My chest tightened, and I threw up the mental wall between us, uncertain whether he knew he was sharing his feelings with me.
“What happened?” Isla asked, stepping forward as Tempest trotted off, flapping her wings awkwardly. “Did it work?”
Drystan shook his head, schooling his features into indifference as he shoved his spectacles up his nose.
“No, it didn’t,” he replied. “She’s not my caeluma.”
Silence rippled in the waves of the breeze that followed.
“It’s fine,” Drystan finally said, nodding his head, but his eyes dipped in dejection.
I lifted my hands to reply when he shook his head, a deafeningcrackripping through the air as he vanished.
I held my hands out before me, staring at them as if they’d belonged to someone else.Did I fuck this up?The exhausted Transcindiel harrumphed in my chest, offended by the question. No. It had felt the same when I transformed Nishanth, Selvina’s caeluma… When I’d transformed Aquila… But a bond hadn’t been created this time…
“You still changed her,” Isla said, jerking her chin toward Tempest.
My jaw dropped in realization. I hadn’t created a caeluma. I’d created a new creature…a winged horse.Possibilities exploded in my mind. What would a cavalry of flying horses mean for the Realm of Vael and the threat of the Embodied? What about other creatures? Could I create warrior-carrying hawks, like Nishanth and Aquila?
Nightmares of flames and teeth flashed in my mind’s eye—winged beasts ripping at flying warriors. The frieze on the Rhashtai amphitheater and the one etched on the lid of Faron’stomb… Had Ordell created new creatures to fight against the armies of the Embodied?
Isla’s amber eyes were hard on mine as she read my thoughts.
“We have work to do,” she said.
I came upshort as I spun into the dining room, the savory scent of roasted pork luring me to the final dinner before leaving for Lotrennia. My feet skidded to a stop when I found it abandoned, except for Ezrich.
My stomach lurched at the sight of his hulking form taking up too much space on the small chairs. His brown skin was warm in the soft candlelight from the wrought-iron chandelier hanging above. Bear.He looked too much like Bear.
Ezrich twiddled his fingers as he looked at me. His light-brown eyes were pensive, as if waiting for me to say something.
I slowly stepped into the room and offered him a smile.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, slipping into the chair across from him.
“Physically, fine,” he murmured, crossing his big arms. “Mentally? Well, I suppose I’m still trying to catch up.”
My throat bobbed, and I nodded. Mother Eghan must have spoken to him then.
“I can imagine it’s a lot,” I murmured, dipping my gaze to my dirty fingernails. I could do more than imagine what it was like to find out you had a family you knew nothing about…
“My…” He paused, turning his head to the door leading to the kitchen.
“Grandmother,” I continued for him.
His wide neck bobbed. “She says I’m descended from the Starlings,” he murmured. “And that I could have the ability to do magic.” He paused, clearing his throat.
I nodded. “If it’s anything like Kellan’s abilities, you could be able to transfer power.”
“Kellan,” he murmured. “Lord Astraeus…is my uncle.”
“Mm-hmm,” I replied, feeling awkward as the conversation drew on. I scanned the doors behind me. Where was everyone?
“She says I’m also descended from a Bellator.”
“Lelyth,” I confirmed after a moment.
A heavy silence filled the room as the weight of possibility pressed down from above. A new family. The potential for newfound powers…
