Page 14 of Compass Points
“We all agreed,” Aterra said. “There is no turning back now.”
Zrak stopped Arctos from replying as he said, “He’s right. We agreed. And I will do this.”
So Zrak sacrificed himself for humanity and the gods, but not before making the Osten, the wind fae. And Aurora kept her compass and passed it into her creation, the water fae, the Norden people.
Rose didn’t hear anything after that as her lids started to feel heavy over her eyes, drifting lower and lower until she was fast asleep.
Chapter Eight
Rose didn’t know what to think as they walked back from Bury to the portal to her island in near silence.
The Suden Point? Compass Lake?
Arie had stayed in the mist. He said he needed to check on some things, whatever that meant. She thought she’d heard his voice, but not in her head, as she and Luc stumbled out of the village. Her mind was spinning too much to question her sanity or what he was up to. He’d proved that he wouldn’t succumb to the mist for whatever reason, just like she and Luc hadn’t.
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess as they walked.
She could have fled. That was always an option when the Compass Points came up. It had gotten her this far. But she couldn’t leave Tara and just move on with her life. She had to see if this knowledge about her weapons could lead to any kind of cure.
Now that Rose knew her weapons could defend against the plague of mist, she didn’t think she could walk away.
What if something about her magic made her magical forging different? As Luc had recited to her, most that made magical weapons didn’t have elemental magic themselves.
Rose was different, of course. Did that make her weapons different?
Her gaze drifted to the Suden Point’s back. Strength emanated from his body, even as he cut a path through the trees. He was the last being that needed the power boost of her magically forged weapons. And was she fool enough to believe he would just let her walk away after she made it for him? Would he pry her secrets out of her before she could?
He might not know why her weapons differed, but he knew whatever she did worked against the mist.
Taking the portal back to her island, Rose packed up a few things for their journey now that they had more time. She grabbed some favorite weapons, and the proper sheath for her sword. Her fingers toyed with the golden chain on her necklace, pulling the compass pendant from beneath her shirt, a nervous habit, as her gaze raked over the battle-ruined shop.
The spin of the needle caught her attention as she heard Luc’s voice from the doorway.
“Need any help?” he asked.
She looked down. The needle stopped on south, back toward the workshop entry where Luc stood. She shook her head, thinking of a story her mom used to tell her. Unwilling to consider the implications of the direction, she slipped the compass back under her shirt.
“No,” she replied. She’d keep their interactions as limited as she could. He seemed the type to ferret out secrets.
Luc took the opportunity to peruse Rose’s book collection. He moved effortlessly around the room, pulling books off shelves to take a closer look and setting them back. He looked comfortable. She noticed how quickly he’d adapted to each new piece of information in their journey so far. To the island, to Arie, even meeting her requirements to get her back to Compass Lake. She didn’t trust that kind of flexibility, especially from the leader of the Suden fae.
He was undeniably striking: tall, with dark hair, full lips, and that sharp, angled face. She knew many would instinctively fear him, but his features seemed only to draw her in.
She shook her head. He was a predator, gift-wrapped to distract while moving in for the kill. He was the Suden Point. She hated the Compass Points and everything they were meant to be.
Yet here she was, drooling over one of them.
One who had found her in hiding, threatened her, and maneuvered her into a situation she’d been happy to avoid for the last ten years: traveling to Compass Lake.
“Do you like to read?” he asked as she walked into the library. She hadn’t made herself known, but his senses must be sharp. Her pack slung over one shoulder, her sword still strapped to her back as she readied to leave.
“You could say that,” she replied. She watched him look down at the book currently in his hand.
“This one looks particularly interesting.” He held up the book, which was clearly from her romance collection,Love Eternal, in script printed on the binding.
“You should see what they get up to in chapter fifty-five,” she said before she could stop herself.
Book recommendations were clearly her weakness.
