Page 11

‘According to her friend, Thea hasn’t used her magic, not in a long while.’

Adrienne’s brows shot up. ‘How long’s a while?’

‘He didn’t say. But he seemed concerned.’ He loosed a breath. ‘I’mconcerned.’

Adrienne scanned the bar as well before lowering her voice. ‘Her magic is important. We’re going to need it in the war ahead.’

Wilder suppressed the urge to shift in his seat. The general didn’t know the half of it, didn’t know about the fate stone that hung between Thea’s breasts, her life ticking away before her eyes. But that was her secret, and Wilder would guard it with his life.

‘It’s not just her magic that’s important,’ he said instead. ‘It’s her. All of her.’

Adrienne scrutinised him. ‘Wasn’t she able to summon storms when she was with you?’

Wilder heaved a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘That was before.’

‘Before what?’

‘Before I betrayed her.’

Adrienne’s expression softened, and she reached across the table, covering his hand with hers. ‘That doesn’t mean all hope is lost.’

Wilder pulled his hands back sharply, out of her grasp. It had been a long time since anyone had offered him any sort of comfort or empathy. He didn’t deserve it.

But the general didn’t seem fazed. Instead, she pinned him with a determined gaze. She was relentless. ‘Thea needs her magic, Hawthorne. She needsyou.We all do.’ Adrienne sat back once more and topped up his tankard with the last of the ale. ‘It’s not like you to give up. Anya and the prince wouldn’t want —’

‘He’s not my prince.’

Wilder ran his fingers through his hair and rolled his shoulders, hoping to ease some of the tension that felt like solid stone down his back. There was no relief to be had. He’d leftThea’s name day gift by her sleeping form, but upon recalling the sound of her discovering it, he suddenly doubted she would see it for what it truly was… And if that was the case, what then? What else would be at stake? Her call to the Great Rite?Her life?

He glanced up to find Adrienne still watching him, always calculating.

‘Whatever’s going on in that head of yours, you’re asking yourself all the wrong questions,’ she said bluntly. ‘Instead of the only one that matters.’

Wilder’s jaw clenched involuntarily. ‘And what’s that, then?’

‘What are you going to do about it?’

Her words found their mark, sinking deep into him and fanning those embers within. He drained the tankard and got to his feet.

‘Meet me on the northern side of the mountain,’ he said.

‘And where are you going?’

Wilder met her gaze, hard and determined. ‘To get us a damn storm wielder.’

CHAPTER FOUR

THEA

Lividwasn’t a strong enough word to describe the feeling surging through Thea as she tracked the traitor across the icy terrain. With every step of her horse, with every fresh bite of cold into her bones, she raged on. Her fury only intensified as she followed the trail across the woodlands and a half-frozen river, only to see the tracks stop before a blank cliff face.

She bit back an enraged scream.

There was no sign of him. The trail ended at the foot of the rock. As though he had vanished.

‘Where the fuck are we?’ she asked, whirling around to face Cal and Kipp.

Cal grimaced as he fished the map out of his saddlebag and consulted the landmarks around them. ‘By the looks of things, we’re still in this forest.’ He pointed to the parchment. ‘But a fair way further north than we were before. If I had to take a guess, I’d say we’re parallel to the halfway point of the lake. Vios is to the north-west.’