“Has died?” Klyde guessed, so easily as he continuously seemed to do. “Beginning with your mother…”
Lucenna’s throat tightened with the emotion she forced back.
Klyde reached for her hand, his skin warm and tan compared to her pale one. His thumb stroked the back of her fingers. “Lass,” he calledsoftly, prompting her to look at him. “Don’t worry about me. Morkens are difficult to kill, if I haven’t proven so already.” His mouth lifted in a half smile. “But I may not have long with this hole in me.”
That made her scoff faintly, if only to push back the knot in her throat. Kneeling down in front of him, Lucenna drew raw Essence into her fingertips. It heated the air like a torch. Klyde removed the bloodied cloth, and she cast out a thin beam of fire beginning at the top of the wound.
“I was eighteen when my mother died,” Lucenna said. His skin sizzled as she slowly sealed it shut. Klyde’s fists clenched tight on his lap, but otherwise, he didn’t make a sound. His gaze stayed on her as she worked. “Her name was Lucilla, and she was extraordinary. She taught me not to be afraid of who I am or of my magic. I suppose that confidence … is what led to her death.” Lucenna finished cauterizing the wound and stared at the fresh scab for a moment. “My father … he found us because I cast a stupid spell that revealed where we were.” Her voice broke, and she struggled to make herself say the words. “My mother stayed behind to distract him, so I could run. We both thought he would simply take her back to Magos...” Klyde brushed away the tear she hadn’t felt fall, and she looked up at him through her blurry vision. “But he siphoned her.”
“You saw it?”
She shook her head. “I felt it. When Essence is torn from a body, it feels like the air is being pulled from the atmosphere, until their presence is simply … gone.”
She had been powerless to stop it.
Klyde pulled her to him, holding her as though he knew she needed it. Lucenna’s first instinct was to push him away, but she inexplicably sank into his warmth. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “You weren’t ready to lose the one who raised you.”
She shut her eyes. Was anyone ever ready for that?
A sudden spark of magic above their heads made them jump apart. From the small puff of smoke in the air came a torn piece of parchment fluttering down. Lucenna caught it. Quickly wiping away her tears, she read Lucien’s scrawl in fresh ink.
I cannot reach you through the orb. Forgive me for yesterday. Please tell meyou’re safe.
“Your brother?”
She nodded. “I’ll send him a message later. We need to find the road.”
While Lucenna changed into her dry clothes, Klyde put out the fire. They gathered their belongings and headed south. Evos wasn’t very far, according to her location spell on Dyna. They fell into an easy silence as they hiked down the mountain together.
Lucenna constantly glanced at the sky though, because she was worried about Rawn. He’d been captive for over a week now, and she shuddered to think of what he suffered. Each day they delayed his rescue was another day lost.
Klyde lifted a low-hanging branch out of her way, and she caught him looking at the Luna Medallion. She had been absentmindedly twisting the chain around her fingers. He moved on ahead of her.
Lucenna stopped. “Why don’t you pry into our business anymore?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Eh?”
“Before, you wouldn’t cease to question us on our story and where we’re headed, but you stopped.”
“If I remember correctly, you did warn me to stay out of it.”
“Klyde,” she pressed.
“All right, what’s the story behind your medallion?”
“No, it’s my turn. I answered your question earlier. Now you answer mine.” Lucenna crossed her arms. He tensed, and she narrowed her eyes. “You figured it out, didn’t you?”
Taking a breath, he raked the messy blond hair out of his eyes. “I have been tracking Tarn’s activity for many years, lass. Once he began collecting the Sacred Scrolls, it was clear he searched for Mount Ida. Then he put a bounty on your heads, and well, with how secretive you were, it was easy to guess you were headed there as well.”
Lucenna eyed him carefully, wary of whether she should be worried about that or not.
Reading the suspicion on her face, Klyde frowned. “Where you were going didn’t matter to me. I am no Relic Hunter in pursuit of treasure. The only thing I hunted for was Tarn.”
“To protect Tavin?”
Klyde looked to the horizon on valleys and hills. His blue eyes caught the light of the sun, making them pale blue. And she read the worry in them. He may not have been Tavin’s father, but he loved him as one.
“Tarn has the power of the Ice Phoenix now, and a right to the throne of Azure. It was no question what he would do if he ever learned there was another out there with Morken and Jökull’s blood. Once Idiscovered he planned to become immortal on that Godsforsaken island, I was desperate. I was willing to doanything, by whatever means necessary, to protect Tavin against him. At whatever cost … even if I came to regret it later.” Klyde’s gaze returned to her, and his brow furrowed as if it weighed on him.
