As soon as he noticed my water magic he tensed. “Get behind me, Korin.Now.”
Korin’s brow furrowed. “He can be a little intense,” she whispered. She offered an apologetic look before stepping toward Judd. I gave her an encouraging smile.
Judd’s amber eyes glittered amidst the gloom, assessing me as I did him. His presence stalled me, filling me simultaneously with frustration and fascination. He carried himself with regal confidence, as if he owned the woods themselves. His aura pulsed a gentle midnight blue. Power pressed down on me. The waves of lethality and the gleam of the twin swords peeking over his massive shoulders severed my trance.
I glanced quickly away and toward Korin, “Do you know this man?”
She held her soft smile, nodding in affirmation. “Thank you again.”
The gratitude was all mine. She was a part of the rebellion, and she could lead me straight to them. I didn’t want to harm her, but I wasn’t above using her trust to uncover the Crimson Wolf.
Black metal rings clinked as he enclosed her small hand in his own. Shadows hazed around him, obscuring his features. He tugged Korin to his side, her flower crown jostling at the movement. She gave me a reassuring wink, threading her slender arm into his muscular one. Then, offering me an imperceptible nod, they backed into the consuming shadows.
I blinked as light resumed its descent through the scraggly branches of the trees. I stood there for several minutes. The trill of birds again filled the ambient silence. I could only hope that Korin was as safe as she had led me to believe. I kept my dagger in my hand, lingering a few more minutes before finally trekking back to my horse.
Gathering the reins and recognizing my dehydration after expelling so much magic, I closed my eyes and threw out my affinity in searching ripples. My water called to any nearby streams or ponds waiting for a response. The gentle lap of a reply sang as I mounted my mare and followed the magical pull leading me to water. Floating leaves drifted lazily around me as if suspended by the magic of the wood.
I briefly wondered about the peculiar earthquake while I made camp. Under the silver light of twinkling stars, I rehashed the day’s events. My mind strayed to haunting amber eyes before the exhaustion of the day hit me, and sleep pulled me under.
Chapter Thirteen
THE GENERAL
“Ow, you’re hurting me!”
I immediately loosened my grip on Korin’s arm. I closed my eyes and groped for patience. We stood in the middle of Aphellion, having portaled there from the middle of the Perellian Forest.
My simmering worry over Korin’s whereabouts exploded when I saw her occupying the same space as the king’s spy.Foka. Ruin was in Yarit. I would hunt her down before she had a chance to get near Korin again.
Korin massaged her arm. “That woman saved me from a hamadryad. Why are you so angry?” She stood rigid, her arms crossed against her chest.
I suppressed a snarl. I didn’t want to scare the girl, but she had no idea the amount of danger she had been in. If I had shown up much later, things might have turned out significantly worse.
I swiped my hand down my face. “You can’t befriend everyone you meet, Korin. The world is not a safe place.” My voice emerged stilted through my clenched teeth. This child would drive anyone off a cliff of sanity.
She had the nerve to scoff at me. “You’re way more worked up than you need to be. Everything turned out fine. She even made me a flower crown.” She gently fluffed the braided circlet now thoroughly tangled in her hair.
I hadn’t seen a flower crown in years. I peered closer, but Korin jerked back. Confusion and defiance bolstered her.
“Ahh, you found her!” Sonora swept over, interrupting us. She tsked Korin for disappearing right after their magic lesson. Korin had more mothers and fathers than she could count. Including me, I suppose. Her parents died when she was very young and we all stepped in to fill the gaps.
In moments like these, I wondered if we had missed some crucial developmental stage these last twelve years regarding common sense and an understanding of the world. Sonora whisked Korin away before we could finish our standoff. I continued to fume as I turned toward my home, sequestered near the base of the mountains.
Anger boiled as I marched up to my study. My spies in Maripol had not reported movement among the Scourge. The king kept them cloistered within his realm, allowing no one but his dreki to leave Haluma and see what lay beyond the boundaries of his realm. I could distract myself with adjusting the new map of the Perellian Forest, particularly after this most recent land shift from the earthquakes. By the time I reached the second floor of my home, my breathing had become labored. I ignored it.
The chaos of the last couple days settled in as I sunk heavily into my chair. Grief at losing Ilayah hung heavy in my chest. She was the last of the elder Primes. Ilayah had escaped the first round of recruitment into King Nolan’s original Vestal Anchor program. But in the end, she had been abducted and drained anyway. I couldn’t protect her from her end, but I wouldn’t fail her legacy. Her death only spurred my resolve.
Then there was Ruin… who was no doubt currently under Nolan’s orders to investigate Yarit. She had already been sniffing around about the Crimson Wolf. Her presence was a distraction, and one I would need to remedy. My purpose and focus had always been, and continued to be, for my people. I would not allow Ruin to jeopardize anything, especially if she posed a threat to us.
Frustration had my fist slamming against the wooden desk. Korin would need security now, and that probably wouldn’t go over well.
I’ll put Sonora in charge of it.
I unrolled the working map I had of Yarit. Carefully, I erased the area where I’d found Korin. I closed my eyes and visualized the topography. Slowly, I inked new lines along the paper, forming trees, hills, paths, and rocky outcroppings. The dryads could let me know what else had changed later so I could fill in pertinent details I might have missed. My hand trembled slightly with each brushstroke. I gripped the pen firmly, steadying the tremor. Eventually, I lost myself in the calming process of drawing.
I yanked out another piece of paper and sketched out the silhouette of a woman. It was always just beyond my mind’s eye. I tried to add as much detail as I could. But as with all the ones before it, I didn’t get enough of a vision to complete it. It was a compulsion to draw her. It had been ever since I was young. This time, I got a little more of her nose, a bit more of her hair.
It landed on the pile with all the others.
