“I had thought to come here.” He looked at the lake, his wild hair undulating in the wind. “It’s quiet and a day’s travel from the village. Without the need to pass through Hilos, I can visit more often.”
He must not have fully given up if he made plans for the future. It was a kernel of hope Dyna grasped onto tightly.
She returned to wiping the rest of the blood off him, but there was too much of it. All she managed to do was to push it around. “How did you find this place?”
“When I was a child, Father would often travel to Landcaster for work. Lake Nayim is the midway point, so we would camp here. This place looks much the same since I last came. There was once a town past those trees. It’s believed the isle was the eye of Utgard, the Cyclops giant confined under the mountain ice caps of Skath. They say he cursed the lake when he opened a small rift in the Spatial Gate to look into our world. The tale was meant to frighten me, but I remember thinking, ‘the Cyclops didn’t mean to scare them away. All he wanted was not to be alone.’”
There was so much sadness on his face Dyna wanted to cry. “Come back to North Star when this journey has ended. You’ll live with me, Lyra and Grandmother.”
Zev sighed. “You know I can’t—”
“I don’t care what the village council says. We are your family. Uncle Belzev would have wanted you to be with us.”
“The council was right to banish me, Dyna. It’s not safe for a werewolf to live among humans. But this place is safe. Here, I’d hurt no one.”
Zev was strong and kind, yet so brittle. He was broken on the inside, and it was visible on the outside. His body was a testament to his life; covered in scars placed by others and ones he placed himself. His new wounds would add more. She couldn’t see him that way any longer.
Dyna placed a hand over his neck wound and called on her Essence, drawing a vivid green light in her palm. She sent it forth to flow through her fingertips, picturing the layers of muscle and skin—
“Dyna!” Zev jerked away. He glowered at her, tentatively touching the wound site. The bleeding had stopped. Its swollen red ridges had reduced significantly and the skin was fused in a pink line. “I told you it wasn’t necessary.”
“I can help. Let me!”
“No. Essence Healing is depleting. Look at you.”
She tried to appear fine but her breath came heavy, her limbs trembling. Only a sliver of ancestral power was left in her bloodline. Essence Healing cost her a great deal of effort. It always left her drained to the point of extreme exhaustion.
“What is the purpose of this ability if I cannot use it to help others?” she asked.
Zev had let her heal him once before, as he’d been too wounded to stop her, but she had fallen unconscious for three days. After that, he wouldn’t allow her to heal him again.
“Help those who need it, not me. Werewolves recover quickly. My injuries will scar on their own by morning.” He shook his head when she tried to protest. “Please, let’s not argue about it. I’m tired and starved.”
Dyna huffed and picked up her journal as she stood. Her legs wobbled and her head spun. Zev reached out to steady her.
“I’m all right,” she waved him off. “We’ll camp here tonight. Go wash up while I prepare our meal.”
Zev staggered to his feet. He dragged their rucksacks to the fire before limping for the lake.
Dyna washed her hands and searched through Zev’s pack for a change of clean clothes. Most of his tunics were threadbare with holes. She took out a pair of trousers, and her fingers brushed against the icy links of his thick chains. She snatched her hand back with a shudder.
After leaving his clothes by the shore, Dyna rummaged through the other rucksack for more items. She withdrew rolled-up bedrolls made of treated canvas and wool blankets. Then she worked on gathering more firewood to last the night. Prince Cassiel flew down, taking a seat within a nearby tree. He made no effort to help.
Once the fire was roaring, Zev returned, clean, and dressed. Dyna passed him a plate of manna, cheese, and dried fruit. He ate urgently while she applied a salve to his wounds. Cassiel remained seated above them. He produced his own rations from his pack and kept to himself. The Prince surveyed their surroundings as though he expected something to slip through the trees.
She ate quietly while she studied him in turn. His winged profile cast a long shadow on the balding branches, swaying with the campfire. Even in the dark, he didn’t look human. The unearthly beauty, the subtle glow beneath his skin. He was unreal. It wasn’t only the discovery of his kind.
He was distinct.
His black wings and hair were unique among the Seraphim she’d seen.Celestials, she corrected herself. What was the difference? The Prince said they were earthbound. Was that all it was?
Sensing her stare, Cassiel’s silver eyes slid to hers. They were guarded, as cold as steel in the snow. She sensed so much hidden behind his indifference that she wished, for only a moment, to know what entered his mind when he looked at her.
Well, he had already said what he thought. Stupid human.
“Thank you for keeping Dyna safe,” Zev called up to him, breaking the silence.
Cassiel leaned back against the tree’s trunk, hitching up a leg on the branch to rest his forearm over it. “I would not consider this safe.”
