Page 85 of Wraithwound

“I’m not sure. He might be in the study,” Jade said.

“Can you take me there?” she asked.

Jade nodded, motioning to one of the guards to free Lena’s ankle.

The two women had just rounded the corner into the next passageway when Lena’s shoulder was clipped so violently she was knocked to the ground. She squeezed her eyes shut as intense pain radiated through her wraithwound, the leathery skin there more sensitive to pain.

That sensation was quickly replaced by the sharp edge of steel placed precariously at her throat. Lena opened her eyes to see Taya, mere inches away, face contorted with rage.

“You had to steal from him too?” Taya hissed, her words laced with hatred. Pure and absolute.

It took her a moment to understand what Taya was pointing at with her free hand. Scattered amongst the rest of her belongings, Henry’s medallion lay on the stone, glinting in the blue-white light. Lena opened her mouth to speak, but it was Cross’s voice that filled the space.

“The medallion is hers,” he growled.

Taya shoved off Lena and picked it up.

“Liar,” she sneered.

“It is. There are others in existence, much like this one,” he said, with a clipped tone, pulling his own medallion from beneath his armor.

“That’s not possible,” Taya said, eyes wide with disbelief.

Taya inspected the medallion, her thumb tracing over the back when the metal disc flashed orange and an image was projected onto the ceiling of the stone corridor.

A boy with golden hair looked down at them. He stood atop a sand dune in leather armor, hair whipping in the wind.

Henry.

Lena stood in a movement so swift her muscles didn’t seem to register it.

“That is not yours,” she said, each word punctuated by the rage, pain, and grief she felt clawing its way out of her chest. Lena was only vaguely aware that her voice no longer sounded like hers.

Taya dropped the medallion, the image disappearing abruptly. Face white with terror, she lifted her knife and backed away.

“Lena,” she heard a familiar voice call.

Cross materialized in front of her, his blue eyes glowing softly in the dim light from the crystals. In his hand, he had Henry’s medallion and held it out to her.

“No one is going to take Henry’s medallion,” he said calmly. “Lena look at me.”

She tore her gaze away from Taya, forcing herself to meet Cross’s eyes.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, a note of awe in his voice. It was enough to snap her out of her rage.

“What?” she asked, her mind beginning to clear.

“Your eyes,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “They’re glowing.”

Lena reached up to touch her face and realized she was holding Harry’s medallion. She couldn’t seem to remember grabbing it. The weight of the metal disk in her hands felt reassuring, grounding, and she loosed a breath.

Taya looked both horrified and disgusted. Leonid stood next to her now, but Lena wasn’t sure when he’d arrived.

Lena dragged her gaze away from Cross to address Taya.

“Threaten me again, and I guarantee you won’t live to do it a third time,” she said, the truth of her words hanging in the air between them.

“Who was that?” Jade asked, eyeing the medallion now dangling from Lena’s hand. Lena hadn’t realized the young woman was still in the corridor.