Quiet gasps echo in the room.
“Well, shit.” Hanson blurts. “That sure complicates things.”
“Nothing has been easy in this hunt,” Ginna grumbles.
“Plan B, then? Or are we on Plan Z?” Hanson jokes.
I pull away from Elia and the group and move to the opposite side of the room to gather my thoughts. Elia’s plan is solid and is the best lead we’ve had in months, if not years. I don’t know what the next move would be, if we even have one. The King’s illness won’t hold out forever, and the longer we find nothing, the sooner his death approaches.
“Callum?” Elia approaches me cautiously, and I swiftly pull her in a tight hug. When we break apart, my decision is solidified.
“We need to find the ring.”
“I’m sorry, I had no idea when I suggested it that –”
“I know,” I cut her off. “It is a good idea. We don’t have another, and I can’t face the King if we have no plan. This is the best idea we’ve had and a chance we have to take.”
“And if we find Rafe? Are you going to be okay?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” I nod to where Ginna and Hanson are still bickering. “Let’s go tell them.”
I take Elia’s hand and walk back to the group. Ginna and Hanson are staring at me nervously, like I’m prone to break down at any minute.
They’re not wrong.
“We’re finding the ring. Finding Rafe.”
Ginna starts to protest. “Do you have a better idea, Gin? We’ve been on this hunt for too long. We need to find it and move on. This is our best option, and we’re taking it.”
“I’m with you, Cal,” Hanson chimes in. “And not to put a damper on this great plan we have going here, but does anyone know where Rafe is, exactly?”
I hadn’t considered that part. I was too blindsided by the fact that Rafeof coursehad the ring we needed that I hadn’t considered the fact that we had no idea where he even was.
“Ginna, in the letter he wrote you,” I begin, my voice cracking on the last word. “Did he mention where he was?”
Ginna shakes her head. “No, and honestly, I didn’t ask the messenger either. We were all so in shock with everything we never bothered to figure it out, or never cared enough to do so.”
“Why can’t we useyourring?” Elia asks.
“My ring?”
She grabs my hand and holds it up, indicating my ring on my pinky. “This one? I’m assuming Rafe gave it to you.”
I can’t keep the shock from my face. “When we were young. But I don’t understand…” I trail off.
First this afternoon with Elia and telling her my story with Rafe and now airing out more personal history with him. I’m emotionally drained. If we actually did find Rafe, I’m not sure I’d survive.
“It’s a relic,” Elia articulates slowly. She reads the shock still on my face and asks, “You didn’t know that?”
I shake my head. “No,” I murmur, glancing down at the ring. It’s a simple wooden band with no pattern, worn down to the point that most people would dispose of it, but I could never bring myself to do so. “He gave this to me when I was fifteen, sixteen maybe? I hadn’t even started hunting for relics at that point. I’d be surprised if he knew it was one, too. But what magic could this possibly have?”
“People call them waystones, trailfinders, or scryers. They come in all different forms but all have the same purpose. Basically a tracker of sorts. I’m guessing it’s not pulling you in any way? Does it feel warmer in a certain direction?”
I almost laugh. “You can’t be serious.”
“Hey, I thought I already proved I can read relics. That’s how I knew Rafe gave it to you – it’s honed with his location.”
That sounds like an asinine thing Rafe would do. But at such a young age? We weren’t even together when he gave it to me. Why would he imbue his location into a relic for me?
