Istood in my office at Vyrenth Hollow, staring at nothing.
The room was intact. No shattered furniture. No broken glass. But it felt wrecked all the same. Maps and rune stones that had led nowhere lay scattered across my desk.
The air was thick with residual magic from Bastian and Arielle's tracking spells, Alaric's attempts at scrying, Garrick’s tracing sprite’s magic, and my own desperate reach through every thread of power I could summon.
Nothing had worked.
Nothing.
Everyone had tried. Everyone had failed.
As a last resort, I’d dispatched them across the kingdom to search on foot to follow any leads we could find.
I’d just returned from Hyxian. I’d hoped that Elariya may have gone there to get some books on spells. But my attempt was as fruitless as everything else.
My mage had everything she needed inside her.
She’d shut the door on all of us, especially me. And I truly couldn't feel her.
The bond that had hummed beneath my skin since the moment we'd been shackled together was as silent as the grave.
Elariya had used her time magic to hide herself. To sever any trail that could lead us to her.
Clever girl.She’d figured out a way to almost bend reality around herself, folding her existence into a pocket of time none of us could reach.
She didn't want to be found.
And she'd made damn sure no one could find a way to get around her plans.
The last time the bond had gone this silent, I'd been the one to choose it.
I'd unlocked the shackle and disappeared when I’d found out about Zyrra.
I was seeking solace. Little did I know it would be the method Elariya would choose to leave me.
She'd outplayed us. Outplayedme.
Executed her plans flawlessly to vanish without a trace.
I hadn't felt this outplayed since I was a boy trying to navigate court politics with my father's shadow looming over me.
The only person I knew who could command time the way Elariya had was the Seer. Not that Elariya’s magic was on par with the Seer’s. It was her rare ability.
Her plan was ingenious. Credit was all hers.
But she was out there alone and vulnerable, with no real understanding of this realm.
Hours had passed.
Night would come soon
And wherever she was, she wasalone.
My Echo Ravens had returned throughout the day, confirming she hadn’t crossed into the mortal lands nor entered any ethereal plane.
Which meant only one thing.
She was still here.
