Page 21

Chapter 21

Karus

“ He is gone .”

Pompeii’s voice broke into my thoughts as we neared the boundaries of Felgren .

I didn’t want to lie. I didn’t want to embellish what little hope I had that we’d return Mychael and Rell to this forest to train once more.

I breathed deep, squaring my shoulders on the back of my black horse, raising my chin with trembling lips. Pompeii could not see me, but I needed to pull myself together. I had learned by now that to be Baron was to believe myself stronger than I was.

“ She took him, ” I replied in my mind. “ We are not giving up. We are gathering ourselves, and then we will make an attempt at her heart and be able to look for him. I promise you, we are not giving up. ”

Silence .

My stomach churned, and for a moment, I thought I’d retch over the side of my horse.

Revich’s head swiveled to me as he reigned his horse closer. “ What is it?”

“ Pompeii . He …he knows.”

Rev drew his eyes back to the line of trees in the distance and pushed our party forward.

* * *

I stepped into Felgren again with a hesitancy I hadn’t felt since Heimlen had brought me to the forest more than seven years past.

The trees fell to their own sorrow. The wind felt weighted and mournful as the four of us returned without those who deserved to be there.

Once again, my heart raged, urging me to do what I would have done if not for Saelyn . If she had not been at risk, I would have fought for our channelers with every inch of my life. But it was not just my life at stake, not just Rev’s when I had chosen not to follow.

There were three of us to consider now, and I would not risk the safety of our daughter for anything or anyone.

And it hurt.

Pompeii was there, just inside the tree line, dressed immaculately in his emerald livery. The only evidence of his pain was a difficult one to notice. He had not dressed his eyes in the black kohl he kept swept along his upper lids.

Rev reached him first, pulling his old friend and Overseer into an embrace. The hug was short with Pompeii pulling out of reach and addressing me as soon as I caught up to them.

“ Baron Karus ,” he began, “there has been an incident, and you are needed back at the Fortress .”

He gestured behind him. A black lumen stepped up to his side, sniffing the air. He was massive, easily the largest lumen I’d ever seen. His eyes were a silvery metallic, and he padded up to my side, his head bent to sniff my belly before he looked up to my face. With a huff, he turned to offer his back.

“ Where are Parvus and Rauca ?” I asked, petting his dark fur.

“ They are missing.”

“ Fuck ,” Rev exhaled, shaking his head and running his hands down his face.

Talon and Ilyenna’s lumens rushed to them, jumping and whining in their greeting.

“ Parvus ?” I gazed out into the trees as if Pompeii was wrong. As if I’d see him and his mother, Rauca , bounding over the underbrush to greet us at any moment. I would brush my hands across his ears and check for more signs of seeds, moss, or vines. His tongue would loll from the side of his mouth and he’d give me that impatient whine before turning for me to hop onto his back.

But he didn’t. And he wouldn’t. The silence that followed between the five of us only fueled my worry. We’d accepted it, then. Mychael was gone. Rell was gone. Our lumens were gone as well, and we knew exactly who had called them to her.

I exhaled in a quick release, focusing on what Pompeii needed from me. I climbed onto the back of the lumen he called Boros with Rev settling in behind me. This lumen was the only one I’d ever seen large enough to carry two riders.

All five of us seated, I asked Pompeii as we began our ride through Felgren back to the Fortress , “ Why am I specifically needed?”

“ It’s Prince Philius . He’s —” Pompeii cleared his throat, continuing, “ With the help of Renn , he has cut off his own hands.”