“And we explained that’s a lie.”
Lucenna stared at him as if he said the sky was red. Either from the tea or the meal, the color had returned to her cheeks, and her hands no longer trembled. That electrifying scent of hers had also grown stronger. Undoubtedly, after that display of magic, her Essence must have nearly replenished.
“The survival of Azeran and the existence of sanctuaries had only been folklore—nothing but a whispered legend,” she said.
Rawn canted his head, his brow furrowing. “Was he not a wicked mage? Azeran began the civil war to dethrone the Archmage. He planned to dismantle the guilds, seeking to be the sole ruling power. Thousands perished by Azeran’s doing before he was defeated.”
“The history that you know of him is wrong,” Dyna said.
Cassiel’s silver eyes narrowed on her. “How can it be wrong?”
“It is,” Zev argued when she didn’t.
Something was going on with those two. He saw it in the way they looked at one another and didn’t. Cassiel hadn’t hesitated to protect her when needed, but now they stood a good ten feet from each other.
“Have you not noticed the Magos Empire allows no outsider within their kingdom?” Zev asked Cassiel. “Why do you think that is? They made it a priority to keep their secrets from the rest of the world. One of them sits before you now.” He motioned to Lucenna. “There is a reason you assumed her to be a witch.”
“She conjures magic.”
Lucenna glared at him. “Oh, that makes me a witch, does it?”
“There is no mention that the women of Magos can cast spells,” Cassiel replied tersely. “Nor is the term sorceress found in any texts. So forgive me if I question it.”
Vivid purple strands of electricity crackled at Lucenna’s fingertips as her eyes flashed purple. “You know nothing of the truth. Azeran tried to improve the Magos Empire for the better, to improve our way of life. He believed he could, and he almost did. But he lost the War of the Guilds because he wasbetrayed,” she spat the word. “By someone he trusted.”
Heavy silence filled the tent, buffered only by the sound of rain.
Lucenna got to her feet and stalked to her desk. “Get out. All of you.”
They gathered their belongings and made their way outside without a word. Zev didn’t fault her anger. The Magos Empire kept its secrets well. The rest of Urn was ignorant of their world and most likely would never know.
* * *
Zev followed his cousin through the forest, letting her pile his arms with sticks for tonight’s campfire. After some delegation on Dyna’s part, she convinced the sorceress to allow them to camp outside of her tent for the night. They would go their separate ways in the morning. It was too late to keep traveling for the day.
The rain had lifted, leaving behind a carpet of yellow and orange leaves on the sodden earth. He ground them under his boot, hating the color and everything that reminded him of that autumn night. But he could never forget how the leaves had floated in through the broken window of his home, landing on the glass scattered across the floor and sticking to the blood-splattered walls.
Blind beastie,the Madness whispered with cruel delight.You look but do not see.
But Zev did see—he saw the sins of his past and the end to his future.
Zev shoved the memory away. He didn’t want to remember that or what he contained inside. But he was constantly reminded when he looked at himself.
You’ll never be rid of us.You be us. We be you. We be bad, sad, mad.
The Madness had taken to eerie rhymes and odd phrasing; a stage Zev had been waiting for. The Pack immediately put down werewolves fallen into the Madness. Otherwise, it would advance, leaving them to become … feral. If that was the case, it meant he wouldn’t be able to resist giving in to his wolf’s spirit much longer. When that happened, he’d be completely lost. Nothing more than a vicious, wild beast. It would force Cassiel or Rawn to kill him. He should care. He knew he should, but he was numb.
Death was less than what he deserved for what he did to his father.
Why delay the inevitable?The Madness curled in his mind, its voice like icy claws caressing his flesh.Give in and forget what you’ve done. Forget it all.
The gods knew Zev wanted what it offered. He craved that vast peace that promised to erase all of his sins. A warm blanket of solace fell over him, and he closed his eyes. The weight lifted off his chest, easing the pain he’d learned to live with.
“Zev.”
He flinched, his eyes flying open. His breaths came in heavy at the jolt of his consciousness, snapping back to awareness. Blinking, his vision focusing on the one who pulled him from the fog.
Dyna watched him anxiously, her hands on his cheeks. How long had she been calling his name? “Don’t leave,” she said. “Promise me.”
