“My magic... it’s changed colour,” she said wonderingly. It reminded her of Sebastian... the russet flowing through her emerald. The memory hit hard. She shoved it away.
“It’s pretty,” Henry said, nodding towards the pale tendrils now drifting back to her palms. “But loud. If you’re walking into a mind, you want to be quiet.”
Kara looked up from her now empty hands. “I thought you didn’t read without permission.”
His gaze hardened. “I said I wouldn’t readyouwithout permission. Sometimes it’s necessary,” he said bluntly.
“But others?”
“People I don’t trust? People who might be threats?” He shrugged. “Yes. Surface thoughts, mostly; enough to know if someone’s lying. It’s practical.”
A prickle of unease crawled over her skin but she said nothing. She needed his help; it wasn’t the time for a morality lesson.
“We can practise keeping your magic inward, if you want,” he offered.
She nodded. It was, in principle, similar to her Lyran abilities. Violet had never bloomed from her palms, but she had some ability to sense emotions. It had its limits, though. She couldn’t command feeling the way her mother could, or Sienna. And she’d never hidden her emerald. Had no reason to. They continued for another hour, and on her final attempt, she caught one of his thoughts without a single strand of magic spilling from her palms.
“You’re a natural,” Henry observed.
“Thank you,” she said as she lay down on her bedroll, the fire’s warmth fading now.
Henry’s mind had been open, willing. But Kara knew Sebastian’s would be nothing like that. It would be locked, guarded, braced against her. He was far stronger. It may well be impossible. Regardless, she’d have to try, even if it violated the trust Henry had shown her. It sat uncomfortably on her conscience. But not enough to not do it.
She had to know the truth.
Even if it meant becoming the kind of person who broke into another person’s mind.
CHAPTER 13
RIPPLE EFFECT
A standard Navyrian trading ship will carry a crew of no less than fifty souls.
–Navyrian Maritime Register
Kara woke Henry before dawn. They packed and mounted quickly, cloaks drawn tight against the frost that clung to the air. Kara urged Whisper forward at a merciless pace. The Water Shard was held in the Temple at the southernmost point of Navyrian and Lyran lands, on the border by the Solara Ocean. Even riding hard, they wouldn’t reach it until tomorrow afternoon. By the midday sun, the Sorrel hills thinned into the windswept flats of Lyra, the air sharp with a mineral tang from the great river that flowed through it. Henry slowed his valmare and swept his hand through the air, releasing a faint shimmer of ice-white magic before it dissolved on the wind.
“What was that?” Kara asked.
“Sent a message ahead. There are Caldris teachers in every village. Someone might have seen him ride through.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” she called. “Sebastian can’t know we’re following him.”
“It won’t,” Henry said. “I didn’t use names. Just asked about a lone Thorne rider heading south. That draws attention to him, not us.”
An hour later, the ice-white shimmer reappeared in the air and Henry’s eyes unfocused. He slowed to a canter, listening to a voice only he could hear. When he blinked back to himself, his expression was severe. Kara looked at him questioningly.
“Report from two villages ahead,” he said. “They saw a Thorne valmare pass through this morning. He’s close. Half a day ahead of us, maybe less.”
Panic shot through Kara. Close wasn’t enough. She squeezed her knees around Whisper’s flanks and urged her on.
They passed through the small Lyran village of Melodar just before dusk. The streets were mostly empty, and those few still outside moved quickly between doorways, heads down. A lone fisherman by the river glanced up as they approached. Henry removed his Caldris Creststone and slowed to trade a few words with the man. Kara rode on, hood pulled low. Her mother’s family lived nearby – cousins she hadn’t seen for months – and the last thing she needed was them seeing her and asking questions she couldn’t answer.
“He saw him,” Henry said when he caught up. “Still alone. Riding by the river. Not three hours ago.”
Kara’s pulse jumped. “Straight for the Shard.”
Henry nodded grimly.
