Dyna’s reply caught on her tongue for a large, warped figure came out of the tree line and stumbled into the clearing.
Chapter 16
Dynalya
Pure relief flooded through Dyna when she saw who it was. Choking back a sob, she leaped to her feet and sprinted across the distance between them.
“Zev!”
He let the rucksacks he’d been carrying drop to his feet before plunging to his knees. She threw herself at him, arms wrapping around his broad shoulders. He groaned, his face scrunching in pain.
“God of Urn, what did they do to you?”
Red trails leaked down from the deep gashes all over him. A chunk of skin hung from beneath his left ear where teeth had tried to take his jugular. Gravel and dirt were embedded in his wounds. There was so much blood splattered all over his face and mouth, it couldn’t have been all his own.
Mingling with the strong metallic scent was the faint smell of vomit. The back of his forearm was smeared red, as though he had used it to wipe his mouth.
Dyna’s hands hovered around him, not knowing what to tend to first. “I’ll stop the bleeding.”
“No,” he rasped, slumping back on his heels. “Save your strength.”
“But your neck!”
“It’s nothing vital.”
Cassiel lingered at a distance with his arms crossed, trying not to cringe. “Do you have the journal?”
Zev brought out the rectangular bundle wrapped in his dirty tunic he had tucked under his arm. He unwrapped it to reveal the black, leather-bound book.
“First day on this quest and you’ve already gained enemies,” Cassiel said, his eyes trained on it.
“The matter is settled. We are safe now.”
Dyna flipped the tunic inside out to the clean side. She turned Zev’s chin to mop the blood from his neck, making note she would need to find proper bandages as soon as she could. She was grossly unprepared for a healer. “We need to wash these wounds.”
“How did you escape?” Cassiel asked.
“I didn’t.” Zev’s blank stare focused on something over her shoulder. Lost to horrors she could not see. Something dreadful happened in that glade.
“They let you go?” the Prince pressed.
“Aye …”
She searched her cousin’s face. “But now you can never go home, can you?”
“That place is not my home anymore, Dyna. It hasn’t been for a long time.”
They fell quiet, not knowing what to do or say. Prince Cassiel turned away and wandered off to the lake. With a couple of flaps of his wings, he rose easily into the night sky, flying in lazy circles overhead.
Dyna watched Zev stare blankly at nothing. She should have known he wouldn’t be able to live in Lykos Peak much longer. They had never accepted him there. She took his face, turning his unfocused gaze on her and she saw the Madness swimming in it. Speaking to him. Turning him.
“Zev? Zev!”
His glowing eyes blinked, switching back to green and the growing fur along his forearms receded. He shook his head to rid himself of the whispers she knew he’d been listening to.
“Where were you planning to go?” she asked, her voice cracking.
By Zev’s pained expression, he knew what she meant. Where was he letting the Madness take him?
