The Paragon had said nothing today of my failure. Each time I'd spoken with him, I'd met his brilliance with feigned confidence and stature. But without even a grain of worth to back up my haughty attitude . . .
Reese might reconsider keeping me alive.
I climbed onto my elk and ordered it to follow Liam's. Leaning in the saddle, I watched its hooves splash through the muddy puddles.
Why couldn't I find my magic?
Reaching into my pouch, I pulled out the broken pocket watch Liam had given me a few years ago. Its needle spun in an endless circle, useless.
Fifteen years ago, Father had caught a child sticking a hand into his coin purse. He'd brought Liam home to live with us that night.
The thieving continued over the years. Liam never spoke of his life before, but one thing had been clear: he'd been stranded in Aenir, with no food, money, or shelter.
Reaching for a coin or bread had become a means to survive, a habit he struggled to kick even after finding a home.
When my little brother was seventeen, he’d gifted me a pocket watch: the first thing he'd bought with his own coin.
It broke not long after. But I'd always kept it.
I snapped it closed and pressed my fingers into the cold metal. Closing my eyes, I reached for the girl I'd been over a decade ago—the girl who hadn't realized she had been reduced to nothing overnight.
Who hadn't cared, and didn't pretend.
A horse whinnied ahead. Reese yanked his mare's reins, drawing her to a stop. The white horse pranced in place, like an excited puppy.
Leaning forward, I followed his gaze up to where a woman sat on a thick tree branch, neatly hidden in her dark purple cloak that melded with the night.
"What a surprise," she called. "For anyone to travel in these parts—let alone a Paragon.”
Elegant and lithe, she slid from her perch and dropped to the grass below. Striding toward us, she threw back her hood. Golden curls fell around her bronzed face. Piercing gold eyes broke up the night.
A Solheart.
Reese's white mare trotted toward the Solheart woman and lowered its head. Giggling, the woman rubbed the horse's snout.
Breaking my gaze from the Solheart, I focused on my teacher. Reese's jaw had clenched, and a vein on his neck ticked. "Bláth," he said. "What are you doing here?"
Tension swelled in his every word. These two had history—not all of it pleasant.
The Solheart woman—Bláth—wrapped her fingers around the white horse's reins and looked at me. "Scouting. They say Galasvar was encircled before it fell. And I heard there's a new Paragon. I wanted to meet her.” Releasing the horse, she approached me. "We don't have time to linger. You need to see what lies ahead."
Reese stared daggers at her back, eyes aflame. "Then, Gwynford still stands?"
"For now." She flashed me a grin, voice dripping with friendly charm. "I'd prefer to ride with a woman. Do you mind?"
"Not at all, my lady." I bowed my head in respect.
Reese yanked his reins and drove his horse into a gallop. Once the Solheart woman was seated behind me, I dug my heels into my elk.
"You were at Galasvar," Bláth called over the drumming hooves. "You saw what it looked like before they struck."
"I could recognize it again, if that's what you're asking," I said.
"Good." She grabbed my shoulder as my elk leaped over a puddle. "I take it the men have been giving you hell?"
"Plenty," I said. "I've been told to expect assassins."
"Not while Reese is here. Nobody's brave enough for that."
