Zev followed his line of sight to the shadows enclosing them. “They won’t come back.”
“They hardly left you alive. They may return to finish the task.”
Dyna wondered if that was why he wouldn’t come down, or if he naturally preferred to be high off the ground, like birds.
Zev looked down at the wounds on his chest, visible through his open tunic. “They won’t.”
“If he says we’re safe, you need not worry,” Dyna said at the clear skepticism on the Prince’s face.
Cassiel eyed her a moment then dropped to the ground in one agile leap. He kept one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, the silver knife strapped to his belt within reach of the other. His gaze flickered to Zev. The Pack may not be the only thing he was wary about.
The Prince sat on the exposed roots of his tree as though it were a throne. It really would be impossible for anyone to mistake him for anything but royalty. He waved her forward. “Let’s see the map.”
Dyna retrieved the journal from the top of her bedroll and turned the delicate pages to the section where the map should have been. The page was blank. “It disappeared.”
Cassiel jerked to his feet. “What do you mean it disappeared? Where is the map?”
Zev searched around him, rifling through their belongings. “Did it fall out? I must have dropped it in the glade.”
Dyna smiled. “The map is enchanted to fade away as a precaution. The mage this journal belonged to secured it with his Essence.”
Cassiel’s eyes narrowed. “What?”
“Essence is the source energy of magic,” Zev explained. “It’s found in those trueborn with the ability to wield it, like the fae, the elves—”
“I am quite familiar with the definition. But she failed to mention last night that the map was locked under an enchantment. Only the mage can reveal it.”
“Yet I have already shown it to you,” Dyna pointed out.
He gave her a dubious look. “How can ahumanreveal anenchantedmap?”
“Allow me to show you.” She was excited to demonstrate this part. They gathered around her and watched as she brought the journal close to her lips and whispered,“Tellus, lunam, solis.”
Her hands flared green, and a burst of purple light whirled across the page. Zev and Cassiel’s mouths hung open, a mystical glow reflecting on their faces. Their wide eyes followed the stroke of ink moving across the page. Each delicate curve drawn by an invisible brush as the continent of Urn took form. Then the shining island of Mount Ida appeared to the west.
Their speechlessness only lasted a couple of seconds before Zev laughed. “Aye, I should have known. You never cease to amaze me.”
But Cassiel’s eyes sharpened on her. “You’re awitch.”
Dyna grimaced. “I beg your pardon?”
“She’s not a witch,” Zev said.
Cassiel backed away from them. “That was clearly a spell.”
“Well, yes, but not mine,” she told him. “The words were the passphrase to unlock the spell concealing the map. I didn’tcasta spell.”
He backed up another step when she stood, keeping an eye on her hands. Did he expect her to throw a hex on him?
Dyna frowned. She preferred to be called stupid than a witch. Humans were not born with Essence. Any power they gained was black magic granted by the God of Shadows, ruler the Netherworld.
“I used Essence to trigger the spell,” she said. “I know it may be confusing to see a human with power, but I didn’t gain it through dark means. I was born with it. Zev and I descend from Lunar Mages, from Azeran himself.”
The Prince scoffed but grew serious at her steady expression. She closed the journal and showed him the sigil of House Astron on the cover. His eyes grew wide. “You mean to tell me you come from the bloodline oftheAzeran Astron; the mage who brought about the War of the Guilds in the Magos Empire, two-hundred-and-fifty-years ago?”
“Yes.”
Incredulity glinted in his hard glare. “I overlooked that claim before, but you cannot be of House Astron.”
