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“I didn’t think so,” Aneirin said, then turned back to Vaughn. “With that in mind—what have you to say in your defense?”

Carin loosened her hold on the spell, just enough for him to speak. Vaughn gulped in a breath. “I think I know where she went,” he said in a rush. “I lost her at the old palace. There was a portal. Inside the gates. And then Breena—”

“Breena?” Aneirin asked.

Vaughn nodded. “Yes, Sire. Breena Venwraith.”

“I was told she died.”

“I have reason to believe that she bound her anima inside the enchantments concealing the girl’s magic.”

“Why would she do that?” Aneirin asked. “Why would she protect a time mage? Breena Venwraith was assigned to protect the High Lord of Water. It was not her mission to search for the Time Shard.”

Vaughn began to tremble, and once more, Carin felt a tug of resistance. She twisted her claws deeper, and the shadow mage groaned. “Her daughter.” A pained gasp. “The time mage was the child of Breena Venwraith. Corinna—though I suspect that is not what the girl is known by now.

“I lost them at the gates of the palace when Breena opened a portal. I fought, Sire. I tried to recover the girl, but Breena… she summoned fairy fire. She used the spirits of the dead to steal the girl away.”

Vaughn whimpered as the hand gripping his chin moved to his neck.

“I am very disappointed, Vaughn.” The hand began to tighten. “So very disappointed.”

“We just need to lure the girl out.” There were tears in Vaughn’s eyes now, streaking the blood on his face. “There has to be something she cares about. Something we can use to draw her out of hiding. We just have to figure out what that is.”

That sagging hood tilted, as though considering the proposal, and the fog of dead air, suffocating in its emptiness, quaked. Carin took another step back when she felt that hollow void brush against her.

“We don’t even know who this girl is,” Aneirin said. “How are we supposed to gather information on a person without a reliable name?”

“Please,” Vaughn begged. Carin could feel his fear through the hold she still had on his mind. “There was a transmission. The girl managed to contact Ryme on the relay system. Vale’s outpost was destroyed, but Ryme may still have a recording. We might be able to find something to identify her.”

Aneirin clicked his tongue. “That’s not good enough.”

“There’s more!” Vaughn sobbed as the smell of urine permeated the air. “Please. Please wait, there’s more. When the enchantment matrix containing her magic shattered, she went somewhere. She projected her anima.”

Aneirin released his hold on Vaughn’s neck. “Who was the anchor?”

“A boy,” Vaughn panted. “I was still trying to work my way free of her magic at the time, so I couldn’t follow properly. But I saw a flash. It was a boy pulling her through.”

“Would you recognize him?”

Vaughn nodded eagerly. “Without a doubt. And if we get the boy, the time mage will follow. I’m sure she’ll come for him.”

Aneirin’s fingers still hovered over the shadow mage’s neck while he deliberated. After a long moment, he said, “You have made things far more difficult than they needed to be. However” —he rose— “for the moment, you are still more valuable to me as you are.”

Aneirin gave a slight nod as he straightened his cloak, and Carin released the spell. Vaughn slumped to the floor, wheezing as he sucked in gasps of air.

“Well then,” Aneirin said, idly picking at the sleeve of his coat. “I guess this means we’re off to Ryme.”

“We, Sire?” Vaughn shoved Carin away as soon as she cut his bindings.

“Yes,” Aneirin replied. “I want this time mage, and since you can no longer be trusted to act on your own, I will be seeing this matter through personally.”

Aneirin jerked his head, and Carin bowed, grateful for the chance to leave. As she heaved open the barn door and stepped out into the darkness and rain, she sent up a silent prayer to the Shards. For the time mage. For this island. For the home she’d left behind.

But not for her. After the things she’d done, it would be a mercy to join the dead.

Chapter 1

-From the personal notes of Azura Raine, High Lady of Time