“Fear not, you will be among many other Mages with developed abilities. Your task will be to apprehend the target from a distance. You canmanipulate metal, can’t you?”
I nod.
“Then you won’t even have to get close to the Shadow Wielder. You just need to bind their wrists with the dampening shackles. It will cut off their ability to manipulate and make the transfer back to Paramount safe for everyone.”
My throat goes dry. Why does he want a Shadow Wielder, specifically? That’s dark magic—one of the most forbidden.
“After this mission,” the sovereign continues. “I have another for you to prepare for. As you may or may not know, the Wastelands are surrounded entirely by impenetrablemountains. There are many mysteries about the Wastelands—how did it come to be? In a land filled with lush forests and a wet climate, how did the Wastelands come about? What has caused such an uncharacteristic habitat in the midst of otherwise mundane conditions? It’s something many people have attempted to solve yet have failed. The problem lies in a very simple fact: we’ve been sending the wrong people. That’s where your terraforging will come in handy.”
My lips part again, but no words come to me. He expects me to be different from anyone else who’s gone to the Wastelands? Wait … I thought people were banished there. How is that possible if it’s impenetrable?
Again, I’m at a loss for words.
The sovereign smiles. “For now, get all the training you can, eat well, and rest up. The Zenith is happy to have you among our ranks.”
Chapter 41
The sun shines brightlyoff the black peaks all around us, speckles of dust floating in the beams of light. Sweat beads on my forehead and nose, gathering along the divot of my spine as I cling to Tiernan’s hand. Unhurriedly, I step sideways down the steep mountain. There are small bushes and shrubs along the worn dirt path, trodden mostly by mountain goats. My stomach is tangled up in knots, and my throat spasms in response to the threat of vomiting from the lightheadedness. Each time small pebbles crumble out from beneath my boots, I cling harder to Tiernan’s hand and squeeze my eyes shut.
When I open my eyes this time, he’s staring into them. “Almost there,” he says. “Just keep looking at me.”
So, I do. It’s much better than looking down at the jagged rocks lining the ravine below. Even if it doesn’t necessarily ease the dizziness. Already, the horses have descended and, according to Tiernan, are happily hydrating in the small stream below. I breathe slowly, my lips pursed, tears gathering—embarrassingly—in my eyes.
This is an absolute nightmare.
Tiernan keeps my mind occupied with constant chatter of just about anything as we descend. Until my thighs aren’tburning as much, and the peaks that surrounded us are farther away and higher up. The ground is leveling out, and we’re very close to the stream. The others have already stopped, Alys sitting on the ground near the stream, Ava and Sloan kneeling to fill their waterskins, and Osheen stretching. Chiyo and Isobel have gone to tend to the horses.
I turn a smiling gaze to Tiernan. “We didn’t die,” I say aloud, and he laughs.
“And you conquered your fear of heights,” he signs.
I hadn’t realized how much I missed easily seeing the words on his hands. His mind whispering is intimate in a wonderful way that I never imagined, but his signing feels like a welcoming hug. Like home.
“I wouldn’t say Iconqueredmy fears,” I gesture back.
“Alright, well you’ve faced it and lived to tell the tale.”
I laugh and motion, “Fine. Now I need to conquer my thirst.”
We head to the stream, and I kneel beside it, fighting the urge to dump my head directly into the water to cool this infernal headache. That’s when Tiernan does exactly what I’m thinking, and it surprises me so much that I snort. Everyone looks our way as Tiernan sits back on his heels again, his dark hair sopping wet, dripping down his face and onto his tunic. He shakes his head like a hound, and I lean away to avoid getting splashed. Water gets all over my face anyway.
Chiyo approaches, presenting me with a handful of strawberries. “The pair of you are sickeningly sweet,” she says with a smirk. “I’m glad I don’t have to slap anyone.” She winks at me and walks away, leaving Tiernan looking puzzled.
I shrug, the picture of innocence, while I cup the strawberries in my hands.
We linger for a while longer, regaining our strength. Then Tiernan looks to me and signs, “I’d like to move ahead andscout for a place we can all rest tonight. Are you up for a small adventure? We can get some time to finish talking.”
My heart sputters a little. I look into his eyes—they don’t seem guarded, but there’s something that looks an awful lot like anxiety in them.
I nod, and he smiles shakily before getting up. “Alright, I’ll go talk to Ava about it. Tell Ghendor to get ready.” There’s the smallest hint of playfulness in his eyes before he turns to walk away.
I refill my waterskin once more and head to Ghendor. I offer him a few berries, which he takes gratefully, then I hook my waterskin back onto the saddle with our packs before climbing atop the stallion. Tiernan returns with a smile and a thumbs up before mounting Ghendor behind me.
As Tiernan maneuvers Ghendor through the group, I catch Chiyo’s beaming smile. She waves to me, Isobel hopping into view to join in the sendoff. I can’t help but grin back at them. “I will be right back!” I sign to them. “Not going away forever.”
“Don’t hurry,” she signs back while Isobel looks at her with confusion. Her signing isn’t very fluent yet, but her grin widens even more when Chiyo says something to her.
Still riding alongside the river, Tiernan and I get some distance from the group. As usual, his arms bracket my body, settling over my thighs, but he lifts a hand to place just above my knee, rubbing gently as if soothing me.
