“I can’t fail, Zev. For Lyra and North Star, I have to do this.”
Whining, Zev licked the tears from her cheek. Dyna hugged him tightly, burying her face in his fur.
As they made their way down the cliff, the memory of Thane falling into the Shadow’s jaws replayed in her mind over and over, blinding her in darkness.
Chapter 2
Lucenna
Lucenna blinked drowsily as she studied the ugly, slithery creature with bulbous black eyes. The grindylow snarled at her from the page, baring its long, sharp teeth. Short rigid fins framed its bony face. It swam in the dark depths of a lake, baring sharp teeth. Glowing blue scales coated its long body to its eel-like tail.
Steam billowed against Lucenna’s cold nose as she sipped a cup of lilac tea. She flipped through the glossary of mystical beings with a frown. She had to get at least one of those scales.
A beat in her temple drew her from her thoughts. She glanced at the crystal orb resting on its stand beside the book. With a rhythmic pulse matching her temple, it swirled with white fog inside, beckoning her to answer. Lucenna rolled her eyes and tapped on the glass. The fog cleared away as she met her twin brother’s lilac gaze.
“Good morrow, Lucenna. You appear particularly well-rested today,” Lucien said with a quirk of his lips. The morning light spilling through his bedroom windows shone over his long white hair.
Lucenna rubbed her face with a heavy sigh and attempted to straighten her messy locks. “I don’t appreciate the sarcasm, Lucien. You know I don’t normally rise this early.”
Her dear brother had taken it upon himself to wake her at dawn every day since her escape from Corron. She had to take advantage of every waking hour to put as much distance between her and the south of Azure. Unfortunately, she had attracted Enforcers—mages that hunted sorceresses who’d escaped the Magos Empire. Lucenna groaned. They hadn’t been this close to catching her since…
She glanced across her tent to the small dining table with two chairs, and her chest swelled with emotion. Four years on the run, jeopardized because she stupidly used magic in Corron. It had created a beacon to every nearby Enforcer in the country.
“Yes, pardon.” Lucien’s affable demeanor switched to concern, proving he had only been putting on a front for her. “Where are you now?”
“I’m making my way west through the wilderness behind the Zafiro Mountains. I’ve avoided the roads. Don’t worry.”
“How long until you reach the Port of Azure?”
“Perhaps another week.”
“Make it less. You must take a boat out of Azure as soon as possible. They know it’s you and are determined to capture you. From the last report I gathered at dawn, five Enforcers are on your tail. Father is waiting for leave from the Archmage before he makes his way there.”
Lucenna swallowed thickly at the mention of her father. Five Enforcers shouldn’t be a problem. She’d taken on as many before. But the thought of her father coming sent a shudder through her.
“How do they know it’s me?” she asked.
Lucien searched her face, his brow tightening. “You tampered with the Time Gate, Lu.”
The reminder drew her gaze back to the dining table.
“It sent such a strong ripple of power through the atmosphere that even I sensed it in the Magos Empire. It was simple deductive reasoning. No other sorceress could have expelled such a significant amount of power, nor would any in her right mind remain in Urn.”
But she wasn’t the only sorceress in Urn. Lucenna recalled the redheaded girl who had caused her to use magic in the first place. Where was Dyna now? Gods, Lucenna hoped she didn’t run into the Enforcers first. A Celestial and a werewolf may accompany Dyna, but they would be no match for mages.
Lucenna shook her head. “I know. It was foolish.”
“That it was.”
No one knew where she was hiding until now.
She went behind the privacy screen to change out of her nightgown. “I plan to leave Azure, but I must make a stop first.”
“Come again?” he demanded. “Did you not hear what I said? The Enforcers are gaining on you.”
“I need to find the Moonstone, Lucien.” The Luna Medallion hanging around her neck was warm against her chest as she slipped on a black, form-fitting blouse with long sleeves. She tugged on a pair of black leather trousers next. “My mission will not end until I do.”
“Lucenna, the Moonstone is on Mount Ida, and I don’t believe you will find the hidden island in Azure.”
