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“By the goddess.” Asger rolled his eyes. “I’m never traveling with you two again.”
I took King Hadeon’s dagger and tucked it into one of our packs. “Look, I’m not particularly proud of it, but you saw the spell—the blossom must be harvested with a quality elven blade. The way you two got on, I didn’t think asking for something else was wise.”
“I’m not criticizing.” Kage pressed a kiss to the side of my head. “He deserved it. Snarly bastard.”
“You, Thief, have no room to speak.”
“Snarly they might be, but the elven were right,” Asger said. “We should set sail. The storm is moving against these shores. We might be able to get ahead of it on the way to the Wildlands.”
“Then gather your things. The empty isles await.” Kage turned, but winced, clutching his side.
“Kage.” I reached for him, holding his back despite his attempts to wave me off.
“It’s nothing.”
“Stop it,” Idemanded. “That’s not true.”
Jaw tight, he straightened and blew out a slow breath through his lips. “There, it’s over. Just a jab.”
Under the tense gazes of our friends, I lifted his tunic.Dammit. The skeins of dark were halfway up his ribs.
“We go now,” I said. “We must return to Magiaria as soon as possible.”
The others shouldered satchels. Kage plastered me a salacious smile, doubtless hoping it would distract me from the truth.
But the truth was, if this continued, I wasn’t certain anymore who would fade first from the pain, him or me.
CHAPTER 44
Adira
The ship rockedin the shallow tide, and I caught myself on the backstay, a tin of spiced clams in my grip. Kage stood at the bowsprit, already hooded and villainous.
Dark cliffs carved through soupy mists, frosted from the peaks to the middle. From the distance, dark clouds of sulfur from hot springs and volcanos added a touch of foreboding to the Wildlands.
The isle was a place destroyed by ancient wars and left to be overtaken by creatures of all sorts—fanged cats that burrowed deep in the soil, venomous snakes that could blend in with the vines on the trees, boars with five tusks.
I shook out my hands, apprehension cold and sharp on my skin. Once, I was at ease stepping onto the shores, having learned to hunt and gather exotic herbs in the proper ravines and marshes on the isle. Memories of my father and the king boiled in my brain.
I’d been thirteen when I’d first been invited tovìkingum—the distant hunt. Markus and my father and the inner Soturi taught the lot of us how to tend to the oars, handle the sails, then how to properly raise sturdy tents.
We gathered the first day, following closely to the royal battle mages as they taught us to quickly arrange lathers for the skin from ink reeds that only grew on these shores to conceal our scent fromthe more vicious creatures. Here was where I learned viper root could stop blood in the brain, and the husk of a tall, thorned flower served to stave off dehydration when melted on the tongue.
After the gathering, we’d each be given a partner, a weapon of choice, and our pick of our spells we’d crafted during the gathering. By the final day, whichever pair had trapped the most impressive and useful game, was named the victor of vìkingum.
I smiled, recalling how when I’d turned sixteen, my father was gone, and King Markus asked to be the other half of my pair.
I thought Kage might grumble, but he’d insisted he’d join with Cy, since they’d just turned eighteen and were old enough to face the wilds alone.
There was a familiarity about these shores, but in the same breath, it felt as though I were stepping foot onto a foreign land with new dangers and more risks than I cared to face.
Gwyn and Asger called us to be ready to greet the shore, shaking me from my melancholy.
A night of hard sailing on the longship left muscles tight and necks sore. We’d outrun the storm as it pounded between the shores of both Aelvaria and our homelands. Even with vigorleaf—one of Gaina’s interesting herbs meant to offer added bursts of endurance—tucked under my tongue, I felt as though I could sleep for no less than three days.
Overhead, Hakon screeched and pounded his wings toward the tall spruce trees shielding the inner isle from view.
“Serpents should already be here,” Cy said through a grunt as he tugged the rigging on one of the sails. “Hakon will find them.”
