“Where’s Shaw?” I asked, glancing around the space. “Is he not back yet?”
“I’m here,” Shaw announced, stepping into view along the opposite wall.
I gave him a curt nod as Zola silently appeared in the shadows behind me and Daxton. I jumped, swallowing my gasp of surprise as I turned, realizing she held the magical scroll linked to the Heart of Valdor clutched in her hands.
“Pardon my delay,” Zola announced as her eyes flickered over my shoulder to pause on Shaw.
I watched Zola carefully, noticing how her throat bobbed with unease and her breath stilled in her chest when her line of sight met my beta’s.
Shaw uncomfortably cleared his throat and pushed off the wall to cross the distance to reach my side.His gaze narrowed on the scroll, and if I didn’t know him better, I would assume that was the intent of his stare.
“So, this is the scroll that Daxton sacrificed himself to retrieve?” Shaw asked, his eyes trailing up to meet Zola’s. “It’ll reveal the location of the Heart?”
“It should,” I answered, watching Zola and Shaw’s interactions with keen interest.
“Yes,” Zola said, shaking her head as she unrolled the parchment. “You have the dagger, I assume?”
“I appreciate the confidence, Zola,” I answered, moving from Daxton’s embrace to retrieve the alpha’s dagger attached to my side. “Here it is.”
Carefully, I raised the dagger to the unfolded scroll. Like the other two keys, I could feel the same powerful hum emanating from the weapon’s hilt in my hand. I took a deep breath and gently dragged the blade’s tip over the final star. Immediately, writing appeared across the page, and I readied myself to read it aloud.
“‘The champion shall know the way. Follow your heart. You must be ready—must be willing.’”
As I finished reading the final words aloud, a vision overtook me.
Flashes of wilt swallowed my sight. A winding path through the dense collections of dead and dying foliage appeared through the lifting fog. A large body of water expanded behind me with a small clearing of rolling hills and scattered boulders. Then I was rushed forward along the path and thrust toward the base of a towering mountain—no, a volcano. Lava was spewing along theedges as an entrance along the base appeared. In a flash, I was pushed forward once again, and then, there it was.
A stone the size of my palm lay guarded by a shimmering veil of magic. Red and vibrant like the molten rock surrounding the cavern, the Heart of Valdor waited for me to unlock its power.
Be willing.
The final words from the scroll echoed inside my mind as I hurtled back into my body.
Daxton’s arms cradled me, his face pinched in concern, brows creased. “Skylar?” he asked with unease.
“I’m all right. It was a vision,” I said, shaking my head and pushing to stand.
“What did you see?” Daxton asked as he swallowed heavily.
“I saw the Heart of Valdor. Where it’s hidden and how to find it.”
“Where is it, Sky?” Shaw asked.
“It’s inside the wilt.”
“Of course it is,” Idris scoffed as she stood to bounce her baby back to sleep. “Why wouldn’t it be someplace safe and easy to find?”
“The active volcano,” I said, looking toward Daxton.
“Thira,” Dax answered, “at the heart of the wilt itself.”
I nodded. “Yes, there’s a tunnel at the volcano’s base that leads to the Heart. It’s also protected by a veil of magic.” I looked at the dagger clutched in my hand. “Andthe final key, the blade that can magically cut through anything, will grant me access to the stone.”
“So, we’re traveling inside the territory of the wilt then,” Shaw stated. “Good. I’d like to have another run at—”
“I believe there’s a safe way through,” I said. “In my vision, the mist parted, and a pathway appeared. But I don’t know where the pathway begins. I don’t believe the creatures of the wilt will be able to attack us if we stay on the path.”
“What else do you remember about the clearing?” Adohan asked.
