DRACOVAE’S TITS, I DON’T HAVE THE STRENGTH TO DEAL WITH THIS SHIT, Lykor snarled inwardly to Aesar, who he sensed stirring.
Aesar arched a brow, swiveling to hook his knees over an armrest, lounging across a couch in his library. They’re including you.
NO, THEY WANT SOMETHING FROM ME. I NEED TO—
Yes, yes, Aesar flapped a hand. I know you want to search that jungle, but you should address what’s in front of you too. He waved a cup of steaming tea into existence on an end table. There could also be a Heart somewhere in this fortress. Use the resources you have. You don’t have to do all of this alone.
Lykor directed his scowl at Fenn and the girl.
“Lieutenant, you and the elf scour the keep up until the second the wraith are ready to abandon this stronghold. If there’s a Heart here, I want you to find it.”
Fenn straightened, swelling with apparent pride for being assigned to the task. Lykor knew how to deflate him. “That doesn’t mean rousing suspicion by flapping your mouth at the Lagoon.”
Fenn flinched, the excited glow in his eyes dimming.
“And what will you be doing while we carry out your bidding?” Kal demanded, his unblinking stare conveying his disagreement to trek across the Wastes.
Shoving back from the table, Lykor almost rejected the question as beneath him.
“If I have your permission, Captain,” Lykor hissed, “I’m going to search that jungle.” Shoulders twitching, irritation nearly had Lykor’s skin bristling off his spine. “If the druids claimed any Hearts in the war, we prioritize searching their ancient capitals first—that’s all we have to go on. We have weeks at best before we need to abandon this place.”
Kal crossed his arms, sweeping his gaze over Lykor. “And what about my suggestion of portaling me—”
“No,” Lykor snapped. “This is the final time you’re bringing that up.”
Kal hadn’t relinquished his scheme of urging Aesar to transport him back to the military island. The captain intended to spin an illusion and seek Vesryn out, appearing fully as an elf, since his sharper features and skin tone still favored the wraith. Aesar wasn’t inclined to put Kal in that danger. Not that Lykor would’ve permitted the risk anyway.
“What do we do about the reavers in the meantime?” Fenn asked, fiddling with one of his eyebrow rings.
“Let them stay, let them go. It matters not to me.” Flaring his power, Lykor snatched his cloak with a whip of force. “If they refuse to follow my lead, then they don’t have a place with the wraith. I can only suffer fools for so long.” He twisted open a portal, speaking over his shoulder. “Keep a guard on the girl. I don’t want her magic falling into their hands.”
CHAPTER 35
JASSYN
Shadows swarmed Jassyn like a ballistic beehive. Essence blazing, he spun a renewed flare of violet light, arcing a shield between him and the prince. Doubtful that his crystalline ward would withstand Vesryn’s magical assault, Jassyn dodged the barrage of darkness, diving to the ground.
The black sand of the beach cushioned his fall. He rolled over his shoulder, scrambling back to his feet. Curls plastered to his face, Jassyn shook the rain out of his eyes.
A flash of lightning cracked behind the prince, shattering into the turbulent ocean. White-capped waves thrashed, sending the tide surging past their ankles. Forming another fist, Vesryn didn’t grant him any time to catch his breath.
Jassyn regained his footing before another volley of darkness bashed against his shield. Thoughts rampant like the storm, he cycled through his limited options. Gritting his teeth, Jassyn tapped into his depleting Well, fortifying his protective barrier before he tried anything else. Aside from blinding his cousin with a burst of illumination—that Vesryn would most likely slash through with rending—he had no talents at his disposal to retaliate against the relentless striking shadows.
A pulse of power billowed out from Vesryn. Before Jassyn could react, a blast of force smashed into him. Ward obliterated, Well completely drained, the punch of magic launched Jassyn into the sky.
Breath clinging to the inside of his throat, he collided with the chilly sea. The water swallowed him. Frantically resurfacing for a gasp of air, a wave crashed over Jassyn’s head, plunging him back within the depths.
Vesryn snarled telepathically into Jassyn’s mind, tearing past his mental barricades. I found a storm for you to practice with and you’re not even trying to use it.
Lungs nearly combusting, the ocean finally released Jassyn from its watery grave. Volleying a retort, his simmering grievances against the prince accumulated like the brewing tempest. My apologies, let me thank you while I’m busy drowning.
Finding purchase on the coarse sand, Jassyn’s hands and knees sank into the shoreline. Disoriented and coughing, he stumbled to his feet before another wave could slap his back.
Jassyn wiped the water off his face, finding no relief from the salt burning his eyes. Sensing the building pressure of Essence, his chest seized on another breath, anticipating the impending attack.
It never came.
The prince stalked up to him, snatching the front of his soaked leathers, towing him up the beach. Jassyn’s legs had no choice but to follow as his cousin dragged him to the grass-covered dunes.
Rain showered them, washing off the sticky sand clinging to Jassyn’s skin. Gray clouds tumbled past the rim of cliffs bowing over the churning sea. The surf crashed on the rocks, hazing the air with misty spray.
Vesryn finally released him. The prince crossed his arms while blistering displeasure radiated off him, almost hot enough to burn. Buffeted by the breeze, Jassyn lurched in the long grasses before reclaiming his balance. His chest shuddered, drawing in labored breaths to recover his lungs.
Looking anywhere else to avoid his cousin’s scorn, Jassyn craned his neck up at the towering craggy bluffs. Squatty black and white birds splayed their webbed feet against the battering wind, clumsily landing with beakfuls of fish before disappearing into burrows.
Vesryn’s rebuke was rough like the surf. “I brought you here so you could hone your elemental power.”
Tightening his lips, Jassyn hesitantly met the prince’s disapproval. “You didn’t give me a choice.” A glimmer of defiance flickered. “Regardless of what I wanted, you would’ve tossed me through that portal.”
“You agreed to spar with me,” Vesryn fired back.
“Not like this,” Jassyn grated out. He waited for a peal of thunder to subside. “Have you considered that perhaps I’d like to explore that magic on my own? In a calm environment with a clear mind?”
Vesryn drummed his fingers across his arms. “So what’s your excuse for the sloppy way you’re wielding Essence?”
“I’m tired,” Jassyn snapped, irritably shoving soaked windblown curls out of his eyes. That was an understatement considering that the prince’s magical bombardment had exhausted his Well.
Vesryn scoffed. “Then I’ll be sure to tell Serenna that we didn’t find her sooner because you were ‘tired.’” He viciously yanked one of the remaining scraggly threads on his leathers.
