for confirming.”
She glowered at him.How did he do that?
“I may not know which spells you invoked, but I can sense how much magic you wielded. Accessing the Time Gate exerts the most out of you. That kind of magic leaves a significant trace in the air. There were no Enforcers in that district, but they will surely be on their way now.”
She winced. “And Father?”
“Fortunately, he was called to Castle Ophyr to tend to guild matters.”
