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“You’re an idiot.” She helped him sit his ass on the ground, and Calem bolted to find him some water. When he returned moments later, she shoved it into Ozias’s shaky hands. “Drink, sit here, and do nothing.”
He mumbled his agreement, and I was thankful that at least his eyes were clear. Once he met my gaze and offered a sheepish nod, I turned to Isla. “What happened?”
She glanced around until she spied her goblet and then drained the whole thing. “I don’t need to see Gaige’s shadows. I can tell you with absolute certainty they weren’t his.”
Kaori had righted her shirt and sunk back to her chair. “How do you know?”
“Because that lovely gash of yours has hints of tainted magic surrounding it. My magic.” She eyed her empty glass. “Well, not mine specifically, but another mage’s.”
“What? Are you absolutely positive?” I frowned at her as I handed her my glass, and she gratefully accepted it.
“I know my own magic.” She sipped my glass slowly this time, allowing herself to sink back to her chair and stare at the dying flames of the fire. “We’re not supposed to mix our powers with anything else. It creates a massive unbalance in the world. That’s why the stone reacted the way it did.”
“And you?” Ozias asked, voice finally clear and steady.
She glanced at him, and the tension coiled tight across her shoulders softened a touch. “Yes. I’m sorry, I couldn’t control it. It was a reaction to the magic. Powerful magic.”
“So a mage is doing this? Why?” Calem asked. While the mercury hue in his eyes had dwindled, everything about his rigid posture still reeked of anger and frustration.
“An undead mage,” Gaige whispered.
“Has that ever happened before?” Raven asked, tipping her head toward me.
“No. This is completely unheard of. We have no records of such a change happening at Cruor.” I cut a glance to Isla. “Would anyone at Allamere know?”
Her eyes went cold. “I’m not in contact with anyone from Allamere.”
Ozias studied her for a long minute before clearing his throat. “We can check some of our history books at Cruor, right?” He rounded on me with a fixed stare. “No harm in looking.”
I heard the unspoken plea in his words, and I sighed. I’d readnearly every tome in our library ten times over, and I’d never encountered documentation like that. We didn’t detail the nature of everyone we raised, only the leaders who took over Cruor when one moved on.
Removing my glasses, I held the frames and inspected the lenses. “We can look. It’s possible a mage was raised when the guild was first formed.”
“Right, well…” Isla stood brusquely and folded her arms across her chest. “I need to sleep.”
“We all do.” Raven shot both Gaige and Kaori a pointed glare. “Seriously, what is wrong with you two?” It was hardly a question, but she muttered it just the same. We all stood then and went our separate ways, and a handful of Charmers took our places by the fire.
Gaige and I walked side by side toward the house with Ozias and Calem on our heels. Initially, I’d expected them to pry and poke fun at my budding relationship with Gaige, but neither of them spoke. One cursory glance over my shoulder told me they were consumed with their own thoughts and far from interested in me. Calem’s frame was still strung tight, and I highly suspected that he’d forgo sleep for several hours—if not the whole night—to burn off his rage either in his bestial form or with a series of unending shadow drills. Ozias was harder to read. He looked properly abashed, which made sense for the admonishments he’d received. But there was also a flicker of resignation in his drooped stare. Something was bothering him.
Something was bothering all of us. I peeked at Gaige in my peripheral vision. We still had no idea who this mage was or why they were acting this way, but we knew with utter certainty that he was not responsible for the monster attacks. And while he still had some training to do to fully wrangle his shadows, it seemed like hewas on the right trajectory. He wouldn’t be lost to the shadow realm. We’d find and deal with this undead mage.
And then maybe I’d work up the courage to tell Gaige how I really felt.
TWENTY-FOUR
GAIGE
Gods, making love to Kost was beyond incredible. There weren’t words to accurately describe every emotion, every visceral feeling, that came with seeing us joined together. We’d intended to go straight to sleep, but the moment he’d undressed, I’d found my hands on him again—and he didn’t fight it. This time, he’d dropped to his knees and tasted me, and I’d nearly spilled before I even got the chance to sink myself in a different part of him.
Now, though, thoroughly sated with limbs heavier than lead, I found sleep was far from unavoidable. Kost had already drifted away beside me, and his soft snores were the perfect lullaby to welcome slumber in earnest. I’d hoped another night beside him would keep the nightmares at bay, but before I knew it, I was back in that same washed-out landscape covered in fog.
This time will be my last.I set off down the familiar, ebony path without looking back. I’d found a way to control my shadows. I’d found a way back to my beasts. I’d found Kost. There was nothing holding me back anymore. I was ready to confront this manifestation of my fears and be done with it.
Sable tendrils formed around my legs, twisting and rubbing against my calves like felines before solidifying in the shape of cats.They prowled beside me with the kind of regal nonchalance and haughtiness specific to their nature, and I basked in it. Their confidence was mine. I would no longer be terrified of an unknown visage in a dream that had no real effect on my life. I was in charge. More shadows flung to my frame, until all manner of creatures trailed behind me. I could feel the weight of their endless eyes on my back as we walked, and I knew they would heed my command.
As the mist thinned, I sent two shadow crows ahead. “Tell him to meet me on the beach.”
They cawed in response and cut through the air toward the heady crash of waves. This time, I would dictate the outcome of my dream instead of falling prey to panic. My shadows would protect me. Larger beasts gathered by my sides in response. Low snarls slipped from the backs of their throats, and they kept their eyes locked on the path before us.
