My vision snapped back to the cave with a heave of breath, my inhales shaking as I desperately tried to fill my lungs with air that seemed foreign and forgotten.
Wyn’s hands were on my back before I even had a chance to focus on the uneven floor my fingers were spread against. Ilyan’s magic flooded every inch of me as his shoes tapped loudly against the floor in a desperate need to reach me.
He sunk to the ground before me, his hands shaking as he reached toward me. Even though his face was stoic and calm, I could feel his worry leech through our connection, my injury from Spain still weighing heavily on his mind.
“Was it a sight?” Dramin said from beside me, his voice weak as it echoed around the cave.
“No,” I gasped, my eyes still not leaving the concern in Ilyan’s face. “I found him.”
“Where?” The concern on Ilyan’s face vanished almost instantly, albeit I could still feel it tense through his body.
“There is a forest that begins near the farms that surround the towns…” I began, hoping it was enough to explain. I wasn’t familiar enough with the city to know how to begin, and I had a feeling saying, ‘In the mud by a farm with tomatoes and funny looking cows,’ wasn’t going to cut it.
Thankfully, Ilyan seemed to understand. He released a tense breath with a sigh, his hand wrapping around my elbow as he helped me back to standing.
I’m fine, Ilyan, I added silently, grateful when the tension in his shoulders lessened a bit.
I know, he said with a laugh, the joy on his voice disappearing with the next question. What else did you see? What did you feel?
I wasn’t foolish enough to hide anything from him, despite being uncertain what the dread that filled the city was. Besides, his magic had been there right alongside mine. I was sure he had felt it, too.
Fear, I said, hoping it would be enough yet knowing it wouldn’t. Not in the mortals, but in something else that was inside the city, something that was hiding.
He shot me a look that had as much question as I felt. Yes, fear hiding in the city did sound a bit crazy … but with everything we had gone through?
I only shrugged my shoulders in response, a fact that he seemed to find quite humorous. His loud laugh echoed around the tension in the cave like a broken cymbal, the sound loud as it broke the fear with its beautiful sound.
“Ugh,” Thom growled from behind me, the first word he had spoken in a while ringing with his typical irritation. “I’m going to start laughing randomly and answering questions from nowhere if you guys don’t knock it off. Why, yes, peanut butter is delicious, thank you for asking.” Thom rolled his eyes in frustration, but everyone else stared at him in utter disbelief.
It wasn’t until Wyn’s high pitched squeal broke against the stone that everyone else began to laugh, the sheer misplaced nature of his comment breaking through the tension.
“Yep, I’m hilarious,” Thom growled, oblivious to his own absurdity. “Is it at least safe to leave the cave? I would really like a shower…”
Ilyan looked at me in question as the laughter faded to nothing, his hand winding around my waist as he pulled me into him. I could hear the question on his mind without him having to even put voice to it.
“I didn’t feel Edmund or any of his men inside the city,” I said, my voice sounding far too loud against the silence of the cave.
“Right.” Ilyan moved away from me and back to the door, looking through the gap once again before turning back to us. “You will need to be under a shield if we wish to make it through the court without attracting too much attention.”
I nodded with all the others, no one daring to second guess his proclamation. If we went out as we were, I was sure some kind of riot would break out. My shirt was still covered in dried blood; Ilyan was prickled in small cuts that, although they had healed, had left trail of dirt and blood behind; Dramin could barely walk on his own; and Ryland … One look at Ryland sent nerves into an electrified storm. The darkness that had taken over his eyes was back, a panicked fear rumbling through him and setting my desperate need to attack back into motion.
I looked away before it took hold, but not before Ilyan caught the whisper of my thoughts in his own mind, his head turning toward his brother before a panic washed over him.
Ryland had told me he was fine, because his father was too far away, because some blade was too far away. He should be fine, since I couldn’t feel Edmund anywhere close. Regardless, he wasn’t. Something was digging into him.
It rooted at the pit of my own stomach, and my magic flew away from me again, soaring through the city as it searched for whatever I had missed. Sure I had missed something.
There was nothing, however.