Page 109 of A Wayward Movement

No, it was one of their own people. Blair. The liaison had been stationed at the refinement site for a few days.

“Your Highness!” Blair’s surprise was evident, but Xavier didn’t have patience for explanations.

“Let us in, Blair,” he said. “We need to search the site.”

“Search the site?” Blair repeated blankly. “For what?”

“Just let us in,” Xavier commanded.

“I don’t have the key,” Blair said apologetically. “Let me speak to the site manager. He wasn’t expecting you, but I’m sure he’ll be happy for you to rest in his office while—”

“No one’s resting,” Xavier interrupted. Some of his team wilted visibly at the pronouncement. “Get the key and let us in now.”

“Of course, Your Highness.” Still Blair didn’t move. “I’ll be glad to. It’s just…there’s some tension from the manager. He won’t take well to you initiating a search without his approval. It might be worth speaking with him first, just to avoid any incidents. If I can just tell him what you’re hoping to find in this search—”

“I won’t ask you again, Blair.”

The change in the prince’s tone had its effect. Blair bowed quickly and turned away to do Xavier’s bidding. However, his progress across the site was far slower than Xavier needed it to be.

The pressure in his chest was all-consuming in its demand. It wouldn’t let him rest. He could barely think straight now he was sitting still. It wanted him to be moving.

“I don’t have time to wait for him,” Xavier told the captain. “Stay here with those most needing rest, and start a search as soon as he lets you in. I’m going to follow this tug and see exactly where it’s leading me. I’ll take…” He studied the group, naming everyone who was still sitting ramrod straight in the saddle. “And Zuzu,” he added as an afterthought.

The captain cast a quick glance over the half-dozen guards Xavier had selected, then gave a curt nod.

Xavier urged his horse around the edge of the camp, his guards hastening to follow. Zuzu flew just above him, a chittering sound indicating her presence. The terrain was rough in the stretch immediately to the left of the gate, and the group was forced to angle away from the wall. The linking enchantment didn’t like that, but Xavier wasn’t discouraged. There could be no doubt now that it was working.

“What’s that?”

The sudden question from one of the guards had Xavier’s head swinging to the side, searching the expanse of desert where the man was pointing.

“It’s a light,” another said. “Could it be the kidnappers’ hideout?”

“It’s an alicanto,” Xavier said impatiently. “Trying to lure us away from our purpose.” Could they really not tell? It seemed so obvious to him. Against the pull of the linking enchantment, the alicanto magic felt weak and unconvincing.

His words broke the spell for the guards, and they fell silent, their expressions embarrassed.

Trotting past the rocky stretch, Xavier directed his horse back toward the wall. The pressure in his chest purred in approval, reminding him of Zuzu when she napped on him. Even though he was going alongside the camp, not through it, he could tell that the tug was getting stronger. Then, abruptly, it started to weaken, just a little.

“We’ve gone past the point in the camp where she is,” he muttered to himself. He pulled up his horse, considering the solid rock wall that stood between him and the destination the enchantment was drawing him to.

“Any of you good enough with magic to get through this?” he asked the guards.

They all shook their heads regretfully. It had been an oversight not to consider that when selecting his companions.

Whether from the enchantment or just his own restlessness, Xavier couldn’t remain stationary. He pushed on around the perimeter, the pressure continuing to protest but remaining steady. His onward movement was rewarded. Around the very back of the site, they found a stretch of fence that wasn’t fully completed. There were several roped-off gaps large enough to ride their horses through.

“Careful,” Xavier said, as the group passed single file through the spaces.

He’d realized that he recognized the place from his first visit to the site. It was where Alina had harnessed Dust to blow him closer to her, and his guards had chastised her for it. He remembered Blair’s warning.

“We’re going along the edge of the old quarry,” he told his companions. “Apparently it’s unstable.”

They all slowed their pace until they were clear of the area, then urged the horses forward. The link roared into life as Xavier passed through the site, delighted at his proximity to its goal. The pressure became so intense it was almost unbearable, and Xavier had no difficulty identifying the exact spot where it reached its peak.

The only trouble was, there was nothing there. They stopped halfway down a row of the giant poles topped by the wind-catching fabric. There was nothing there but the equipment, and not a soul in sight.

“Your Highness?” one of the guards asked tentatively.