Page 30 of The Dragonrider and the Void
“What did it steal?” Cheyanne asked, her face etched with anger.
“Something called a Realmstone,” Lark said.
“Ashes, girl. Why can’t you keep your hands out of earth-ending powers,” Cheyanne spat.
“We think it might have something to do with the Flashover and the portals between realms,” Lark said.
“You need to go back there,” Cheyanne said. “Venrick, go with her and help find out whatever you can about this Realmstone. Whatever devil you’ve unleashed, we need to stop it before it advances the rimeshade even farther south. Though the rimeshade are low in numbers compared to other magical threats the Kingdoms wield, look what they’ve been able to accomplish so far. An entity that can summon them from nothing them isn’t good for any race on Sataran.”
“We shouldn’t all go. Barrik tracked us there. I don’t think he found it because he was only after us. We were able to lead him far from it before fighting him off. But in case he’s in the area, the smaller the crew the better,” Lark said.
“I’m leading the Morsythians back through these caverns in the morning. They’re too large a force to move overland without suspicion,” Cheyanne replied, indicating she wasn’t planning to join them.
“What about her?” Venrick questioned, motioning to Yarla’s sleeping form. “She’ll need time to recover before she can move.”
“Two days,” Cheyanne said firmly. “Give her two days and the healing efforts I’ve done will have her well enough to travel. Then the three of you will need to move quickly. When you’re finished, return to the encampment. Venrick knows the area.”
Venrick nodded as he watched the firelight play across Lark’s face. He saw the same determination there that had captivated him when they first set eyes on one another back in Fletcher’s Passage. And he knew, whatever corruptive magic, curse, or evil lay ahead of them, at least now he and Lark would face it together.
The storm howled outside their shelter, but within the cave, they had found a moment of peace. It was as fragile as new ice but holding for now. The days ahead would bring their own battles, but for now, they could rest, heal, and prepare for what was to come.
9
HOMEBOUND
Starlight filtered through the towering evergreens on the moonless night. Hardin tread gently over green ferns as he led Sasja and his newly bonded dragon to the outer edge of Cheyanne’s camp.
“We’re getting close,” he whispered to Sasja.
She met his gaze, those two glacial blue irises twinkling back at him in the moonlight.
Magic hummed in the air, cluing Hardin into the ward boundary keeping the rebel camp hidden under the canopy of the Everburning Forest. The sensation of identifying wards had become exponentially easier for him since he’d formed a bond with his young dragon. Hardin could almost see the magic that created the wards. Energy that wove through the crisp night air like cobwebs draped between branches in the Everburning Forest.
“I’m going to miss you,” Sasja said.
Hardin cocked his head, his dark brown bangs folding over his brow in curly waves. He brushed them aside with a confused expression wrinkling his tan forehead. “What do you mean?”
“You didn’t really think I was going to come with you and Quinthara all the way to Doran, did you?” Sasja said.
“Actually, I did,” Hardin admitted.
“You’re sweet,” Sasja said, bringing her hand to the side of his face and rubbing her thumb against the edge of his adolescent goatee. “Cheyanne needs me to go to Astral City. I have a job I need to do there.”
“But what if Quin and I need help tackling the curse on my people?” Hardin said.
“You’re a dragonrider now, Hardin. You’re a Ward Walker, too. I think you’re going to figure it out just fine on your own.”
“I’m barely a dragonrider. I don’t even have the training that Venrick has and he was rejected from the training academy.”
“He wasn’t turned down because of his skills, you know. The system rejected him. They feared what someone with his half-elven abilities could become. But you are ready to do this. I’ve seen you training. You’re going help your people and then return here.”
“Will you still be in Astral City?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But whether it’s me returning here to you or you coming to Astral City with Ezra or Cheyanne, I’ll be saving all my love for you.”
Hardin flushed.
“Come here, you,” she said, pulling him in.
