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“A word, if you please, Miss Silvermist,” he intoned softly. His darting eyes conveyed volumes left unspoken. Without waiting for a reply, Cassius turned and glided towards the hall’s rear corner. After only a beat of hesitation, I followed, curiosity overcoming caution.
Cassius slipped through a small side door, nearly hidden behind dusty draperies. I trailed him down a narrow passage, hackles rising as we delved deeper into the forgotten wings far from the main halls. Cassius glanced over his shoulder, a forefinger pressed to his lips. Questions filled my mouth, but I swallowed them for now, my senses straining for the slightest threat as we walked on in tense silence.
Just as unease turned my blood to ice melt, the corridor ended abruptly at a small wooden door banded in tarnished iron. Cassius eased it open soundlessly, giving me an inscrutable look before waving me inside the gloomy chamber. I crossed the threshold warily, pulse kicking faster to find the room occupied already. More broad silhouettes loomed in the twilight—a gathering that set my mind spinning.
At Cassius’ slight nod, one figure sent a soft orb of foxfire drifting to the rafters, casting erratic illumination over the windowless hall. I blinked mutely at the motley assortment of faces burnished in the uncanny glow.
Jasper was leaning casually against a support beam, thick arms crossed over his chest. And presiding by a small round table, her scarlet smirk unmistakable, sat Crow—half of the notorious Wicked Twins. My eyes immediately darted to the strange paraphernalia spread meticulously atop the ancient wood grain. A scrying bowl, sprigs of unfamiliar herbs, a bone-handled blade...
“You’ve been busy, I see.” Despite the circumstances, I could not help the wry smile tugging on my lips as I turned to Cassius. Only he could have convened such an eclectic and formidable company.
His grave expression cracked slightly at my gentle teasing. “Only doing as you requested. We’re here and ready to assist.” His sweeping gesture took in the gathered force.
Jasper crossed the room in quick strides to clasp my shoulder firmly. “Tell us where to start and we’ll get your man back posthaste,” he pronounced. Behind his casual bravado, genuine concern glowed in his hazel eyes. Impulsive and wild he may be, but Jasper was unshakably loyal beside the point of recklessness. I covered his broad hand with my own slender one, both greeting and gratitude.
With their solid strength at my back, hope stirred anew to cut through the dread and fog. I had not realized how crippling isolation had become until its chokehold loosened now.
“I came because my favorite couple is in need,” Crow said simply. Her sharp glance at me made her meaning plain. My heart warmed yet further.
“You stand among friends, dear girl,” Crow continued. “We shall move the heavens themselves to find Rhys.” Despite her bold words, genuine compassion glowed in Crow’s exotic features. And one glance confirmed the same stalwart determination etched on each face ringed around me. At this moment, our accord was unassailable.
“The curse will complete its cycle tonight at midnight, unless I can free him first,” I said grimly. “I’d hoped your gifts could help me breach the veil on his location.”
Faces hardened at the cruel scenario, but no trace of disbelief or blame tainted their resolute focus. These were souls accustomed to life’s harsher truths.
When I concluded my account, Crow leaned forward, steepling her fingers contemplatively. “A locating ritual is well within our purview,” she mused. “But to cut through such ancient maledictions will require a conduit.” Her piercing gaze turned distant. “Someone who shares the bloodline and bears the Greystone gift...”
Before I could decipher her cryptic words, Jasper made a muffled sound of shock. I followed his wide stare to the door where one last figure lingered in the shadowed entry, illuminated by the foxfire’s sleight.
“Gladly.”
Aleric Greystone’s smooth voice held a rueful smile as he slipped inside to join our darkened gathering. Of course—a relative to open the way! Now Crow’s veiled words clicked into place. But what was Rhys’ long-lost brother doing so far from his palatial home?
Aleric answered my unvoiced question, spreading his broad wings in an elegant shrug. “My little brother disappears into the night, leaving worrisome rumors in his wake? Had to see the business afoot for myself.” His sharp eyes softened slightly as they found mine.
Despite myself, hope surged irresistibly. If Aleric lent his talents to this ritual, our chances of success tripled. Sensing my soaring optimism, he grinned crookedly. “Tell me where to stand and let’s get the blighter found, eh?”
With Aleric and Crow anchoring the incantation, even long-buried secrets would be laid bare. Rhys’ unseen captors would soon realize their haven was but a weak defense against fate’s unfolding will. They had gambled wildly to keep us apart, but I would see their futile wager crushed and inverted upon them.
Mind spinning with the possibilities ahead, I turned my focus back to the immediate necessity—locating my lost love. “If you’re certain this ritual won’t place you in peril, then we should begin straight away.” I addressed Aleric directly now. “Time runs short and Rhys’ soul hangs in the balance.”
“Peril indeed,” Crow said with enthusiasm while motioning Aleric to march ahead. “However, we never shy away from danger. Isn’t that right?” She smiled wickedly in the darkness, reminding me why she and her twin had earned their nickname. To anyone looking from the outside, our meeting looked more like a raiding party than a magical gathering. But with such boldness on our side, how could we not succeed?
Aleric simply nodded at Crow’s theatrics before sliding in beside her. Even seated, his powerful frame and raptor’s gaze dominated the space. But rather than menace, I sensed only keen focus channeled towards our cause. However estranged, he clearly harbored deep affection still for his cursed brother. I clung silently to that flicker of tender hope as the final preparations begun.
Crow arranged implements and herbs, scattering sand in intricate patterns and channeling will into spelled candles until oppressive mystic density thickened the very air. I struggled to breathe as the pulsing energy focused on the table in front of me.
With a final muttered incantation, Crow drew a thin silver blade across Aleric’s palm, collecting the welling crimson droplets in a basin carved of pure white stone. The contrast was arresting—life’s force spilling vividly against alabaster. I could not tear my eyes away as Crow stirred the glistening blood, murmuring low lyrical words that raised the fine hairs on my nape. The scent of crackling ozone overpowered the dusty chamber, mingling with fiery copper and crushed juniper.
Then fog rose inside the scrying bowl, concealing the sanguine pool from view. I leaned closer unconsciously, heartbeat drumming inside my ribs. Rhys was near, just beyond this veil...
“Look now! Our quarry kneels in the temple of the sea, yet crownless, and bound still by knotted weed.” Crow’s chant rose above the spindle’s whine. I seized the cryptic words desperately, wringing out their hidden meanings.
Temple of sea...The vivid image flashed in my mind’s eye—the old desalination plant near the coast, the one I’d toured as a child! Rhys was being held captive there, somewhere amidst its sprawling pipes and tunnels. Held against his will by dark power still obscured.
The vision clouded before more detail could emerge. With a ragged gasp, I came back to myself, senses empty after the scrying ritual’s intensity. Aleric appeared similarly drained, bracing shaking palms on his knees as color slowly returned to his features. But triumph blazed in his tawny eyes as they met mine across the ruined circle. One critical piece of the puzzle had clicked into place. The hunt for Rhys had found its course at last.
Around me, the others shifted with electricity, urgency lending their movements renewed swiftness and purpose. We were committed to this path now, fates fused by fellowship and nobility. By the goddess, we would shake the very heavens demanding Rhys’ return.
