Page 16 of Taloned Heart

Lore nodded at the blankets he’d laid out on the ground. “Go ahead. I’ll take first watch.”

“You need to rest.”

“And you need to let me do what I want to do.” She tilted her head to the side, biting her lip so she didn’t burst into laughter at the frustrated expression on his face. “I’m not tired yet, and I don’t need as much sleep as I used to. I’ll live in the memories for a little while longer, and you can get the rest you need to get us to Tenebrous tomorrow.”

Grumbling under his breath, he settled himself onto the ground and stared up at the sky for a while.

Lore knew her man well, though. He could fight against the exhaustion all he wanted, but he was still exhausted. She would have been as well if she wasn’t full of all this power. It fueled her body, pushed her forward to the unknown purpose that still burned in her chest. Soon, she would understand why she’d been given all this magic. Soon, she would fulfill that purpose.

But right now, she wanted to watch her man fall gradually asleep. He was always so peaceful as he did it. Abraxas could fight with the weight of the world on his shoulders, but the moment sleep took him, his face evened out into a quiet calm that she never saw on his features while he was awake.

That handsome face had gotten her through so much more than he would ever realize. She wanted to lie beside him and trace her fingers over the long hawk-like nose, down the thin lips that were usually pressed into a firm line, to his prominent jaw. He had to know that no matter how much time they’d spent apart, not a single part of her loved him less.

In fact, she supposed she loved him even more.

Sighing, she tore her gaze away from the resting dragon and focused instead on the fire he’d built. The flames flickered, moving along with the mist behind it. Pulling her mind away from the moment and into the future.

Or perhaps somewhere else.

She felt the flare of magic rising in her chest before she even realized she was using it. Sometimes the power still did that, as though her mother and the mothers before that were pushing her toward something important that she’d missed.

It was, after all, their power that lived inside her.

Rolling and rumbling through her like a storm just waiting to be unleashed, her gaze soon locked on the flames. They flickered, moving with every breath of the wind. Then she saw it. Images were inside the flames that moved with their own accord.

A summoning spell? No, that wasn’t quite right. It was divination in its oldest form.

Divination that let her see through the very veil of the world as though she could transport herself across the entire kingdom. Kneeling in the coals was a young man who was as familiar to her as family.

“Ah,” she whispered under her breath, making sure not to rouse Abraxas. “You want me to see him?”

Of course they did. They wanted her to check in on the young man who was very dear to her, and the reason she’d returned to Umbra. They wanted to remind her why she was here.

Lore wasn’t supposed to save the humans and disappear. She was here to save her family.

And she’d forgotten that. Rather easily, she was ashamed to admit.

Sighing, she twisted her hair into a knot at the back of her neck and closed her eyes. Careful to not use enough magic to be detected, she let her soul wander from her body.

It was a new talent that one of her ancestors had insisted on teaching her. She wasn’t really scrying, so she didn’t need an element to look into. No fire or water would show her what her consciousness could.

Lore liked to call it going for a walk. That’s what it felt like, albeit much faster than her physical form could move. Her spirit soured over the lands of Umbra, shifting through the very fabric of reality until she was right in front of that horrible place where they were keeping Zephyr.

The shambles of Solis Occasum never failed to make her heart squeeze in her chest. This building had once been great. A reminder of the gifts the sun gave to the people of Umbra and how warm this kingdom could be. That had all changed as many kings tore down the history that had been built here.

Guards stood at every angle she could see. They couldn’t see her, though. Not unless she wanted them to.

Lore glided through them, her footsteps light and leaving glowing prints behind her. A guide for her soul to get home when she needed to return to her body.

The images inside the remains of that castle were blurry, even to her. Countless spells wrapped around this place, trying to keep out any and all who would dare come into the kingdom’s new dungeon.

Those spells made it hard to guess who many others were in here with Zephyr. It made it hard for her to even walk through the muck of all those tangled spells. Dragging her feet through them felt like someone was trying to toss her back.

But she had all night. And if it took her that long to see him, then that’s how long it would take her.

She fought against the spells for a long time. So much so that she could feel her mortal body breaking out into a sweat. Not that it was particularly difficult, just tedious. Lore could almost feel her ancestors feeding her more power because even they were frustrated with all these layers of spells.

She had to weave her way through them. She had to make it seem like no one had ever touched a single thread of those spells, so that no one would ever guess she was here.

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