Page 96 of Hearts Lost

ITHRONEL

HEART MAGIC

It’s so silent in the little room that the sound of water dripping off wet cloaks seems to echo off the walls. The fire on the stone hearth hisses and spits like it’s trying to repel us. Aloserin sits next to me on the bed and holds out his hand, palm up on his thigh. I wrap my fingers in his.

“Now,” Lythienne begins as her gaze travels around the room, fixing each of us in turn. “I can’t promise this will work. I’ve only ever done this with our full entourage of magicians, you know, and it takes a great deal of power to tear a hole in Rensivar’s barrier. Unfortunately, we can no longer be sure which of my fellow magicians can be trusted. And currently, that means none of them can be trusted.”

Lady Arryn’s teeth close over her lower lip like she’s trying to keep from making a sound.

“However,” Lythienne continues, “these weapons from Grathgore contain a great deal of power. If I can activate one, and combine its power with Orryen and Elanerill’s heart magic, that should allow me to open the barrier. And then Arryn’s heart magic should guide me to Rowan. Just like the last time,” she finishes, with a wide smile at Lady Arryn.

Something flutters nervously inside my chest. There was an awful lot of if and should in those few sentences.

“I’m ready,” Arryn replies.

Stars, Lady Arryn Damoira looks grim. She looks more like a soldier marching to her death than the pampered only daughter of the Kingdom of the Summer’s richest remaining merchant.

“I’ll go through the portal,” the man who must be Rowan’s brother announces. Now that his cloak is off, I can see he’s wearing a very large sword on his hip. “I’ll bring him back,” he says.

“Good, good,” Lythienne replies, with a bit more enthusiasm than the occasion warrants. “You’ll need to be quick, Phaedron. I won’t be able to hold the portal open for long. Quick in and out.”

Phaedron nods. His left arm drops to brush the hilt of his sword.

“Wait,” Aloserin says.

All the eyes in the room turn to him.

“You said if you can activate the weapon,” Aloserin continues.

Lythienne’s lips twist into an expression that’s not quite a smile.

“Well, that’s where Ithronel comes in,” she replies. “We’ve tried and tried on our own and gotten no results. These weapons must be attuned to someone from the Kingdom of the Summer, or perhaps they only respond to Ithronel.”

I wince. That thought makes me feel like I’ve just been plunged into freezing water. Grathgore designed these weapons for me? Stars above, he was that certain that I would obey him, even down here. My empty stomach feels like it’s trying to crawl out of my throat. Lythienne turns to me with that strange almost-smile, and my throat tightens.

“You said you activated them with hate?” Lythienne asks.

I nod. My throat is too tight to speak.

“Hate’s too difficult to work with,” Lythienne continues, her tone as casual as though she were discussing the weather. “But love should generate similar results.”

Should, I think. Yet another should.

Lythienne’s eyes sparkle and her smile softens as she shifts her gaze to Aloserin. “Yes. Love should be easy for you, no?”

My cheeks burn as the attention in the room turns toward me, with Aloserin at my side, with our hands clasped together and everything that’s happened between us laid out as clearly as if I’d painted pictures on the wall behind us. I nod, not trusting myself to speak.

“Good,” Lythienne announces yet again. She claps her hands together. “Well, then. Orryen and Elanerill, open your magic. Arryn, you can sense Rowan, correct?”

“I can,” Arryn responds. Her voice is still strong, but when it reaches the cold walls of this little shack, the echo shivers.

“Good,” Lythienne replies. “Hold on to that connection, Arryn. Keep it open for me. Ithronel?”

Lythienne’s eyes meet mine, wide and hard, and for just a heartbeat I have the strange impression that she’s afraid. Whatever she’s about to attempt here, it scares her.

It’s not a comforting thought.

“When I pick up the weapon,” Lythienne says, “you activate it. Do whatever you did at the teleportation hub, but do it with love. Understand?”