Damien snorts. “More like offer to buy his men. No Rivertoad has ever done the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing.”
I frown at the look Warbill casts in my mate’s direction. There’s something there. I sense Warbill doesn’t agree with my mate’s assessment of the Rivertoads. I make a mental note to ask Damien about it later.
“And what about the children of the man we found? Victus?” I ask. “Do we know where they are?”
Ariadne scowls. “Taken by New Stygarde, we assume. Or Willowgulch, although I hate to think about those two young ones in King Entrydal’s clutches.”
This has me on my feet. “Do you have anything of the children’s? Or a photograph of them?”
“Photograph?” Warbill asks.
“A painting? Illustration?”
They shake their heads.
“I saved the carving,” Damien says, handing the small stag to me, the one that fell out of Victus’s pocket.
I stare down at the item, not sure if it will work, and then head for the door.
“Where are you going, little bird?” Damien asks.
“To do a spell to find those children.”
Damien opens his mouth to say something more, but Ariadne cuts him off. “I can show you what they look like.”
I stop, praying she can do what she says she can do. Phantom has a spell, but it will work better if I can recognize them.
She spreads her hands, and shadows gather from the corners of the room. I’m in awe of the control she wields. I haven’t mastered pouring water from a pitcher, and she’s painting a lifelike, full-body portrait of a boy and a girl right in front of me. I study the image, committing it to memory.
“What are their names?”
“Zander and Zarissa. Their mother was Ulcuta. They will trust you if you mention their mother. So few remember her name.”
I nod.
“Little dragon, it would be foolish to draw attention to our location right now. As much as I would like those children back, we can’t do anything…rash.”
I open the door and look my mate right in the eye. “All I’m going to do is use magic to determine their location.”
His eyes become suspicious slits. “And then what?”
“And then, I’m going to weigh my chances of successfully stealing them back.” I leave the cabin, closing the door behind me.
He’s outside and in the clearing before I can even call Phantom. He doesn’t have to open the door, just funnels under it and is standing next to me. “This isn’t a good idea.”
“No,” I admit. “But I won’t allow King Entrydal totouch those children. Not after what he did to me. Not while I’m breathing.”
Our gazes connect for one beat and then two. His lip curls in displeasure with my plan, but he releases a breath of resolve. “How can I help?”
I reach out for Phantom, and my grandmother shows me how to do the spell. “Do you have a map of Tenebris?”
“I can create one for you from shadow,” he offers.
“Good. Then I just need the lace from your boot.”
Without hesitation, he unfastens one lace and passes the string to me.
“You’re being incredibly understanding about this for a man who wants to tackle me to the ground to protect me.”
