Tavin pulled back with a timid grin and ran off. Well, she didn’t expect an embrace, but it was better than having the boy point a crossbow at her.
Stepping into her room, Dyna quickly packed up her belongings into her satchel and changed into her fae armor. Once her weapons were strapped in place, she sat on the bed to slip on her boots as she thought of the gateway. Elf magic, they said.
It requires the power level of a Magi Master to open it…
Lumina surfaced in Dyna’s mind. A pretty Magi Master who was too soft to be a Raider, yet still valuable to Tarn.
And it came to her suddenly.
The clear memory of a corded bracelet of white stones wrapped daintily around Lumina’s wrist.
Dyna’s heart pounded, and goosebumps sprouted on her skin.Please don’t let it be.
Swallowing, she reached inside her satchel and summoned the water mirror. It landed in her palm, still wet from its last use. Dyna yanked it out. Snatching the carafe on her nightstand, she poured water inside and tossed salt in next. Her breathing grew heavier as she stirred the water with her finger and watched the surface ripple.
The water fogged a moment before clearing with the view of runes burned on a tent wall. His back was to her as he poured a cup of wine.
“Now, you must be patient. We will be reunited soon enough.” Tarn paused and turned around to face her. A cool smile rose to his mouth, sending shivers down her back. “Maiden.”
Dyna dropped the mirror with a scream. It hit the ground, splattering water everywhere. Its glow faded away. Gods, she had to tell the others.
Shoving the mirror into her satchel, she ran for the door and crashed into an elf. It took her a second to recognize the head Norrlen Guard.
“My lady, forgive me.” Halder steadied her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, but pardon me, I must go!”
“Wait, I have a message for you from Lord Raiden.” The captain reached into his cloak and handed her a folded letter sealed with a dab of wax displaying the Norrlen sigil.
“Thank you.” Dyna snatched it. “Please excuse me!” She ran for the stairs to the next floor.
She needed to tell someone Tarn was alive, and the first person was instinctively Cassiel. Her boots clacked sharply on the stone steps, her heart in her throat. She reached Cassiel’s floor and sprinted for his room, bursting through the doors.
The chambers were dark inside. The windows faced the west, away from any morning sun, and the skies were gray with the coming of rain.
Dyna walked in hurriedly, calling for him. “Cassiel?”
But there came no response, and the Valkyrie were gone. Where was he? She needed him.
The fragments of their brittle bond shook in her chest at her hesitant tug.Cassiel, where are you?
Dyna felt a presence rush in from behind her. She whipped out a knife and spun. Steel clashed as she caught the blade coming for her throat. She stared at a pureblooded male Celestial. Not one she recognized at all.
He sneered. “I was waiting to get you alone, Sheli.”
The statement rocked Dyna to her soul. That distraction was all he needed to knock the weapon out of her hands. He raised the knife, but it never came down.
The Celestial’s eyes widened. His face went red, veins bulging in his face, grunting as if straining against a force holding him in place. Seraph fire bloomed from his chest like a flower. It spread out, consuming him in a bouquet of blue flames. Within seconds, he dissolved into ash, leaving nothing but a scorch mark on the rug.
Dyna’s heart pounded wildly. From the dark, appeared blue eyes glowing with flame.
Cassiel came forward, and she flinched back. “Dyna, it’s all right.”
“You killed him...”
“I did.”
“He was another assassin … he-he tried to…” She was babbling, her spinning mind trying to clear after nearly dying. “He came for me…”
