Page 66 of Silver Claws, Crimson Tears
—I’ll check our connection throughout the day,I say. Every hour. If it drops, we’ll know something’s wrong.
Zephyros rumbles agreement, but I sense his unease matching my own. Having our bond compromised feels like missing a limb.
—Look deeper,I urge, opening my mind fully.See the other visions too. The sword, the ritual, all of it. Maybe you’ll notice something I missed.
I close my eyes as Zephyros’s consciousness sweeps through mine, his presence both gentle and invasive as he examines each fragment of returned memory. It’s like having someone rifle through my most personal possessions, but I don’t care. I need answers more than privacy. Besides, this Zephyros. No secrets exist between us.
When he finally withdraws from my mind, his presence lingers like a cool shadow, hesitant to fully retreat.
—Well?I demand, pacing the empty yard.Does any of it mean anything to you? That man, Fern, the glyphs? Any of it?”
—Nothing I recognize,Zephyros replies, but I sense hesitation.
—What is it?I kick a small stone, sending it skittering across the packed dirt.What aren’t you telling me?
—Nothing. I simply... wonder.
—Wonder what? Wyrm’s rot, Zephyros, don’t hold back on me now!
—If these are truly memories or something more insidious. You are… seeing things again, the shifting faces.
My stomach drops.—You think I’m making it all up?My voice cracks.That I’m delusional?
—I said no such thing.
—But you’re thinking it!I slam my fist against the barracks wall, welcoming the sharp sting of pain.Maybe Iamcrazy. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve twisted reality, would it? I hid my mother’s death from myself for years. Created a whole fantasy about what really happened.My breath comes in short, sharp bursts.What if I’m doing it again? What if there was no Tahranis, no Fern, no Omneira? What if I just... broke? Wandered off and lived in some cave eating rats for a year?
Zephyros’s growl vibrates through our connection, fierce enough that I feel it in my bones.
—Stop this. You are being unfair to yourself.
—Am I?
—You were abducted. This is fact, not delusion. Many saw you taken into the mountain.
His certainty wraps around me like a shield.
—Half of Embernia would not have survived what you have endured,he goes on. You are strong, Rhealyn. Stronger than you know.
I exhale slowly, letting his faith seep into the cracks of my doubt.
—We will discover the truth,he continues, gentler now.As we did before.
I nod, wiping angrily at the moisture gathering in my eyes.
—We will, I repeat, the words a vow between us, then start wondering through the fort. When I’ve calmed down, I ask,Where’s everyone?
—The Screechclaws are massing near the western ridge. Commander Voltguard ordered nearly everyone to the frontlines before dawn. Only skeleton staff remains here.
My stomach knots.—Everyone? Vaylen? Phoebe? Adelaide?
—All of them. The situation is dire enough to warrant a full deployment.
“Wyrm’s rot!” I curse out loud. This doesn’t sound like a simple skirmish. The Screechclaws are acting so erratically. Why?
—You wish to join them.
It’s not a question. Zephyros knows me too well.
