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Zubir’s eyes widened, and he shook his head, the hair on both sides wriggling. “I-I-I can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” Elyse protested, taking his hand in hers. “You can’t hide here forever, Zubir. We could use your talents.”
Zubir continued to shake his head. “No—no, I’m not safe out there.”
Elyse opened her mouth, about to vow to protect him, but she felt his hand trembling. His eyes were laced with genuine fear, and it tugged at her heart.
“Perhaps another time,” she said instead.
Zubir nodded, gratitude shining in his face. “Another time,” he ceded quietly, before Elyse slipped her hand from his and left through the gate.
The hike back seemed to pass faster, especially since the morning wasn’t so blistering hot. Even as the sun rose higher, Elyse kept her eyes peeled, apprehensive of the walker. She noticed the others doing the same, their gazes darting about.
They hardly spoke as they trekked through the forest, as if conserving all their energy to propel themselves forward. Or at least, that’s what Elyse was doing. Every thud of her footsteps against the dirt path seemed to mock her, ticking away the time until sunset. Every muscle ached, a reminder of how powerful Ymaritis was—and how destructive he could be.
When they reached the stairs, they practically sprinted down to the dock, eager to escape the island. The iron door opened for them, and the spray of sea air was a welcome feeling as they hurried out.
By the time the door shut, Elyse already had the vial of angel’s blood in one hand and the map of Rhodan in the other.
“You’re doing that here?” Manny asked. “You don’t want to—”
“Shhh,” Elyse commanded. She couldn’t wait a second longer to find out where Ymaritis was.
Everyone immediately fell silent, allowing Elyse to work her magic. She tuned out the sound of the waves slapping against the dock and instead focused on the spell work, willing the map to obey her magic.
They crowded around, holding their breath as they stared down at the map, waiting. Ever so slowly, shimmering, gold dots glittered across the page—five of them in total.
“Only five—that’s good, right?” Sera breathed.
Elyse would have preferred one, but she supposed five was manageable.
“Which one is us?” Manny asked.
“I don’t think we’re on the map,” Killian answered. “We’re too far south.”
Elyse nodded in agreement as she studied the map. The dots were scattered throughout the kingdom, but one in particular caught her eye.
“There,” she said, pointing to a sparkling dot in the Asterial Mountains. “His family owns property all along this mountain range. It’s got to be here.”
She looked up at Killian, who gave her a reassuring nod.
“Has anyone ever been there before?” Sera asked.
Jaime stepped closer. “Can I see that?” he asked, reaching for the map.
Elyse handed it to him, and Jaime’s brows furrowed as he squinted at the parchment.
He turned the map around for them to see and pointed to a town not far from the glowing dot. “Cliffguard. I’ve been there before. It can’t be more than ten, fifteen miles away from Ymaritis.”
“It’ll have to do,” Elyse huffed as she shoved the vial of angel’s blood into her pocket. “Keep that,” she said to Jaime, offering him the map. “You’ll be our guide.”
As Jaime stowed the map into his sack, Elyse dug out a vial of transportation potion.
“We’ll go back to the country house, grab supplies, and leave right away,” she said as she slipped her hand into Killian’s. “Ready?”
Everyone held onto each other, preparing to be whisked away.
Elyse’s heart was roaring, but she ignored it as she pictured Jaime’s estate in her mind. She closed her eyes and hurled the vial at the wooden slats of the dock. The salty sea air was replaced by the scent of grass and rain, and when she opened her eyes, she was once again on the lawn of the estate, staring at the ornate cottage.
