“The door was broken open,” Willow said, “and I watched the fragment of Power be ripped from the fragments. It looked painful.”
“Like removing my own limb,” he said ruefully.
“And since then you’ve been . . . different.”
“I’m still me,” he said. “I think.”
“There’s a clearing adjacent to the road ahead,” Senia said. “We should be able to camp there for the night.”
“How far are we from Xshaltheria?” Willow called up to Senia.
“Another two days, as the dragon flies.”
Rake asked the oracle a question and Willow slowed her steps. Light did as well, giving more space between them and their companions. Curious, Light fell back to walk with Willow, and for the first time noticed the distance between them.
He’d loved Willow for years, and whenever they journeyed together, there had been a proximity. They’d walked side by side, fought together, laughed together. Now she walked a short distance away from him. He wanted to close the gap, but instead of acting on the impulse, hesitation bound his feet.
“Draeken was part of you,” Willow said. “And now that he is gone, you feel the lack.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize for who you are,” Willow said. “But you do need to figure out your new identity. I suspect that nothing will feel the same, and it will take time to discern your new self.”
“We’re fighting a war,” he said. “I’m not certain our foes will stop so I can meditate on my new future.”
She smiled at his tone, the expression brightening his heart. Willow’s dark form was hardly visible, yet her smile had the same power as a blazing torch. He tentatively reached out and touched her hand, and smiled when her fingers threaded into his.
“Conflicts have a way of forcing self-discovery,” she said.
“Like a forge?” He raised an eyebrow. “Elenyr used to say that we are all metal in a forge. The heat and hammering shows what we’re really made of. A mighty weapon? Or the scrap heap.”
“The Hauntress is ever wise,” Willow said.
His smiled faded and he looked into the dark forest. “I think she knows exactly how we have been changed.”
Willow swept her hand to the forest. “A part of you is gone. Everything from the sky to your foes will look different.”
“I can still see your beauty,” he said, and then flushed.
She smiled, and then looked beyond him, to the center of the road. He felt a prickling on his neck and rotated, searching the darkness for an attacker. Senia and Rake turned as well, all four facing the floating spark of light.
“What is that?” Rake asked.
Senia frowned and took a step forward. “I’m not sure,” she said. “But it could be—”
BOOM.
The sound burst across them like thunder cracking in their midst. Light flinched and raised his hand, squinting into the expanding light. It resembled an arch but the light was blinding and silver. His eyes widened with wonder.
“Hey, is that—”
Willow grabbed his elbow and yanked him to the ground. On the opposite side, Rake tried to do the same with Senia, but she brushed him off and he flopped in the dirt. Light burst into a laugh as Willow yanked her sword and dagger from her skin, the ink pooling and hardening into weapons.
A person appeared out of thin air and stumbled to her knees, where she promptly vomited. Light stood and brushed Willow aside. He leaned down and twisted, trying to identify the intruder. Then she turned her head and Light realized it was Rune.
“Are you well?”
“No I’m not well,” she gasped. “It’s like my guts have been ripped inside out.”
“Rune?” Senia asked, advancing and helping her to her feet. “How did you get here?”
“She brought me,” Rune said, and then shuddered. “We needed to get you a message and she said she knew the fastest route. I thought she meant a messenger, and then I was yanked into—”
She crouched and retched again, and Willow patted her on the back as Light craned his neck into the dark trees. “Shadow could have sent a messenger.”
“Rune used a Gate,” Senia said.
“I don’t think I’m ever doing that again,” Rune said, wiping her mouth.
“You said something about a message?” Light asked.
“It must have been urgent,” Rake said.
The man was dusting himself off, his face burning red from embarrassment from his fall. Senia spared him an apologetic look. Rake withdrew his waterskin and handed it to Rune, who gratefully took a swig and offered it back.
“Keep it,” Rake said.
“What’s the message?” Senia asked.
