Page 126 of Unveiled

Adrian blinked. “What? Why are you—”

Connor’s wolf bristled under his skin. “You feel that?”

Adrian swallowed. “I think so. Like something brushing the back of my thoughts.” He looked behind him and his eyes rounded. “What the hell is that? Why does my shadow look warped?”

Xiathen approached quickly, robes fluttering. “The Gift has manifested.”

Adrian stiffened. “Gift?”

Xiathen nodded gravely. “The Whispering Wood never calls without purpose. It has given you something. A boon. A weapon. A curse. They are often the same.”

Connor stepped between Adrian and the lore-keeper. “What kind of gift affects his shadow?”

“One tied to the First Two,” Xiathen said. “One tied to what you have become.”

Moira crossed herself. “Gods save us.”

Adrian pressed a hand to his chest where the mark still pulsed faintly. “I don’t feel dangerous.”

“You are,” Xiathen murmured. “To the Council. And perhaps to yourself.”

Connor snarled. “Enough riddles. What did the Wood do to him?”

Xiathen looked Adrian in the eyes. “It awakened your resonance.”

Adrian shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“You do,” Xiathen whispered. “You feel the valley now. You feel its wounds. Its cracks. Its breath.”

Connor frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Xiathen gestured at Adrian. “Tell me what you sense.”

Adrian froze. “I feel it.”

“Feel what?” Connor asked.

Adrian’s eyes widened. “A vibration, like a string stretched too tight. On the western ridge.”

Xiathen inhaled sharply. “What of it?”

Adrian blinked. “It’s hurting.”

Connor snapped to attention. “Hurting?”

Adrian nodded slowly. “The ground there. Do you hear it?”

He turned, staring through the stone walls as if they were glass.

“Connor, it’s collapsing.”

Connor stiffened. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Connor grabbed his coat. “Then we move.”

They reached the ridge at a run, Xiathen trailing close behind.