Where the blood had come from was still a mystery that might never be solved. The only relief was that Brela’s eyes weren’t purple, only known thanks to a quick distraction from Oni to keep Cason and Serill from seeing what Farrah was doing. They wouldn’t have to reveal Brela’s magic any time soon, except the warning look from Oni said that might not last long.
As if Brela hadn’t already been preparing for that moment, she just always planned to be conscious or dead when it was revealed, not in this weird, half-alive state. That was the perfect description for it, because even if her breathing and pulse were steady, she showed no sign of coming out of it. And if she did come out of it, which version of her would it be?
“Please, Brela,” Elias whispered against her skin. He didn’t care that everyone could see the tear roll down his cheek and splash onto her forehead.
Farrah squeezed his hand, her own eyes watering. “Don’t worry. She’s just waiting for the perfect dramatic moment to wake up.”
He choked on a laugh. “Of course she is.” He glanced toward Cason. “Probably waiting to see if Cason will shed a tear before she makes her grand return to the living.”
The captain blinked, but that was it.
Serill wiped away some pattern he was drawing in the sand. “She’s survived worse, right?”
Farrah didn’t bother hiding her swallow as she met Elias’s gaze. Sure, Brela had fought a vaarasuxa, sliced through trained soldiers like they were butter, and been chained and tortured by Dernian and Ovir. Hells, she’d faced the celvusa before and only walked away with a scratch, but all of those things were physical wounds.
What had the celvusa done to her this time?
The fire wielder stared at Elias, reading the hesitation, and then let out a sigh. “She’ll come back.” Drawing Brela’s throwing knife out of his belt, he forced a grin. “I very much doubt she’ll let me keep this for long.”
The tent flaps parted as Oni walked in, black eyes narrowing toward Cason before settling on Elias and Farrah. If Brela hadn’t warned them about the sand sprite’s strange ability to see everything with those swirling eyes, it might have felt unsettling to be looked at by living crystal.
He shook his head and rested his hand over Brela’s abdomen, crystal fingers circling the bruises. “Shade wounds from a celvusa.”
Serill stilled, his expression caught between disbelief and mind-shattering realization.
Cason looked half ready to counter, but, surprisingly, thought better of it. His eyes narrowed on Elias. “You knew. You’ve seen one.”
Farrah lifted her chin, but Elias knew the crack in her voice was not part of the act. “We did not make that hole in Gerrart’s home.”
“What?” Serill breathed. “They’re a myth.”
Oni huffed. “Apparently they are no longer a myth. The bruises will be painful, but not dangerous to her life. Some of the older sprites have heard of them before, as stories passed through generations when the beasts still roamed this world. Long before Ryia built the wall, either with the creature or locking them on the other side.”
“Why did it do this?” Elias asked. “Why didn’t it kill her?”
“It’s looking for something in her mind,” Oni said, black eyes lifting to Cason. “She told me about her dream the last night in Severina.”
Farrah’s grip tightened in Elias’s hand, and he had to fight the hitch of his heartbeat to stay calm. They knew about the dream, and they knew Oni wouldn’t reveal any of Brela’s secrets, but there were only so many ways to spin the truth to keep her protected.
Cason took a breath and muttered, “She whisperedvi os syqjust before she woke up. Ancient shadow language. She said it meant ‘I don’t know’.”
The Crown Prince nodded. “A response to the question posed by the creature that seems to be following her.”
“It asked a question?” Cason muttered.
“It’s following her?” Serill blurted at the same time. No one responded.
After a moment, Farrah whispered. “What are you?That’s what it asked. It’s drawn to the shard in her chest and it’s trying to find out why.”
She stared at Elias, hiding the questions running through her head. It would be too obvious to sign everything, but she didn’t need to because Elias had the same thoughts.
The celvusa wanted to know how Brela had non-gods-blessed shadow magic. It hadn’t been drawn to Night Carver at Gerrart’s home because it wouldn’t have been able to find the dagger’s scent behind the hellthorn.
It had found Brela’s magic.
Oni spoke over their silent conversation. “It must have gotten out of the wall and sensed her in the same way I can sense her. The same way the dragon can sense her, and what you’ll sense near the wall.”
Cason nodded. “Either empty space or fuzzy. That’s why neither of us could pick up on the celvusa when it attacked.”
