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Teryn folded his arms. “And that’s a bad thing because…”
“Because it causes your body’s functions to begin to shut down.”
Teryn blinked at her. So that was why she was always reminding him to focus on his breath, to strengthen his vitale. It had been less about maintaining his strongest connection and more about preserving his body’s functions. Did that mean…
“Could that…kill me?”
She nodded.
Anger sparked inside him. “Then why the seven devils didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to worry you,” she said. “I knew it would only make you panic more.” Her voice was brimming with apology, and yet…
He remembered how nervous she’d seemed when they’d followed Morkai into the Godskeep. How she’d tried to get him to rest before Morkai spoke with the king. Had she only been anxious over the prospect of him overhearing something that would cause his fear to spike, tearing him away from his vitale and forcing his ethera to rest? Had her concern been due to precaution…or premeditation?
Teryn’s fingers curled into fists. He hated that he was starting to get used to the way the gesture buzzed, the way he was beginning to forget what being made of flesh and blood felt like. “Did you know? When we entered the Godskeep, did you know what Morkai had been planning to do?”
She shrank down, shoulders tense. “I had an inkling, but I didn’t want you to panic. You can’t focus on what he’s doing. You can only focus on regaining control of your cereba.”
“So I can remove the crystal from my body and destroy it. Which we still don’t have a solution to.”
“I have an idea.”
Teryn tightened his jaw. “Why the seven devils haven’t you told me?”
“Because it’s just that—an idea. Actually, it’s less of an idea. It’s simply…knowledge. I know how Morkai made the crystal unbreakable. A year ago, he wove its fate to a unicorn horn, focusing on the horn’s indestructibility. The crystal now has the same properties that a unicorn horn has. It cannot break, burn, or crack.”
Teryn was torn between feeling daunted by such facts or elated that he finally had something to work with. There had to be a solution now. He pondered what he knew about unicorn horns, most of which he’d learned from the now-dead Prince Helios. “You said the crystal can’t be cracked or broken, but there must be a way. If it has the same properties a unicorn horn has, then it can be cut. Horns can be carved.”
She shook her head. “Only severed horns can be carved. The horn Morkai used was still attached to the unicorn when he cast the fate weaving.”
“Then what is your idea? How do we use this knowledge to destroy the crystal?”
“To break a curse, spell, or enchantment, one must go through the motions that were placed upon it but in reverse. Morkai used a bastardized version of an ancient Elvyn magic calledweaving. Elvyn weavers used sky, but Morkai was never able to utilize this magic. Instead, he used blood. He’d draw out blueprints for complex patterns to execute his spells and cast them using blood. Since the crystal and horn were both inanimate objects, he had to use his own blood for that weaving, along with most of the magic he’d currently stored in his Roizan.”
Teryn’s mind spun with the information. Weaving. Ancient Elvyn magic. The Roizan. Teryn had witnessed the sorcerer utilize blood in such dark ways. He’d even attempted to kill Teryn with that very magic at Centerpointe Rock. The Roizan, however, he only partially understood. During Cora’s interrogation, she’d told the inquisitors that the creature he’d known as the Beast had a name.Roizan. He’d learned the intel during his own interview. One of many he’d endured to prove Cora’s identity. “What exactly is a Roizan?”
“A Roizan is a creature born from death, a sorcery of the forbidden Arts of the sanguina and ethera—blood and spirit. Neither alive nor dead, it becomes a vessel for magic that can be drawn from at will. It amplified Morkai’s own magic, allowing him to do things he never could have done on his own. Large feats of magic either empty or destroy the Roizan, but the beasts are essential for doing magic beyond one’s means.”
“You said to nullify the enchantment that makes the crystal unbreakable, we would need to reverse the spell he’d placed on it. How the seven devils can we do that?”
She gave him an exasperated look. “I don’t have all the answers yet, but I’m working on finding a way. One thing we’ll need is Morkai’s blood—the blood from his original body. He’ll have some stored somewhere, and we can count on him to retrieve it himself. There are certain spells he won’t be able to cast with the blood from your body alone. He’ll need his own. The second thing we’ll need…”
She paused, expression falling.
“…is the blueprint for the pattern he used to bind the qualities of the crystal to the unicorn horn.”
“Do you have a way of finding this blueprint?”
“Not exactly,” she said with a grimace. “He never showed it to me. He has the power to block me from projecting my ethera outside the crystal. It takes constant focus, so he couldn’t do it all the time, but he must have been doing so when he drew the blueprint. I watched him weave the spell, but I couldn’t see the pattern he used clearly. It was complex. Miniscule from where I stood.”
Teryn rubbed his brow. “How are we to reverse a spell with a pattern we don’t know? How do we reverse a spell at all? Is that something you have the power to do?”
“No, that is not something I can do. You’ll have to be the one to reverse the spell.”
Teryn’s eyes went wide. “I don’t know the first thing about casting magic.”
“You don’t need to. Blood magic follows rules. Patterns. That’s why Morkai relied on it so much. Once we have everything we need, and you’ve strengthened your connection to your cereba as much as you can, you’ll need to take over your body and draw the pattern in reverse using Morkai’s blood. On paper, on a stone, it won’t matter. You simply must reverse the lines he drew. As for the pattern itself…do you remember how I told you I was a seer when I was alive? I still maintain some of my abilities. I can watch my own memories. I’ve been trying to study my memory of Morkai casting the spell, watching it from different angles to see if I can untangle his movements. I’ve also sought the greater Art of seeing, seeking answers from the spiritual plane beyond. I haven’t glimpsed the pattern yet, but…” Her eyes unfocused. “I have seen that we must stay the course. Keep doing what we’re doing.”
