Cassian released the locket and left me feeling that I’d done something wrong. I hurriedly tucked the locket back into my shirt, and a heavy silence fell between us. The carriage rolled through the city and out into the countryside.
Even in such dire circumstances, I couldn’t help but enjoy the view. The stars cast their gentle light over the golden fields and groves, creating a rainbow of blurry, muted colors that were dotted with the quaint cottages of the farmers. Dogs barked at our carriage, and horses whinnied as we passed. A few of the hounds trailed behind, growling and snapping at the wheels.
I leaned out and frowned at their rude behavior. “You might get hurt if you keep doing that!”
The dogs snarled at me. My face drooped, and my eyes widened. I ducked back inside with some color lost on my cheeks.
“They sense it.”
I creakily turned my head to my companion. “Sense what?”
He nodded at the package. “Whatever is in there. Animals don’t need a luminarc to know when a powerful magic is present.”
I was really starting to wish this world wasn’t so magical, and I was immensely relieved when Cassian rapped his knuckle against the top of the carriage. The vehicle rolled onto the next side road and drove for a mile before coming to a stop near a bit of wilderness. A copse of trees stood nearby, and a quaint bit of grass invited picnic goers for a treat. Well, if it wasn’t past sunset, that is.
We didn’t have ourselves a picnic basket as we stepped out of the vehicle. Cassian grasped the package between both hands again and nodded at the nearest lamp. “Take that.” I grabbed the lit lantern, and he caught the eye of the driver. “Drive for a mile and park.”
The driver frowned. “I would rather remain here with you, Sire.”
A faint smile touched Cassian’s lips. “Your loyalty is admirable, but your horses may not like what’s inside. Take them away so they won’t bolt.”
Our driver furrowed his brow, but cracked the reins. The carriage rolled around a corner of the winding road and disappeared. I envied those horses and the driver.
Cassian grasped the box firmly and nodded at the woods. “I know a grove nearby where we can open this.”
His strides were long and fast, and I had trouble keeping up with him without trotting along beside him. I also stumbled over every bumpy patch of grass and root. Thankfully, we soon reached the grove, and he set the box in the middle of the clearing atop a flat stone. He reached into his pocket and drew out a mess of the heat stones, which he illuminated before sprinkling them on the ground around the rock.
Cassian stepped back to where I had stopped at the edge of the grove with my lantern. He drew up his sleeve and pulled a scale from his arm. “Stand behind me.”
“I’ll stand beside you, or you’re leaving,” I warned him. “It is my package, after all. If there’s trouble, I want my share of it.”
The king pursed his lips, but didn’t argue. He drew his hand back and pinched the scale between two fingers. With a flick of his wrist, he threw the scale like a dagger. The plate shot across the meadow and struck the box, removing the top completely. The box tipped over and fell onto the ground toward us. The contents spilled out, and the stones cast their gentle light on it.
It was a disc of some kind. The strange object rolled a little before coming to a stop in the grass.
Cassian lowered his arm and slowly walked over. I followed, and instinct kept moving me behind me. We reached the overturned box and its contents, and I saw that the disc wasn’t a disc. It was some sort of mess of cogs and symbols, etched in shiny metal. The metal was so smooth and glistening that the stars illuminated it almost as brightly as the lantern clutched in my shaking hand.
Cassian stooped and studied the markings. “As I thought. It’s a star.”
I blinked at him. “A star?”
“Not in the literal sense,” he admitted as he dipped his hand beneath the cogs and lifted the thing off the ground. “This is a Dreadwrought device. A mechanism made in the age before the Shattered Arcana.”
“The what?”
“A time when magic and technology were at their zenith,” he explained as he turned the device over in his hands. “This is one of the devices left over from that age.”
“How long ago was this Shattered thing?”
“Two thousand years.”
My mouth dropped open, and I stabbed a finger at the mechanism. “But that looks brand new!”
“Yes,” he agreed as he stood, his eyes ever focused on the machine. “Whatever metal and magic they used on their devices has kept the Dreadwrought in perfect condition.”
“Are there more?”
“Twelve in all, or so the legends say.” Cassian paused, and his eyes were focused on the box. He reached inside and drew out a small slip of folded paper, which he opened and held a stone aloft to read. His eyes scoured the contents, and his eyebrows crashed down. “This is a strange note.”
