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Scorched by the moon,direct light (use mirror stones)
The spell was not incrediblycomplex in writing, but it was the simple things that mattered. Proper cuts of theanamisiflower. The skin of the stem and leaves needed to be wet and intact. The roots needed to be arranged individually and added to the pot one by one.
Hakon was our gatherer on the shore for a bit of the grit andsand. Salt stones shards were scattered across the shores of Magiaria and served well for salt of the land.
The basilisk venom—Kage won his first argument—was handled by the prince and Cyland who had the most experience with poisons. They eased Arjax’s clay jug with care over the pot, each of us counting out loud the amount that dripped inside, hissing and spitting each time.
Asger carefully swirled one drop of venom with the sap from the elder oak (the tree near Gaina’s hovel. Kage would hear nothing about fate and went back to brewing). Three swift swirls and the cloudy venom attacked the golden sap, like a true serpent were lashing out.
Three more swirls and it was added to the pot. All the while, Gwyn took to stirring, always glancing up at the moon overhead.
“We need mirror stones,” I said, dragging the back of my hand through the sweat on my brow. “The moonlight is shifting.”
With haste, we positioned the blue, gleaming pebbles in a particular star pattern around the pot until the mystical properties in the stones absorbed some of the skeins of cold light. The stones were handy when light was needed, borrowing any sort of celestial gleam from sunlight to starlight for at least a full day.
With the night half gone, at long last, I breathed in the spiced steam of the spell cast. Shoulders ached from tension, and my stomach burned in a bit of sick from the constant pressure of meticulous preparation.
I blew out a breath. “Now it must meld together. All we can do is wait and keep the moonlight burning over the top.”
Kage sat beside me, drawing his arm around my shoulders. “We take it in turns, I’ll take the first watch. Rest your eyes and minds. At the dawn, we take back this kingdom.”
CHAPTER 46
Kage
Cy,Asger, Gwyn, and Adira slept side by side. When it was Cy’s turn to keep watch on the mirror stones and spell cast, I slipped beneath a fur over Adira’s shoulders, buried my face in her hair, and wound my arms tightly around her waist.
Call it a gift of mercy from a goddess who’d shown little mercy thus far, but I did not dream. Nightmares did not come. What did it matter? The degeneration was nearing my heart. Two nights, and I could be gone, lost to cruelty and a call to darkness.
I tightened my hold around Adira’s waist, breathing her in—fresh sea and the dew of sunrise.
There I remained, content, until she pulled free of my hold in the first light of the dawn. She pressed a kiss to the center of my brow, and through a fog of sleep, I listened to her footsteps approach the pot.
Not long after, we roused by Adira’s voice, low with a touch of disbelief. “It worked. It’s ready.”
A dark crystalizedstone with veins of silver was the outcome of the spell cast. Heavy as river rock, cold as steel, but bursting with untamed magic.
Adira read off the final lines of the grimoire, the thoughts from her past life on how to ignite the spell. We wrapped it in linens and loaded it into a leather saddlebag.
Sleipnir carried packs of blades. Each one was tethered and wrapped with trepidation. The truth was a silent companion amongst us—we could face battle today.
The bite that dug inside was I did not know who we battled. Destin was no stepbrother, but who was he?
Why was there the annoyance of lingering affection for the man?
We left a note for Gaina in case she returned, then took the long routes through the Greenwood paths that led back to Vondell.
“Tomorrow is Nóttbrull,” Adira said. “If this does not work, we?—”
“If this does not work,” I interjected, pressing a kiss to her knuckles, “then you know, whatever happens, I love you. I have loved you all my life, Adira Ravenwood. And . . . I would’ve been honored to be your husband.”
Tears wetted her lashes. She came to a halt long enough to wrap her arms around my neck. She kissed me desperately. Her tongue collided with mine; her hands tangled around the hair I’d braided off my face. Teeth clacked, and my cheeks grew damp from her emotion or mine, it didn’t matter.
When we broke apart, our breaths were heavy, our brows pressed together.
“If the worst happens,” I whispered.
