Echoes of the Raven (The Eldrystone #2)

43. CHAPTER 43

43

RíFíOR

“I had to see for myself, and now I have. The veil is truly gone. Ironically, my homesickness has redoubled. Before, I could go back if I dared. but now, I’m truly barred.”

Galen Síocháin - Fae Sorcerer - 0 AV

W e stumble to our feet. I brace myself for a third wave, and when it does not come, I grab Valeria’s arm.

“Come on! We have to go.” I pull her and turn to leave, but she remains rooted to the stop. I glance over my shoulder and find her expression etched in doubt.

“Hurry!” Calierin urges. “We can still outrun them.”

As Calierin’s voice cuts through the air, Valeria recoils, extricating her arm from my grip.

Shaking her head, she says, “She almost killed me, and you… I don’t know what to think of you. I have no idea who you are.”

“Valeria, we can talk about this later. Right now, we have to leave. We have to do what we set out to do.”

“No,” she replies, and there is only resolve in her tone. No doubt left.

Once more, the ground shifts, but this time it is different. The earth churns, dirt swelling, then erupting and birthing what looks like tentacles. They slither up and tower high above, undulating as if tasting the air. One of them seems to sense me and lunges down.

Unsheathing my sword, I slash and cut it in half. No, not tentacles. Roots.

To my left, Calierin’s magic hits a second tendril and burns it to a crisp.

“If she will not come, leave her,” Calierin shouts, releasing two consecutive blasts of magic at a pair of newly erupted roots.

My gaze locks with Valeria’s, entreating her to come, but she does not move a muscle, appearing indifferent to the churning ground and the looming roots.

The anger that flickered in her gaze moments ago has dwindled to a faint ember. Now, disappointment and uncertainty take its place, as if the path she so meticulously mapped to bring us here is slowly disappearing right before her eyes. Ever so slightly, she shakes her head, a silent confirmation that she will not be joining us.

“But you…” I trail off.

She is meant to wield The Eldrystone and reopen the veil, at least that was the plan. Except it was never a promising idea, was it? She is concerned with preventing Amira from making a mistake that will unravel Castella and create an environment ripe for political turmoil and social upheaval. That is Valeria’s true battle.

“Give me The Eldrystone then.” I put out my hand, not without difficulty. I thought I would see this journey to an end in her company, but it will not be.

At my request, her eyes widen, and she takes a step back, clutching The Eldrystone tighter.

A familiar crushing sensation settles over my heart, and I realize, belatedly, that it was always going to end up this way.

This was your plan all along, was it not, Niamhara? To play another joke on me.

“The Eldrystone?” Calierin echoes behind me. “Of course!” She comes closer, cutting a root at the base with a quick flick of her wrist. For the first time, she realizes we are not dealing with just any amulet, but Niamhara’s conduit itself. She joins my side. “That does not belong to you. Give it back to its rightful owner, thief !”

A wave of color rises up Valeria’s neck at the word. She is hesitant for a moment, as if she is considering returning it. That crushing sensation in my chest eases a little. Naturally, she will return The Eldrystone. She is different. She—

All of a sudden, the ground beneath Valeria cracks open, and a monstrous root erupts at her feet. Coiling with unholy speed, it ensnares her ankle and surges skyward, dragging her screaming.

“Valeria!” I raise my sword to hack at it, but before I deliver the blow, I find myself ensnared too. The root hoists me upward, slamming me with immense force against a tree. Pain blossoms across my back and side. My grip on the blade loosens, and it falls to the ground.

Through blurry eyes, the world looming upside down, I watch as a handful of guards rush the small clearing, led by a cloaked figure outlined in a red glow.

“Galen,” I rasp, reaching out a hand.

I would know the red sheen of his magic anywhere.

Calierin thrusts her hands forward, violet magic building. Her face is set in rage, her features sharper than any weapon. With a battle cry, she releases her attack. It sails directly toward the for-hire sorcerer.

With confidence, Galen marches straight into Calierin’s assault. She smirks, thinking she has won, but she has no idea who she is dealing with. Galen keeps on walking even as her magic hits him square in the chest. Calierin gapes, then starts preparing another attack.

With a nearly imperceptible flick of Galen’s fingers, a root appears behind Calierin and twines around her waist. She struggles, but as the root begins to glow—matching Galen’s shade of red—her body goes rigid—only her eyes swiveling wildly as she tries to comprehend the turn of events.

My head spins as I dangle. A trail of agony burns along my spine, and my side throbs. I fear my ribs may be broken. Below me, Galen turns and peers up at me, hands on hips.

“Well, well,” he says in that careless tone of his that always irritated me, “I thought I’d imagined you. I told myself Nah, there’s no way Korben is trapped here with the rest of the rabble . So I had to come and make sure I wasn’t crazy. And lo and behold, my eyes didn’t deceive me.” He chuckles. “Here you are. Though,” he frowns, “how come you haven’t shifted? Shouldn’t you have wings and be trying to peck my eyes out by now?”

“Fuck you, Galen,” I manage as a wave of sickness rolls over my stomach, and I vomit on the sorcerer. Or at least, I would have liked to, but he is too quick on his feet.

He looks down at the vomit with disgust. “Now, that’s not the way to welcome an old friend.”

Galen is not a friend. He was once my court’s Master of Magic and, indeed, a friend, but that was a long time ago, before he betrayed me and left Riochtach over fifty years ago.

Now, he’s just another enemy trying to keep me from the only thing that matters.

I open my mouth to curse at him, but the pain in my ribs sharpens. I groan, then vomit again, my consciousness slipping away even as I fight to hold on.