This reset had given me a taste of that life. And I hated it.
I absolutely hated it.
Now that Elariya was my mate, I wanted to do whatever I could to fix the problem.
I was determined to find a way. And if I couldn’t, there had to be some other way of preserving her memories. Something that hurt less than forgetting.
I reached the tent and pushed through the entrance, letting the heavy fabric fall closed behind me.
Alaric looked up immediately, his sharp gaze reading my expression. "Anything?"
"No." The word came out harder than I intended, edged with the frustration still simmering beneath my skin.
Bastian and Garrick exchanged worried glances.
I moved toward the table where maps lay spread across the surface, marked with positions and patrol routes. I leaned against the table, facing them.
"The enemy are up to their old tricks. Covering themselves. There were no signs of forced crossing and the fucking wards areintact. Watch rotations were exactly as they have been, and yet people are missing.”
"We have to figure this out, Wolfe," Alaric said, jaw tight.
"Missing people suggests more soul weaving,” Bastian said. “We haven’t heard hide nor hair of the necromancer since we fought him, but that doesn’t mean he’s not around."
“Missing people suggests he’s very much here,” Garrick intoned.
“And he need souls for his rituals,” I sighed. “The Seer said the enemy wasn’t strong enough yet to show their face, but their certainly making a mark. I’ve been thinking that we might be going about this all wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Alaric gave me a thin stare.
“We’re doing everything they expect us to do. Patrolling, investigating, tracking. The only thing our efforts have been good for is keeping us distracted.”
“What else can we do?” Bastian shrugged, flicking over his palms. “I certainly don’t have a better idea. Do you?”
My shoulders slumped. I shook my head. “I’ll come up with something.” We were going around in circles and the enemy was making fools out of us. “Until then we keep the patrols going. The last thing we want to do is stop, or be less vigilant. Because maybe they want us to do that too.”
“You wanted to talk to us about the plans for the ring,” Alaric said, resting his elbows on his knees. “Have you thought more about the spell now that Elariya has used her time magic?”
“I have. Elariya is at Hyxian with Arielle, I’m hoping they make progress. Elariya needs the time and space to learn about her powers. Once she does we’ll attempt the spell again.”
Garrick nodded, agreeing. “She seemed in better spirits today. I checked in on her and Arielle when they arrived at Hyxian. They didn’t see me. I like to give them space to talk.”
Garrick was the friend who could test my patience to its limits, but it was times like these that I appreciated him.
“I’m hopeful Archmage Magdalena can to help Elariya,” I replied. “The problem is we don’t exactly know what specifically is required of her to find the ring.” I paused for a beat. “All we know is the ring hides on a time plane and Elariya will be able to unlock the path to find it when she harnesses her magic. But she’s only just starting out. The level of skill she needs could…it could take a while.”
“Hey, I’d beg to differ. She already kicking ass,” Garrick cut in. “Wolfe, come on. She managed to escapeus.Us.And we couldn’t fucking find her. If your silvery, spirally strand thingies didn’t show you where she was, you would have never found her.”
I didn’t want to think about the outcome of such a possibility, but Garrick was right.
“I have to agree,” Bastian said. “She certainly impressed the hells out of me. Why don’t we see how this week goes then we can reconvene?”
I nodded. “We can do that. She’ll be able to tell us how she feels and what she’s learned. Then I guess there’ll be no harm in trying the spell just to see what happens.” There was no harm in hoping either. “If we find that ring everything changes.”
Elariya will have her memories back and keep the new ones she made.
And me?
Although nothing changes for me until the ring is on my hand, I’ll know where to find it. And when I do, I’ll fixeverything,and make every last one of my enemies pay.
