“Talon,” he said, still breathless. Tal moaned into his neck. Zane’s lashes fluttered closed. Indulging in this for a moment more would surely be fine, but this was important.
“Tal,” he said a little more forcefully, tapping his back. The man jerked backwards immediately, brows furrowing.
“Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?” Talon asked, eyes pinched in concern.
“Gods, no,” he breathed. “I mean, yes, but only because…” Zane lifted the scroll for Talon to see.
Tal climbed off Zane, and he almost groaned at the loss of weight. He was so close to sayingfuck the scrolland pulling Tal back into his arms, but the image of his father wearing an ancient relic around his neck flashed through his mind. He promised himself they would pick this back up later. Zane didn’t want to go back to the waythings were before. He wanted Tal, and he would no longer let his father dictate who he could and couldn’t love.
Talon cleared his throat and adjusted his pants. Zane gave him a satisfied smirk before opening the scroll. They both began reading then…
“We should get the others,” Zane said.
Not long after, the entire group convened in one of the many meeting rooms on the bottom floor of the library. This one had multiple seating areas and a large hearth. They had arranged all of the couches and chairs to be in a semicircle around the fire so everyone could see the scroll and be warm at the same time.
Iyana curled into Altair on an oversized chair, his arms tight around her. He probably had also heard the argument between Iyana and Emmeric earlier and wanted to keep her close. Which was further cemented by the occasional death glare he threw toward Emmeric. Emmeric and Kaz were on a couch, the shifter lying on her back, feet resting in Emmeric’s lap. And Zane and Talon were sitting side by side on another couch, their thighs and shoulders pressed together. Talon had a hand on Zane’s back, offering subtle support.
“What did you find, Zane?” Iyana asked.
Zane unrolled the scroll gingerly to keep it from breaking, and he laid it flat on the coffee table, pinning down the corners using heavy books. “It’s written in an old form of Athusan, from before when the common tongue came into use, around five centuries ago. Fortunately, it’s one I’m able to read. It caught my eye because it mentioned the Aztia.” He glanced at Kaz. “How’s that for my fancy Athusan education?” The shifter threw him a rude gesture, causing both Talon and Zane to chuckle.
“Is there anything useful?” Altair asked.
Zane tapped towards the bottom of the scroll, where there was an illustration of a necklace. The center was a small jewel, cut into a hexagon and set within plainmetal. There were no adornments, and for all intents and purposes, it appeared to be a bauble. Something gifted between lovers, perhaps.
“This is the amulet of Aztia. It belonged to the very first, and this says she used it as an external power source. Apparently her Kanaliza forged it for her and then Ciri, Goddess of Day, blessed it. The amulet was buried with her.”
“I thought the firsts lived out the rest of their lives in anonymity,” Iyana said. “How does the person who wrote this scroll know she was buried with it?”
“It doesn’t say exactly, but the author does mention being close to the couple.”
Emmeric shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glancing at Iyana. “Altair said that as Kanaliza, Iyana would eventually be able to store some of her magic in me for later use. Is this similar?”
Zane perked up. “Fascinating. Have you tested this?”
“He won’t let me,” Iyana grumbled, arms crossed.
The air was thick with tension between the two. Zane cleared his throat and forged on. “Yes, in a sense. Its original intended use was as storage, but once the conflict ended and she no longer needed it, she infused it with the very essence of her magic.”
“So this amulet contains all the power of the first Aztia?” Altair asked.
“It would seem so, yes.”
Altair ran a hand through his golden-blonde hair. Zane continued to berate himself for not realizing he was a star sooner.
“We need to find where she’s interred,” Altair said.
Zane’s face contorted into a grimace. “That’s where this gets tricky… Their tomb is in the Dead Lands.”
A shocked silence consumed the space, the only sound the popping and cracking of the logs on the fire. Talon finally broke the pregnant pause by whispering, “Fuck.”
“Then we leave for the Dead Lands tomorrow,” Iyana said. The grimace on all their faces made it obvious nobody reallywantedto go but realized it would be a necessity.
“We still haven’t found anything on the astmina,” Zane reminded her.
“I’m staying,” Emmeric said quietly. All their heads whipped to him. Kaz even took her feet off his lap and sat up in shock. Emmeric leaned forward, resting hiselbows on his knees, and finally addressed Iyana directly. “Look, it’s no secret we haven’t been getting along. I think the distance would do us some good. You can find the amulet and I’ll stay here searching for more information. We can meet back up once you find it.”
Iyana stared him down for what felt like, to Zane, an eternity. “Fine.” She stood from the chair, Altair following dutifully after her. “We leave in the morning,” she said to the rest of the group.
