Page 9 of Severed Heir

When we finally crossed into the Spring forests, the air cooled, laced with the scent of peonies and sunflowers. Ahead, Sabitha’s shoulders tensed beneath her cloak, and her hand drifted to the hilt of her sword.

“Keep your quell ready,” she said, voice low. “Attack only when they lunge.”

“Creatures?” I asked, already reaching for flame.

She nodded without looking at me. “They’re watching us.”

Sure enough, a herd of pale figures padded between the trees, their white fur rippling like silk in the wind. Massive paws moved soundlessly through the underbrush, but it was their eyes that stopped me cold—pitted and gray and blank where pupils should have been.

I summoned my flame. It flickered in my palm… then sputtered out. But something else bled through. A lash of shadow flared in my other hand, I had no idea how to wield it, let alone use it as a weapon.

“My flame’s weak,” I said, voice tight. “Give me a weapon.”

“I don’t trust you with one,” Sabitha snapped, drawing her blade with a hiss. “Spring wards. They poison the air and drain us the longer we stay.”

“Well, you were the one who picked the deadly, cursed trail,” I muttered, swallowing hard. “What kind of beast is that?”

“A norft. Their fangs are filled with a poisonous gas that will swell your veins. It’s incredibly uncomfortable, but some of the more expanded regions have been using their venom for cosmetic purposes.”

“That sounds painful,” I said.

One of the norfts clawed at the ground, sniffing the air. “And what happens if it bites your arm?” I asked.

“Then you’d have a very engorged arm,” she whispered as she readied herself for the fight. “Hold on.”

The creatures swarmed around us, one even sniffing my palm before baring its canines. And gods, it was sort of adorable. I was almost glad my flame was useless, because I couldn’t bring myself to harm something that looked at me like that.

We pushed them back eventually, their howls trailing behind us.

“Why does Spring weaken quells?” I asked, glancing behind to make sure the pale-eyed pack hadn’t followed.

“It’s the plants,” Sabitha said, her tone grim. “Poison in the air, poison in the soil. You weren’t meant to survive here. But it’s temporary. We won’t be in Spring long.”

“Like a shield?”

“Exactly. Anyone who enters risks weakening their quell. We’re lucky we’re only skimming the edge.” She adjusted the strap of her blade. “It goes back to the first six who survived the academy trials. Some say the Forgotten cursed the seasons after that. Winter brings starvation. Spring brings death. Every realm has a cost. I could keep going, but Verdonia’s history bores me.”

“My friend once led me to a hot spring back at the Academy. I lost my power for a night.”

She laughed. “That wasn’t a friend. That was a rival trying to weaken you. You trust too easily.”

“He wouldn’t do that to me.”

She scoffed. “Were you two against the same title?”

“Yes, but—”

“Then they were trying to weaken you.”

I didn’t answer. I wondered if Damienhadknown the dangers of Spring. I didn’t let the thought linger. It hurt too much to mourn him. Even just the version of him I thought I knew.

“You seem to know everything about Verdonia?” I asked.

She sighed. “I was raised in nearly every land. I never belonged here.” She shrugged, her silver gaze flicking to the horizon. “But I never overstayed my welcome in regions. I made a few guards swoon me, even a few Serpents. It’s not an easy life, Severyn, but it is fun.”

I wondered if she was truly content with her life or if, like me, she was merely playing a role handed to her by the land’s politics.

“I remember you from Ravensla,” I said. “You tried to capture me because of my neval mark. It’s meaningless anyway.”

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