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Gaige chuckled. “We’ll see where the evening takes us.” He pulled away, and the sudden absence of him against me invoked immense displeasure. Shifting uncomfortably, I stood and followed him out the bedroom door. Once we exited the house, the crisp air helped to dull my lust, and I breathed easier.
The midnight-blue sky was dotted with hundreds of burning-white stars that competed for brilliance with the pregnant alabaster moon. Its glow negated the need for lanterns and candles, but a group of people still sat before a small fire in the center of the settlement. While the days were tepid, the breeze brought an undeniable chill, and the heat of the fire chased away the nip of bitter wind.
The Council had arranged chairs for each of us and Isla around the fire. Anyone else who was still awake gave us a wide berth so we could conduct our business in some semblance of privacy. Gaige and I sat in the two remaining chairs next to Isla and mumbled quiet hellos as we accepted goblets of honeysuckle wine.
“This isn’t bad,” Calem said, swirling his cup. “I don’t normally drink this stuff.”
“First time for everything,” Raven mused. We’d barely sat when she pivoted in her chair toward us. “How are you feeling, Gaige?”
His lips quirked into a smile. “I appreciate you asking me first instead of launching right into an assault.”
She gave him a flippant wave. “Didn’t want you getting all pissy again.”
“I’mfine, thank you.” He took a long sip. “Now, ask what you really want to ask.”
The words were barely out of his mouth before she spoke. “Were those your shadows affecting the beasts?”
Ozias dragged a slow hand over his face as he side-eyed Raven. “You’re almost as bad as Kost.”
“No, they were not.” Gaige picked at one of the jewels encrusted into the polished metal of his goblet. “Though to be absolutely certain, I’d like Isla to inspect them.”
She set her glass on the ground and angled herself toward him. “I’ll look, but I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking for. I wish I’d arrived in time to witness the attack so I’d have something to compare them to.”
I rolled the stem of my cup between my forefinger and thumb. “In Rhyne, you used a magical artifact to detect the presence of forbidden magic in Noc. You said it leaves a permanent mark, even if it’s no longer affecting the body.”
“Yes.” She frowned at me. “What does that have to do with this?”
“Since you couldn’t witness the attack, what if you examined the aftermath and compared it to Gaige’s shadows? Say, a wound?”
She blinked. Pursed her lips and then nodded once. “No harm in trying.”
“I have a wound you could examine,” Kaori said quietly. She stood without meeting anyone’s gaze but Isla’s.
“You didn’t tell me you were hurt,” Calem said, voice dangerously low.
She didn’t face him. “It’s nothing. I’ll heal fine.” As she moved around the fire to stand beside the mage, she lifted the hem of her blouse to reveal a bandaged area on her side. The innermost scraps of linens were already tinted a ruddy pink, and she peeled them away to unveil a puncture wound the size of a child’s fist. It was packed with moss and herbs and slathered in a thick layer of salve, but the surrounding skin was enflamed and angry.
Calem shot to his feet. “Kaori, that is not nothing. What the fuck happened?”
She lifted a tight shoulder. “The Scorpex got me once before you arrived. Fortunately, their poison is painful, but not incurable. We already had the necessary ingredients to treat it.”
Rage burned in Calem’s stare, and the mercury thread around his irises flooded his gaze entirely. His hands curled into white-knuckled fists, and he jerked his head away from the sight. Ozias was at his side in seconds, guiding him away from the fire to regain control.
Isla stared after the pair for a moment before examining Kaori’s wound. “This shouldn’t hurt.” With deft fingers, she snuck a quartz crystal orb from her trouser pocket. No larger than a river stone, it glinted in the flickering light of the flames. She extended her hand toward Kaori, and the spherical gem lifted into the air. It hovered above Isla’s palm for a moment before gently gliding toward Kaori’s stomach. It hung there for what felt like an eternity—long enough for Ozias and Calem to return to their seats and stare at it as intently as the rest of us did.
Doubt festered in my mind like an untreated wound. The tendrils had looked different than Gaige’s. But what if… What if that was due to his recent progress? What if his newfound control shepherded the monsters even faster than before? They’d attacked within minutes of his bestial shadows dispersing into the woods. The monsters could have been lurking nearby, drawn here because of Gaige’s presence and then agitated by his power. There wasn’t a barrier around Hireath anymore, and we were surrounded by the Kitska Forest. With his unexpected developments came an unexpected attack of similar magnitude. It couldn’t be true, and yet…
Finally, a sickly black shade filled the quartz, and relief slammed into me harder than a gale-force wind. I sagged into my chair and took a heavy pull from my wine.
“Dark magic,” I said as I pulled the glass away.
She glared at the stone. “Yes. I…” Her words cut off abruptly as she snatched the stone from midair. Her body froze, eyes growing impossibly wide. Miniscule electrical currents erupted to life around her fingers and encircled her wrists and arms. The air snapped with energy and the flyaway hairs about her face stood on end. And then she dropped the stone as if it were burning metal.
This time, Ozias rushed to her side. Electricity thrashed around her as violent and unpredictable as Gaige’s shadows. Ozias tracked their erratic movements, set his jaw tight, and then gripped her forearms. He cursed as the shock waves battered against him, but that must have been enough to pull Isla back. She looked first to his face, then to the space where he grasped her arms, and suddenly the electricity was gone. Ozias released her and slumped to his knees, breathing heavy.
“Are you insane?” Isla’s voice was unnaturally high. “I could’ve stopped your heart!”
“It’s fine. I heal fast.” His words slurred together, and he swayed dangerously close to the fire. Raven was there to shoulder his weight, though I wasn’t entirely sure that put Ozias in a safer position. She could’ve killed him with her glower.
