Beside her, Archer let out a tired breath. “Let me guess… Whoever saw it last took the secret of where it was hidden to their grave.”
Stellan nodded, but he kept his gaze on Bridget. The secrets and plans swirling left her breathless. Without having to ask, she knew the search for the crown’s location inside her mind would happen again. The scars on her stomach burned.That’swhat Quinn had been looking for when she’d nearly spilled all her blood during her first few days in Elyria.Thisis why they were going back. Whatever magic or rune he needed to dig deep inside wasn’t here.
“This will be fun…” Archer mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
“Now… if we could please…”
Before he could finish, Stellan froze abruptly. Bright eyes glazing over, he reached out a hand and steadied himself against the truck. Without warning, he grimaced and twitched. Muttering things in another language under his breath as he shook his head, over and over. Bridget watched in awe. She’d never seen a Shaman have a vision before, and it was nothing like she imagined. He seemed to feel everything.
Slowly, Bridget moved toward him. When Stellan twitched again, she raised her hand.
Alexia dug her nails into her arm, so hard Bridget’s muscle throbbed underneath her leather coat. “Don’t touch him.”
Bridget recoiled out of her grip. “Something’s wrong,” she argued, turning her focus to Stellan once more. His blond hair, now damp with sweat,clung to his forehead. Wrong seemed to be an understatement. Whatever Stellan was seeing wastorturous.
Shuffling closer, Nylah whispered, “Why is he in so much pain?”
Breathing hard, Stellan mumbled, “No, no, no.” Then, with a gasp, he convulsed and collapsed against the rusty metal.
Reflexively, Bridget darted forward to catch him before he hit the ground. But she wasn’t the only one.
“Nylah, don’t!” she screamed.
The moment both of their hands touched Stellan, electricity whipped through Bridget’s muscles. The world around her disappeared and transformed into a shadowy, spinning mess of distorted images. The wall surrounding Astraeus, blown to bits. A city on fire. A Wraith with hollow eyes digging their claws into Marin’s back. Each vision was more terrible than the last. When Bridget was sure her head would explode from the sheer force of the changing realities, an invisible force pulled her backward.
With a pop, Bridget landed in snow. Cold air filled her lungs as she struggled to control her breathing and process the blue sky above her. Irony metal filled her mouth. Swallowing hard, she wiped her nose. Not metal. Blood.
Then she remembered what happened.
To her right, Nylah lay face down in the snow. Her body shook with every breath. Bridget rolled over and frantically crawled to her. “Are you okay?” Bridget demanded, turning her over. Blood poured from her sister’s nose, as well. “What were you thinking?”
Nylah rubbed her eyes and wearily sat up. “That’s what magic feels like?”
Before Bridget could admonish her more, her sister began to cough uncontrollably. Rubbing Nylah’s back, Bridget held her steady and used the sleeve of her jacket to clean up the excess blood staining her face. After a moment, when she still didn’t stop, Bridget’s stomach twisted.
“She’s already sick,” Archer said, briefly glaring at Alexia. “Magic is going to affect her more.”
Bridget reached for her backpack, but Stellan beat her to it. He dug inside, then pulled out an identical bottle of the homemade liquid he’d given Nylah when they’d first arrived. His hand trembled as he handed it over to her. Bags that hadn’t been there before now hung under his eyes. Bridget had been in his head only seconds and she wanted to scrub the images from her brain. She couldn’t imagine what else he’d seen… and would continue to see.
The moment the liquid hit Nylah’s lips, her coughing subsided. Relief almost knocked Bridget to the ground again. She reached out to rub her sister’s back, but she knocked her away with a weak push of her shoulder. “Stop hovering,” Nylah grumbled, taking another sip of the liquid. “I’mfine.”
Above them, Alexia scoffed, “I told you not to touch him.”
“Do you ever say anything helpful?” Archer asked.
Closing her eyes, Bridget replayed the shadowy visions. “Has that happened?” she asked Stellan, who leaned against his truck, arms folded. She hadn’t been able to recognize thewhenof the images. Just that it was Astraeus being attacked and nearly burned to the ground.
A muscle in Stellan’s jaw flexed. “It will. We’ve wasted too much time. We won’t make it in time to help stop it.”
“What do you mean? Is it happening right now?” Bridget demanded. Stellan didn’t answer. She clenched her teeth together. “Then fuck it, let’s just go through Cavamyne.”
Archer helped Bridget to her feet. “What did you see?” he asked.
Stellan shook his head. “Like I already said, Vega—”
“Obviously you two were too focused on the gloom and doom to actually see anything useful,” Nylah said, casually wiping excess snow and dirt off her pants. “Luckily… I did.”
Bridget’s mouth fell open as she watched her dig around for something in her jacket pocket.
