My eyebrows shot to my hairline. I tried to swallow my trepidation, and I gripped the Stone harder. “Bothof us?”
“Indeed, upon our commander’s orders,” Jamie replied readily, then smiled as if his remark was to be expected.
Frowning again, I looked to Kole for an explanation. “What’s he talking about?”
Kole dipped his head but didn’t speak. His behavior again reminded me of when we’d first met, when he’d been a male of few words. Something wasdefinitelygoing on, but Kole’s Shield had locked down tight, and he obviously had no intentions of sharing anything with me. And since I refusedto use my forbidden magic to read his mind, I was out of answers.
Stomach tumbling, I gripped the Stone tighter beneath my cloak. “Can we please leave? My uncle is waiting.”
The factthat Jamie couldn’t mistphase told me that Kole had never informed his fellow Warrior that such a feat was possible for any siltenite with enough magic to learn, or Jamie didn’t possess enough magic.
I didn’t ask which one it was.
Thankfully, before we left, the warriors let me collect my pack with my smutty novel and the precious book from the Isle of Song. They also let me extract the seekerill from the carpet’s magic.
Everything else, though, we were leaving behind, including Kole’s brand-new carpet.
I briefly wondered if anyone would ever return to collect Kole’s carpet and my boxes. Most of my stuff was food and camping supplies. It was wasteful to leave it, and it would likely scatter and litter the land and sea. On impulse, I burned everything in a flash of elemental fire. Once everything had turned to ash, all that remained was Kole’s carpet. But he didn’t seem to care. He didn’t even look at it twice or try to retrieve it, and since it was heavy enough, it wouldn’t fly away and it would stay there until someone retrieved it.
“Ready?” Kole said.
I nodded, and the warrior grabbed ahold of both me and Jamie. He held our hands, not touching either of us more than what was needed for his mistphase.
Another bolt of trepidation jolted through me, and it occurred to me just as the realm fell out from beneath us that Kole had enough magic to mistphasetwofae with him at once.
But that thought was there and then gone in the flurry of mist and shadows, air and wind.
The mistphase was over in a blink, and we landed back on solid ground, rematerializing in Whiteolf. The second I had my wits about me, my jaw dropped at how precisely Kole had transferred us.
Kole had mistphased usexactlyto where my family lived, right at the bottom of the stairs leading up to my aunt and uncle’s house and out of the busy street. It suddenly struck me that I’d never given him the address, yet he’d known where to go. But I didn’t give it another thought.
My uncle was waiting.
I squeezed Kole’s hand tightly in gratitude. “Thank you.”
Before he had a chance to reply, I sprinted up the stairs.
Heart tripping anew, I burst through the front door. Verin shrieked. The servant was in the adjacent chamber to the entryway, using charms to clean the sitting room.
“Primelle, you’re back already?” Her gaze dipped to the shining Stone within my cloak, and her eyes grew as wide as saucers. “Youfound it?”
“I did.” I grinned.
She took a step forward, but then Kole and Jamie crossed the threshold behind me, and she froze. I glanced over my shoulder, then remembered that for whatever reason, the warriors had been ordered to accompany me back to Whiteolf. But I hadn’t realized that meant they’d stay.
I didn’t bother to ask what they were up to now.
“Is Timith in his chambers?” I asked the servant.
Verin’s head bobbed, and her gaze glued to the floor. “Yes, Miss Hollaran.”
I made a beeline for the stairs and bounded up them, not bothering to introduce the warriors. Kole followed me, his aura pounding at my back, but I didn’t feel Jamie’s energy and figured he’d stayed downstairs.
It didn’t matter. I just needed to get to my uncle.
“Aunt Gwen?” I called. “Aunt Gwen, where are you?”
The door opened to my aunt and uncle’s bedchambers, and she stepped into the hall. I nearly collided with her since I was moving so fast.
