I slumped against the tree, my strength giving out as my breath shuddered from me in broken gasps. And then I broke.
A sob tore from my chest before I could stop it. Then another.
My shoulders shook as everything I’d been holding back spilled free—fear, confusion, and the sickening certainty that my life was no longer my own.
I clenched my teeth and pressed my face into my sleeve to smother the sound, but it broke free anyway.
What did it matter? The forest didn’t judge. It didn’t recoil at my breaking. It stood silent and vast, as if it had seen this kind of pain a thousand times before.
But then a hand settled on my shoulder.
Instinctively, I twisted at the touch and looked up. A platinum-haired young woman stood behind me, her pale hair a sheet of white against the green-dark forest.
For a heartbeat, the sight of her threw me off guard. I wondered if my grief had conjured her. Then her face softened into a pleasant smile, and her too-bright blue eyes gleamed in a way that felt almost unnatural.
She was real, but I knew just by looking at her that she wasn’t human.
I sensed it.
There was a flawlessness about her, and I picked up the same magical vibe I felt when I was around Grandmother.
With a soft smile, she placed a dainty hand to her heart and bowed her head.
“Na már iyah,” she said, her voice as gentle as a lullaby.
My lungs squeezed. I recognized her words. It was a customary greeting in Ivaliyahce, the language of the mages. In the common tongue it meant:I wish you well.
She gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and I felt it, the magic humming through her touch.
I was right. She wasn’t human.
She was a mage.
Chapter 5
Elariya
“The Conduit of Us”
Ikept staring at her, studying the light in her eyes.
She was beautiful. Her long hair was plaited over one shoulder, and dark clothing fitted close beneath the sweep of a navy cape.
“I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t startle you.” Her expression shifted, tenderness crossing her features.
I snapped out of my stupor and straightened, wiping at my tears. “No. And, um… Ye vár iyah.” The words came automatically, a scrap of old mage manners Grandmother had drilled into me.
Her smile returned, small and relieved.
She looked about my age, and the way she studied me made my skin prickle, as if she were searching for something she expected to find.
“Are you okay?”
There was no point lying. My face gave me away. “I’m… having a rough day.” I tried to smile, but it felt wrong on my face.
“I’m so sorry.” She spoke like she understood the kind of rough I meant.
The air around her felt different, and I sensed the faint hum of magic again.
