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Her brotherdidknow. He’d just suffered too much in his past to trust his own mind. He’d described his interaction with the man he’d thought was Teryn as a hallucination. He’d turned over his crown, his kingdom, all because ofhim. The sorcerer who’d already taken so much from Dimetreus. From Cora.
How much more would he take? How much time did she have?
No answers came, only a hollow dread.
She knew one thing for certain. Whatever Morkai ultimately wanted, it involved dark magic. Which meant there was only one place she could go for help.
“I have to find the Forest People,” she said.
Valorre lifted his head from the stream.Oh, I do like them. They revere me, as they should. As all people should.
A small smile curled her lips, but it sank into a frown. “How can I face them like this? The last time I sought them out, I brought dark tidings and drew them into a war they wanted nothing to do with. Here I am, once again coming for help.”
They are family, Valorre said.They will understand.
Family. The word echoed in Cora’s mind, warming her chest.
He was right. While she knew there were many who resented her for having hidden her royal identity, there were some who loved her. Salinda. Maiya. Even High Elder Nalia had supported her. No matter how guilty she felt for having chosen her royal family over the Forest People, they’d understand, wouldn’t they? They couldn’t have expected her to come back with them after the battle at Centerpointe Rock. They’d made it clear Cora could never be a permanent resident amongst the commune again. Her royal identity went against one of their most essential rules—never get involved with royal matters.
But this matter with Morkai was one of magic. The fact that he’d defied death was no small concern. If he was alive in any form, the Arts—both fae magic and witch magic alike—were once again in danger.
Cold certainty stilled her worries. She had to go to them. Now her concern was how. The Forest People would have moved camps just before Litha. That was weeks ago. They could be anywhere now…
No, not anywhere. While the commune rarely ever made camp in the same area twice, they moved according to the fairest weather. In the summer, they chose areas with cooler temperatures, ample shade, and nearby sources of water that weren’t at risk of drying out. They’d be near the mountains then. Close to a large river. But that still left too wide a net to cast.
She could try to track them from their previous camp, but that would take too long. She couldn’t leave Teryn like that. Couldn’t leave her kingdom at Morkai’s mercy. She needed to find themnow.
A ripple of energy ran through her forearms, warming her palms.
“I can astral travel,” she whispered. The confession sent a shudder through her. She could no longer pretend the first time had been a fluke. Could no longer make up excuses for having misinterpreted what had happened at Centerpointe Rock.
The thing you did when you startled me out of nowhere, Valorre said.
“Yes, but…”
How could she use that now, when she hadn’t a clue where her destination was? Could she travel…to a person? Could she bring Valorre?
When she’d freed herself from under the horse on the battlefield, she’d traveled with everything that had been on her person, everything she’d carried. But not the dead horse. So proximity hadn’t been a factor. Was it simply a matter of intent? The horse’s body had been something she’d needed to be freed from, a location she’d wanted to leave.
Could she travel with Valorre by touch? Or perhaps through their mental connection?
Valorre left the stream and approached her. Lowering his head in an invitation for her to mount him, he said,We can try.
Steeling her resolve, she climbed back onto Valorre’s back. A wave of exhaustion crested through her, but she breathed it away. She didn’t have time to sleep. She hardly had time to think.
Closing her eyes, she shifted her attention to the elements around her, strengthening her connection to them. She breathed in the mild night air, filling her lungs with the scent of leaves and soil. Pressing her palms to Valorre’s shoulders, she let her awareness radiate down his smooth hide, past his legs and hooves to the earth he stood upon. Through him, she rooted her energy to the earth. Next, she shifted her attention to the melodic trickle of the stream. Then tilted her face toward the sky to feel the light of the moon. The warmth of summer infusing the night.
Air. Earth. Water. Fire.
On a deep exhale, she filled her mind with thoughts of Salinda, the woman who’d treated Cora as a daughter. She saw her brown skin, her long black hair, her dark eyes that crinkled at the corners when she smiled. She pictured the slight angle at the tip of her ears, marking her as a Faeryn descendent. Then she imagined the triple moon sigil that marked the tip of her chin, the ink that adorned her neck in complex geometric patterns, theinsigmorathat trailed over every inch of her arms down to her palms.
Cora’s owninsigmoraseemed to hum in response, warming her blood, fueling her with the thrum that was her magic. She extended her senses and tried tofeelfor Salinda’s presence. Her nearness. Her location.
She got nothing back.
Nothing.
Emotion, she reminded herself.I need emotion to travel.
