Rawn frowned. “Nevertheless, the fae do not bestow favors for free, my lady. Leoake, most of all.”
“I’m aware,” Lucenna said. “He will answer exactly three questions for rare items, which is why I’m headed for the fjord. I need grindylow scales to trade. They shine like blue pearls and glow in the dark. Priced nearly as much as jewels and are very difficult to get since the grindylows will eat anyone who gets too close.”
“Why tell us this?” Cassiel asked, suspicion lacing his voice. “What do you want with the Druid?”
“That’s my business.” Lucenna crossed her arms. “I’m sharing this because the Druid can reveal great secrets, most hidden even from the world. I assume you lot need something as well, otherwise why be out here in the wilderness? Whatever you need, he’ll have the knowledge—if we can get those scales.”
“We?” Zev repeated, raising his brows.
“Are you saying you would like us to join you?” Dyna asked, intrigued by the whole thing.
Cassiel’s mouth curled. “She means to use us again. You need us. Without our help, you will most likely die in the fjord.”
Lucenna scoffed, her eyes glowing softly. “I don’t need you or anyone else. After what you witnessed, I think my abilities are clear. However, having a team would certainly make the extraction easier.” She raised her chin. “It’s an offer. Each one of you must have questions you want to be answered. Give it some thought.” Then the sorceress stalked back into her tent, leaving them to do exactly that.
* * *
Dyna spent all night staring at the stars in the clear night sky. Her mind wouldn’t fall quiet, not after what the sorceress had revealed to them. She suspected the others were unsettled, too. Zev had shifted, leaving to wander the woods while Cassiel had flown into the skies as soon as night arrived, and Rawn fell into a restless sleep.
Dyna rubbed her tired, heavy eyes. The pink of early dawn streaked across the sky, and the canopy edge of the forest glimmered gold with the first rays of the sun.
Three questions. Only three? Dyna had so many. Too many to list them all. At the forefront, the ones who drew the most questions were the Shadow, Cassiel, and Tarn. The Shadow demon’s arrival next winter was imminent, and the reminder brought a crawl to her skin. Cassiel left a nervous apprehension in her chest. No, she couldn’t think about him yet.
Tarn brought great uncertainty. She didn’t know who the man was, only that he hunted her because the fae Seer of Faery Hill in Arthal had divined that she was the key to Mount Ida, likely alluding to the map. The Seer also mentioned she would have Guardians to protect her.
When Von and Geon first mentioned the divination, Dyna had been skeptical, then awed to think the fates had seen to her future, but the divination annoyed her.
It referred to her as the Maiden, as a dainty girl accompanied by Guardians. Zev, Cassiel, and Rawn were three of them, and there were three more out there. It took six to keep her safe since she clearly couldn’t do it herself.
She didn’t have Zev’s strength, Cassiel’s aptitude, or Rawn’s skill. She couldn’t even stand to be alone in the dark. That childish fear never faded, and it left her feeling pathetic. Even her Essence couldn’t produce anything as fascinating or as powerful as the spells Lucenna cast. The sorceress had bent the elements to her will.
What was it like to wield that much power?
If only she could be useful and stand on her own feet. Zev and the others contributed so much already. Dyna wanted to give back. To help. To fight. The truth was, she’d always been weak.
“My lady?” Rawn called.
Dyna quickly wiped her wet cheeks before sitting up on her sleeping mat. “Yes?”
Lord Norrlen observed her, concern lining his expression. “Are you feeling unwell?”
“I’m all right.” She stretched a smile on her face. “I simply didn’t rest well.”
“Nor did I.”
He appeared as tired as she felt. What questions must have occupied his thoughts? She knew little about him other than his twenty-year search for a sword only found in Mount Ida. Without it, he couldn’t return home.
Home.
The notion grappled her heart. She missed her family and her cottage nestled within the rolling hills of North Star, missed the peace when it wasn’t haunted by shadows. She’d never left home until now. If it weren’t for the others, she wouldn’t have gotten far, let alone survived the first day.
Her mind rattled off all the instances her life should have ended. The Watchers of Hilos. The cliff. The feral werewolf in Lykos Peak. The Ecru snake. The Other.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
