“He favors magic,” she murmured to him on the night they had left Evos behind. “Eldred was his teacher, and he proved to be very proficient in all he set his mind to. Like his father.” She ran the back of her fingers over Rawn’s cheek, his head resting on her lap. “Raiden completed his apprenticeship at fourteen. He became the youngest Magi Master in the kingdom. Thereafter, he dedicated his time to overseeing Sellav and all its holdings. He did his duty to represent our House while you were away. Your subjects never wanted for anything.”
Then Rawn was truly glowing with pride. “Of course he did. He’s a Norrlen.”
They reached the Melodyam Falls the following day. The ruins had been half buried in a mudslide, but the cascades remained.
A lonesome tent waited by the cascades.
The carriage wheels creaked as they rolled to a stop. Riders dismounted outside, and voices called out for Dyna.
Rawn quickly stepped down out of the carriage. The tent flaps parted, and Dyna rushed outside. Her wide eyes took them all in and when she saw him, her eyes welled with tears.
“Lord Norrlen, you made it.”
“I did, my lady.” He held out his arms, and she rushed into them. Dyna cried as he and the Guardians hugged her between them. “Thank you for bringing me home.”
CHAPTER 89
Lucenna
Lucenna locked her gaze on the straw target set out in the open field not far from the Norrlen Estate. A sheen of sweat coated her forehead as she drew on her Essence again. A crackle of purple light gathered between her hands, and she winced. The light winked out.
Lucenna groaned up at the sky.
“Do they still hurt?” Dyna asked from where she sat on a blanket in the grass, Azeran’s journal on her lap.
To her complete embarrassment, Lucenna had broken her right arm and both legs during the battle at the Blood Keep. Elvish medicine had mended her well in Avandia, and Dyna mended her bones once they reunited. It had been two weeks since they arrived in Sellav, but her limbs still ached.
“It’s becoming a nuisance now.” Lucenna scowled at herself. She stretched her arms and bent to touch her toes.
“It will take some time for your body to fully heal. It’s fortunate you weren’t left with a limp.”
They all had a lot of healing to do. Some more than others. Dyna’s green eyes lifted to the estate, a forlorn look on her face.
“He still hasn’t woken?” Lucenna sat beside her.
She shook her head. “I think after living for more than three months carrying the weight in his heart and the illusion in his mind, his body is forcing him to rest.”
But Lucenna could tell that’s what Dyna had to tell herself. The truth was, Cassiel might not wake anytime soon—if at all.
“And his wounds?”
“They have finished mending.” Dyna took a breath and stared down at the journal. She wanted to be strong for him, because if Cassiel woke, he would have to deal with the loss of his wing.
He would never fly again.
Lucenna could only imagine how painful that would be for him. Without magic, she would have lost use of her legs. She wouldn’t have been able to cope with the anger and misery if she couldn’t walk again.
“Perhaps I did something wrong when I dream walked into his memories,” Dyna said. “The place I crossed through … it was something divergent. Has Lucien discovered anything yet?”
It was a mystery Lucenna and her brother had spent many nights discussing since Dyna described it to them.
“Not yet. You dreamed walked into his past life, which has never been done before. Lucien’s theory is that you may have crossed into another level of theEssentia Dimensio. It’s already a subconscious dimension we know very little about. He will continue researching.”
Dyna nodded thoughtfully. Lucenna was excited about what this discovery could mean.
And what’s more, Lucien informed them that the Liberation was ready to begin sending refugees to Skelling Rise. The ships were set to make their voyages in the summer.
“Lucenna, what doesianuamean?” Dyna asked, frowning at the journal.
