Page 143 of The Freedom You Seek

I nodded. “My best guess is that the early separation messed up the remnants of the divine magic, resulting in problems with the binding. Even though I never found anything documented about such a case, I would conclude that the union can only settle properly in proximity.” I wished I knew what had happened, although I assumed Nayana had left when she foundout the truth about Dionadair. How much of the truth, though, was still a mystery that only my grandnephew could solve. “Combining my assumptions with the fact that he shadowwalked both of them over a three-day-distance to Amalach and that he killed one of the Guardians before falling unconscious, it paints a grim picture.”

“He once said that shadowwalking is possibly the most draining facet of his gift.”

I nodded again. I did not regret telling Dion to use this method to travel to Amalach. It had to be done that way. Still, it was an unfortunate chain of events.

“So, if we think Ireas is right in his assumption that Dion is one inch away from being burned out, my next guess would be that he is having a hard time recovering from burnout because of the unsettled binding. It is messing with his power-regaining process.”

“That’s very likely—and unfortunate.”

“It is.”

The door opened again, and Carthain entered with Ireas in tow.

“Any news?”

“No. What about you?”

“I’ve found something.”

I turned to Carthain, who cautiously placed a dark dagger on an armoire, wearing a serious face I had not seen often in the past months. He’d always been my wild card in this group and had never disappointed me. I had faith in him that he would continue to be a real asset.

“That’s Nayana’s dagger.” Fiolar looked grim, and I sighed.

“I found it in the wastelands around Amalach. There were a lot of footprints, so I followed them.”

I didn’t like the expression on Carthain’s face. “And?”

“There were rumors. She was seen with the King of Merchants.”

The pain in my whole body was the first sensation to return, followed by bone-deep fatigue that tempted me back into succumbing to the healing embrace of an unconscious sleep. My magic was barely present, and I wondered if I was drunk or in contact with hematite, the only material capable of neutralizing both fae and elemental magic.

Slowly, I opened my eyes when I heard hushed voices talking as I registered that I was lying in a soft bed and not on the hard ground somewhere in Amalach—and that I was alive in the first place, which was more than I could have hoped for.

On the one hand, I was overwhelmed by memories, assaulted by questions of how I ended up in this bed—wherever I was—and how I survived the Guardian’s onslaught. On the other hand, I tried to listen to the voices I quickly identified as my fellow soldiers.

I bared my teeth when I heard Thain speak, an instinctive reaction I couldn’t stop even in my state. There was too much bad blood between us.

“As I said, there were rumors. Word on the streets is that the King of Merchants was spotted with some guards—and an unconscious female prisoner.”

In an instant, all the remnants of fog in my brain were expelled, and I sat up in a rapid motion, ignoring the dizziness that came with it. “What?” My voice croaked from disuse for gods-know-how-long, but everyone could have clearly heard the edge of panic in its tone.

“Dion, you’re awake. Gods, don’t—lie down again.”

As if. I was up instantly. I might have been weak, injured, almost magicless, but I didn’t care. In an attempt to get the entire story out of him, I stumbled rather than hurried over to Thain and tightly gripped the collar of his tunic, shaking him. He was in luck that I was still pathetically unsteady.

“While you played book thief and appetizer for the Guardians, Perran Feroy took Nayana. She was gone before we even arrived in Amalach.”

I growled and showed him my teeth again. “Then what the fuck are we still doing here?”

“We have been waiting for you to wake up. You were out for three days, Dion. Besides, Thain’s information is new for all of us.” Antas tried to pry me away from Thain, but I didn’t let him. The redhead was the perfect target for my rage. And since he was even more feeble at his best than me at the moment, I still wasn’t worried about him retaliating. I growled again and snapped at him with my teeth.

“Dionadair. Stop this madness instantly.”

Antas’ sharp tone didn’t touch me at all, and it was Fig who finally pulled me away. That bastard! When I had my strength back, he’d regret this. “Fiolar, let me go!”

“Either lie down and rest or get ready to leave. I don’t care.” Fig sounded almost bored. “Losing your mind won’t help anyone.”

I snarled at my comrades. “I won’t rest if that human bag of filth can harm or kill Naya any second!”