Snatching another blade from his leathers, Jassyn dropped a portion of the shield, entering the magical cage to confront the prince. Vesryn lunged for him. Jassyn instinctively punched something at his cousin’s chest—a wall of air.
The prince stumbled, grunting as the hilt protruding from his shoulder collided with the ward behind him. Jassyn shoved his dagger against Vesryn’s throat, the action now practiced and precise. Just to make a point, Jassyn seized his cousin’s hair, yanking his head back.
“Stars, are you even thinking?” Jassyn hissed through his chattering teeth, hoping his cousin wouldn’t decide to disarm him by breaking his wrist.
He increased the blade’s pressure when Vesryn tensed under his fingers, likely plotting to spring. Chest heaving, the prince’s skin split around the knife with every breath.
“Serenna is somewhere in these mountains.” Jassyn tightened his fist in Vesryn’s hair, giving his cousin a shake to rattle some sense back into his skull. “What if you brought one downon her head? You nearly killed us!” The prince’s nostrils flared, but Jassyn didn’t relent. “You sensed her again. That means she’s alive—that’s all that matters.”
Vesryn’s jaw flexed as he panted out of his nose.
A wave of irritation surged through Jassyn from his cousin constantly shoving him to the brink of his patience. He preferred logic and thoughtful discussion, but Vesryn continually forced him to lash out with violence.The prince would only see reason if conquered by aggression. Spending more time in his cousin’s company had only made that obvious.
“You are going to take us back,” Jassyn said, driving the dagger deeper into Vesryn’s throat, fighting his cousin in a battle of wills. The knife trembled against the prince’s neck as Jassyn’s limbs succumbed to the cold. “Then we cancalmlydiscuss what to do next.”
Vesryn blinked, the manic fury receding from his eyes. Shoulders slumping in defeat, he hung his head, catching his breath. “I’ll need more Essense first to form another gateway,” he mumbled. “I doubt I’ll be able to regenerate at the moment.”
“If you try anything but portaling, I won’t hesitate to stab you again,” Jassyn gritted out. “Is that clear?”
When Vesryn finally nodded, Jassyn relaxed. Reaching behind the prince, he ripped out the lodged knife and healed the wound. Gripping his daggers in one fist, Jassyn portioned out the barest sliver of power and plunged the magic into his cousin’s chest.
Extending a hand, Vesryn opened a gateway and stumbled through. Jassyn followed in time to see the prince igniting globes of illumination in the chambers before collapsing onto a couch in Jassyn’s sitting room. Releasing his power, Vesryn gouged his hands through his hair and stared despondently at the floor.
Jassyn sighed, lacking the energy to prevent the blood on Vesryn’s leathers from staining his furniture. Since the princeseemed momentarily subdued, he darted into the bathing chambers and tossed the blades into the sink to clean later.
Bracing himself against the porcelain, Jassyn took a moment to compose himself from the unexpected flurry of events. Breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. Fingers tightening against the polished ceramic, he steeled himself to divulge what he’d withheld since the attack, unsure what reaction he’d evoke from his cousin.Why did I keep this to myself for so long?If that elven wraith was somehow responsible for the abductions in the capital and had a hand in Serenna’s disappearance…the prince needed to know.
Straightening his leathers, Jassyn grabbed two blankets from a closet before returning to the sitting room. He aimed his thoughts toward the logical conclusion of where the prince had portaled them.
Even though he already assumed the answer, Jassyn initiated what he hoped would be an easy conversation. “That was the Hibernal Wastes, wasn’t it?”
Vesryn nodded. “It’s the furthest on the western front that I’ve flown on Naru. I didn’t have enough time to detect Serenna’s location to portal us any closer.” The prince banged the back of his head against the couch, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t know why she would be so far away. Or how. There are no settlements anywhere close.”
“What if there are?” Jassyn asked, tossing Vesryn a blanket. The prince’s brow pinched as Jassyn settled beside him on the sofa, cocooning himself in the other. “The Wastes are the only place your rangers haven’t searched for the wraith.” Jassyn fortified himself for the admission, his body wracked with shivers. “There’s something you need to know.” He paused, twisting the fabric beneath his fingers, working up his courage. “There was an elf-like wraith who used Essence during the attack. He—”
Vesryn threw off the blanket and shot up from his slouched position. “What?”
Jassyn swallowed, dragging his hand through his curls. Avoiding the prince’s demanding stare, he found the rug more interesting to focus on. “I saw that elven wraith portal—he was probably the one who transported their army. But I don’t have any guesses on how he traveled to campus in the first place.”
“And you’re telling me thisnow?” Vesryn snarled. He stood, restlessly pacing a line into the rug, muttering to himself. “I’d assumed an elf was working with the wraith, but that didn’t add up.” He stopped in his tracks. “What do you mean an elven wraith?”
Gripped by guilt, Jassyn cleared his throat. “I’m not sure how it’s possible, but there’s more.”
Vesryn’s fingers twitched. “What else?” he grated out.
“That wraith. He…” Jassyn’s voice faltered, a residual chill tingling down his arms. “He was compelled.”
Vesryn’s jaw went slack. The implications of Jassyn’s knowledge caught up to the prince a moment later. “You were close enough to tell?” His eyes widened before narrowing to slits. “Youassessedhim?”
“I—I saved him.” Jassyn pulled the blanket tighter around his neck, shame weighing on his shoulders. “I didn’t realize the warrior was a wraith. I thought he was an elven-blooded before I saw his eyes and fangs.” Jassyn’s knees trembled from finally voicing the admission.“I couldn’t kill him. But he didn’t kill me either—he could have, but he just…left.”
Vesryn scoffed, folding his arms. Poised to reprimand. “Your failure to end that wraith puts us at risk.” A muscle rippled in his jaw. “What if he returns with that army?”
Jassyn averted his gaze, the accusation landing hard enough to have regret blurring his sight. If he had to do it again, Jassyn still didn’t think he’d have the strength to kill.If Serenna is somehow with that wraith, I hope she’s not paying the price for my weakness.
Vesryn resumed stalking back and forth across the sittingroom. “Do you think that wraith returned this evening and abducted recruits without our knowledge? Like how they raid the capital?” He waved hand in the air. “Relay a message to Nelya and your ring of magus to see if anyone else is missing.” The prince halted in his tracks, yanking at the stitching in his rapidly fraying dragon sigil. “Serenna and I captured three wraith today. But the mindless ones. Do you think it’s possible those beasts are compelled too?”
Jassyn hesitantly nodded.
