The elf lifted a kettle resting beside the fire and handed it to her. He’d been with them on the hill outside of Corron, but Lucenna couldn’t recall his name. She studied him and the others, not sure what to make of their presence. They shouldn’t be here. How did they find her?
“Lord Norrlen and Zev came to your aid.” Dyna motioned to the elf and werewolf.
Them?
“You fought the Enforcers and lived?” She hardly took down six, and it had cost every ounce of power she had.
Dyna poured the kettle’s steaming contents into a cup and an herbal scent drifted toward Lucenna’s nose, pulling at old, happy memories from a lifetime ago. She brought the cup to her. “Here, this will help.”
Narrowing her eyes, Lucenna drew back. It smelled like rosemary, a special tea the mages used to revitalize their magic, but it could contain anything. Even if it didn’t, why help her?
“You helped me once,” Dyna said, reading the distrust on her face. “I want to return the favor.”
Right.She had saved her from that man—Commander Von. The fool had stolen her medallion. She already planned to deal with him, but then he’d stolen Dyna too. Even if it had nothing to do with her, Lucenna had to intervene. She couldn’t stand by and allow a man to hurt another woman.
Lowering the iron poker, Lucenna hesitantly accepted the wooden cup. Her stiff fingers soaked in the warmth of it, welcoming its heat seeping into her bones. Rosemary sprigs floated on the surface. The scent of it made a ball of emotion swell in her chest. Her mother used to make a similar tea for her after a long day of training.
The men silently watched her, waiting for her to drink, or perhaps out of caution. They were as uncertain of her as she was of them.
“Would you prefer I try it first?” Dyna asked.
Lucenna scowled and took a sip. It tasted mildly sweet with a bitter hint from the rosemary, some yarrow, and another earthy herb she couldn’t quite place. The soothing, hot tea slid down her throat, settling in her empty stomach. Immediately, the muscles of her stiff body loosened, and her Essence stirred, the faint spark trickling through her veins. She eyed the cup in confusion. Not even her mother’s tea worked this quickly. Normally it took a couple of days before the tea fully restored her. But with one sip, her strength was steadily increasing. Lucenna took another drink. At this rate, she’d be back on her feet within the hour.
“What is this?”
Dyna smiled and held out a hand to help her stand. “An old tonic of Azeran’s making.”
Their fingers touched, sending a tingly jolt across Lucenna’s palm and up her arm. A sign of their Essences meeting. There was little power in Dyna’s, not nearly enough for a descendant of Azeran. Lucenna stood, holding the cup close to her chest. She didn’t know what they wanted, or if they wanted anything. All she knew was that they meddled where they shouldn’t.
“Why are you here?” she asked. “I don’t take kindly to being followed.”
Cassiel scoffed. “If she is well enough to accuse us, then we should go. I will have no dealings with a witch.”
“And I’ll have none with a Nephilim,” Lucenna hissed.
It was quite an insult to call someone a witch who wasn’t one. If he liked to delve out insults, so would she. For the Celestial with black hair and wings was no pure Celestial at all, but a half-breed. Not that she cared about that.
Red blotches colored his face, and his mouth curled over his teeth. “I wonder which form of yours is the true one. This or the old hag?”
Purple flames rushed into her hands at the flare of fury forming in her stomach. Lord Norrlen swiftly removed his sword as she threw a purple blast. In a rapid swing, he cut through the spell inches from Cassiel’s face, and it disintegrated into a puff of smoke.
Lord Norrlen held out a hand to her, placating. “My lady, please, you are at your limits.”
Lucenna blinked at him, her anger switching to bewilderment.
Cassiel’s eyes widened with infuriated shock. “She nearly killed me.”
“That discharge of Essence was not intended to slay,” the elf told him. “Nonetheless, it certainly would have hurt and rendered you unconscious. Please refrain from offending her further.”
Zev stifled a snort, and Cassiel cursed under his breath.
“How did you cut through my spell?” Lucenna asked, gawking at the sword. The blade glowed a dim blue before fading, and he sheathed it.
“My sword is enchanted to dissipate spells.”
“I … didn’t know that was possible.”
Lord Norrlen hesitated before saying, “It is a recent invention of the Vale.”
