Lucenna shook her head. “Lucien stayed behind to maintain appearances. The Liberation needs a spy in the Archmage’s regime.”
“How long has it been since you left?” Dyna asked next.
“Four years. My father has been searching for us ever since, but my brother would always call to warn us whenever he got too close.”
“Through the orb,” Rawn said.
“I spelled it so no other can intercept our calls.” Lucenna itched to return to the Wild Court to get her belongings. “Because of him, my mother and I evaded capture. We spent most of that time searching for Mount Ida, but we failed to locate it. The Liberation then requested that we search for black clovers instead.”
Alarm crossed Rawn and Dyna’s faces.
“What are black clovers?” the prince asked them.
Rawn frowned. “It is a hybrid herbaceous plant derived from dark magic.”
Cassiel curled his lip, his eyes narrowing again. “Now, I know that pertains to witches.”
Dyna removed a small notebook from her satchel and flipped it open to a page for him to see. It was a sketch of a clover with three heart-shaped leaves filled in with black graphite. “Black clovers aren’t natural. Witches created them to steal power from each other. If used on a mage, it could siphon them to point of death.”
Rawn frowned. “My lady, black clovers are treacherous. It wouldn’t do well to be involved with anything of the sort.”
She shook her head, frustrated that he didn’t understand. “Black clovers are the only absolute defense that exists against mages. It would give the Liberation the upper hand.”
“Even at the cost that comes with black magic?” Dyna asked her gently.
Lucenna turned away at the sudden weight compressing her heart. “I already paid the cost. Witches are difficult to find, nor are they willing to share such a powerful weapon. After years of searching, I was tired of knowing other women were dying because we couldn’t find them.”
Her hands trembled, and she gripped the medallion so tightly the diamonds cut into her fingers. “I used a potent earth spell to make black clovers, but all it did was attract my father’s attention. He found us … and my mother sacrificed herself so I could get away.”
Lucenna fought the stinging in her eyes, but tears spilled on the ground by her boots. Lucien never blamed her for their mother’s death, but she wished he would. It was her fault.
“I am sorry for your loss,” Rawn said, his tone a soft whisper.
The dried leaves on the ground shifted as someone sat beside her. Dyna’s hand laid over hers. There was no judgment or rebuke on her face, only understanding. Lucenna’s vision blurred.
Why was she born a sorceress? Why was this her fate?
Dyna brushed the wet strands of hair from Lucenna’s face. “You have a mission, and I want to help you complete it. Black clovers are black magic, but where there is darkness, there is also light. Four-leaf clovers grown on the earth are a natural protection against spells. Azeran wrote of it.”
“What?” Lucenna gasped. “Four-leaf clovers?”
Dyna smiled. “It’s autumn now, but in the spring, we can search for them. As for the Moonstone, I may be able to help you with that as well.”
She looked over at her companions, but alarm crossed their faces. Their gazes flickered between Lucenna and Dyna, and she realized something was being decided in the silence. The wolf approached to stand between the prince and the elf. Cassiel’s mouth formed a tight line.
Dyna sighed. “Cassiel—”
“No.”
She scowled. “It’s not your choice to make.”
“We can vote on it if you prefer.” He crossed his arms. “However, I’m sure the others would agree.”
They were having a conversation Lucenna didn’t understand, but she had a feeling it involved her somehow. Before she could ask, a cluster of fairies appeared from the trees.
Princess Keena and her guardsmen flew to them in a cloud of gold dust. “There you are. I was hoping I’d catch you. You forgot your things.”
Her guardsmen brought forward Fair by his reins and Lucenna’s bag. She snatched it from them with a sigh of relief.
