“I would not let Draven have you,” Dyna said.
Rawn clapped his arm. “My oath to guide and protect extends to you all.”
It moved Cassiel that they cared enough to rescue him. They truly were an unexpected, odd group of companions.
“If we had failed at the trade, we had a backup plan.” Zev dropped his heavy arm around Cassiel’s neck and tousled his hair. “We were going to steal his ship.”
“I would have liked to see that.”
“Aye, me too.”
But Cassiel’s smile faded as the sunset cast its light over the sea. Spirals of smoke rose from the center of the city. Ash coated his boots and clothing. This day would mark history, and the consequences would ripple through the Realms.
The Valkyrie had killed humans ruthlessly, without a care for damnation. But if Yelrakel had tainted her soul, why didn’t she lose her Seraph fire?
“They’re looking for you, aren’t they?” Zev asked. “Those females, their wings were…”
Cassiel nodded. “They are the Valkyrie of Hermon Ridge, the Realm of half-breed Celestials.”
They all gawked at him, but he was too engulfed by his confusion to react. Had he been damned or not?
“Are they going to force you to return to Hilos?” Dyna asked.
“That must be their intention,” he said. “But you have reminded me why I came on this journey. Once they find me again, I will send word with them to my uncle explaining my decision.”
Lucenna lingered away from them where she stood by Fair’s side. What she had done for him today dispelled any doubts he had.
“I should not have called you a witch,” Cassiel told her. “I was wrong. Thank you for coming to my aid.”
Lucenna gave him a curt nod without looking at him. From her satchel, she took out a small leather purse and took a handful of coins from the sack of Draven’s gold tied to Fair’s saddle. “This is my portion. The rest I leave to you.”
“What do you mean?” Dyna asked.
“I’m leaving. I can no longer travel with you,” she said, pocketing the gold.
“What?” Cassiel blurted.
Dyna’s eyes widened. “Why?”
“You didn’t tell me Tarn was on your tail,” Lucenna hissed. “And it led to a bounty on my head. The life of every sorceress in the Magos Empire depends on my survival. Now my father knows where I am. He’s coming for me. I need to be far from here before he arrives.”
She spun on her heel, heading towards the woods.
“Please don’t go.” Dyna ran after Lucenna and grabbed her arm. “Forgive me for not telling you about him. I thought you wouldn’t come with us if I did.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t have.” Lucenna wrestled herself free. “And for good reason. I didn’t spend years hiding from my father to be caught now.”
“But he is across the country.”
“He has his ways, Dyna. I’m not ready to fight him. The Elite Enforcers were nothing compared to his power.”
“You’re stronger than you know, even without the Moonstone. Stay with us. We need to stay together.”
Lucenna’s misty gaze flickered over them and landed on Dyna. Cassiel read the conflict there. She didn’t want to leave, but she had already decided. Lucenna was scared, he realized. Her father frightened her enough to run because to her it was the only option. After being alone for so long, she was used to relying only on herself. He knew exactly what that was like.
“What about the Druid?” Cassiel asked. As much as Lucenna had annoyed him, he didn’t mind having her around anymore.
“Clearly, he doesn’t want to be found.”
