Zev ground his teeth.
“Shall we give you a moment?” Lord Norrlen asked.
“I won’t leave Dyna alone with her,” Zev said. His wolf prowled inside of him restlessly, inhaling that familiar scent that wouldn’t let him decide if the sorceress was friend or foe.
Cassiel got to his feet, clutching the hilt of his sword. “What was that?”
“I’m fine,” Dyna told them. “And Lucenna is perfectly well. She’s calm now.”
The sorceress sat up, avoiding their gazes. Her pale cheeks reddened as she wiped them. “I … sometimes my Essence is affected by my emotions.”
“A significant amount of power has a tendency to go wayward,” Rawn told her kindly.
Pain scattered across Lucenna’s face, and she looked down at her hands. She must feel so robbed. She still had magic, but it couldn’t quell the loss she must feel. Zev could only guess it must be like missing a finger or a limb.
Lucenna dropped her head in her hands as a light pulsed at the base of the bed where her orb fell. Someone was calling again.
“Forgive me if I was insensitive to you,” Rawn said.
Lucenna sighed wearily and her wet lashes lowered. “Your concern is unnecessary.”
“You don’t need to be wary of my companions,” Dyna murmured to her gently. “Unlike the mages, they have no interest in siphoning you.”
Lucenna stared at her in surprise. She must not have expected her to be so informed about the ways of the mages. Rawn and Cassiel frowned. They didn’t know what Dyna referred to.
“You’re not of the Magos Empire,” Lucenna stated.
Dyna smiled. “No, I’m not.”
“But how do you know the customs of the mages?”
“Our family history has been passed on to us.” She glanced at Zev, and he nodded encouragingly. This encounter must mean a lot to her. Neither of them ever imagined they’d meet a sorceress from Magos, and a free one at that.
“Are you truly Azeran’s descendant?” Lucenna asked her.
“Yes.”
She glanced at a quartz crystal hanging among the others, painted with the horizontal, hourglass-shaped rune for truth. It would have become red with a lie.
“How can that be?” she said faintly. “Not only did he allegedly have no direct heirs, but the Astron line is of the Lunar Guild. Moon mages have white hair, and their eyes are purple, blue, or gray. You share none of those traits.”
“Our bloodline isn’t pure,” Dyna said. “Azeran’s descendants married humans. With each generation, the Lunar Guild traits receded, and Essence waned, but we didn’t forget where we came from. Our family passed on his story over the generations. We have Azeran’s account of the war. He kept several journals.”
“You have his journals?” Lucenna asked, her eyes widening.
Zev tensed, alarmed at the turn of the conversation. He heard Cassiel grit his teeth, likely keeping himself from scolding Dyna for revealing that. They had one of Azeran’s journals with them, and it was the most valuable thing they possessed. Catching Dyna’s gaze, Zev gave her a silent warning. She discreetly nodded.
Lucenna stroked the silver pendant hanging from her neck, and her fingers rested over the large groove in the center where a jewel should be. Several diamonds adorned the circumference. “Do you have them with you?”
“They remain in North Star,” Dyna lied without a shift in her expression, though her throat bobbed. “It’s one of the sanctuary villages.”
Lucenna gaped at her, and Cassiel frowned at the reaction. Of course, this must all be odd to him. He didn’t know mage history as they did.
“You mentioned this,” Cassiel said to Zev, referring to the first conversation they had about Azeran. “You said he founded North Star for those who fled the War of the Guilds.”
Zev nodded. “He enchanted the village to conceal them from the outside world.”
“But Azeran was killed during the war,” Cassiel said.
