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CHAPTER 1

JASSYN

A chill seeped through Jassyn’s veins, an insidious ice crawling deeper into his bones. His strength bled out, each muscle becoming an anchor, dragging him down.

A fog blanketed his mind, turning his thoughts sluggish beneath its numbing grip. He strained to reach through the haze—to force himself to move—but his body remained unresponsive.

He became aware of a distant tug on his leathers, hauling him along. Unable to focus, the world wavered to smudged fragments as night closed in. Grass whispered against his cheek before a sudden slap cracked across his face.

Jassyn’s eyes flew open as water engulfed him, blurring his vision. His chest convulsed from the shock, but instead of air, the stream crashed into his mouth.

He couldn’t move. Couldn’t feel his limbs. Could hardly register whatever thudded into his shoulder as his perception of Essence vanished, like a flame suddenly snuffed out.

One of his golden knives must’ve impaled him, tethering him.

Lykor.

Memories slammed into him, as relentless as the water flooding his lungs. Lykor had bitten him—paralyzing him somehow—lashing out in a desperate, animalistic fury after Jassyn had breached his consciousness.

His chest burned as water rushed down his throat. He needed to reach the surface. To breathe. To escape. But he was drowning.

Helpless.

Panic ignited. Jassyn’s mind clawed for control but his body refused him, imprisoned by the crippling grip.

He couldn’t let it end here. His survival wasn’t just about him—he had to tell the prince about Lykor and the visions he’d seen through his eyes. Serenna. Aesar. The wraith. The king.

Jassyn reached for Vesryn through the bond, but only emptiness answered—the golden blade in his shoulder had silenced his power. Surely the prince would sense it, like the void Serenna’s disappearance had left behind. He’d been reluctant to form the connection when the prince first suggested it, back when they were fleeing Centarya—but now, its existence might be the only thing that could save his life.

After portaling him to the jungle earlier in the evening, Vesryn had returned to the rangers. But he’d come searching. He had to. He’d find him here and rescue him from this sinking fate.

Dark flecks swam across Jassyn’s vision as his body spasmed from the lack of air. A faint tingling nipped at his fingertips. Perhaps this immobilizing effect was beginning to relinquish its iron hold. Buoyed by the foreign haze, he drifted between thoughts, his heartbeat slowing to a crawl.

Something shamefully familiar stirred—the euphoric rush, a dangerous craving burning with insatiable hunger. How absurd to desire that feeling even now, to feel a twisted satisfaction as he slipped further from himself.

What am I doing? The thought surfaced slowly, then sharpened. It’s just water.

Wrestling his mind into submission, Jassyn battled the fog. He focused on the current humming around him, swirling against his skin. Beneath it, the pulse of the earth waited.

His wrists twitched as he reached outward, willing the stream to bend. The water peeled away smoothly, rippling open in a shimmering arc.

For a moment, triumph flickered. But then realization struck—he’d been floating at the surface. He plunged a few feet through the sudden pocket of emptiness, colliding with the rocky bed below.

Air. He needed air.

Grounding his spinning head, Jassyn dug his fingers into pebbles, clinging to the roughness. By sheer force of will, he pried his mouth open, wrenching the water from his body. Liquid spilled out of him, a dam breaking as he convulsed with the motion.

Then a violent gasp filled his lungs. He sputtered and coughed, forcing out the last dregs. Still unable to move, he panted, but clarity returned with each inhale.

A sudden burst of Essence ripped through the glade. Jassyn lay face down in the exposed stream, water parting around him. His muscles quivered in a failed attempt to lift his head as heavy boots pounded against the earth, each step echoing in his chest. Stars, please let it be Vesryn. Not Lykor, coming back to finish the job.

“Jassyn!” The prince’s alarmed voice cut through the silence.

Before his cousin reached him, ribbons of force cocooned Jassyn’s body. Vesryn’s magic lifted him from the rocky bed, setting him gently onto the grass.

Jassyn released his tenuous control of the current and the stream clapped back together.

The prince dropped beside him, already gripping the knife lodged in his shoulder, yanking the blade free. Essence surged back into Jassyn’s awareness. Their bond blazed to life, Vesryn’s presence shining in his mind.

I’m fine, Jassyn sent hurriedly down the bridge between them as Vesryn turned him over. Rapidly blinking, Jassyn strained to focus on the blurred face above him. I just can’t move.

Crimson light spiraled from Vesryn’s hands, threading through the air and weaving into the wound on Jassyn’s shoulder. Confusion thrummed through the bond as the prince brushed Jassyn’s neck, tracing the unmistakable fang marks before mending them.

“Who did this?” Vesryn demanded, his hands tightening on Jassyn’s arms. He whipped his head around to scan the edge of the glade. “Are they still here?”

They’re gone, Jassyn said, his ribs shuddering with lingering coughs, each one chafing his throat. Set me up somewhere . I…have a lot to tell you.

Vesryn hooked an arm under Jassyn’s shoulders and hauled him across the grass. Bark scraped his leathers as the prince propped him against a tree before dropping beside him.

“What happened?” Vesryn pressed, every muscle coiled tight.

Jassyn forced himself to unravel the chaotic jumble of memories stolen from Lykor. Fragments and flashes, some fitting together into entire stories.

Worried about how the prince would react, he stalled for time and targeted the water drenching his clothes. Tugging on the liquid, droplets lifted in a fine mist that caught shards of starlight before swirling away, leaving him dry.

“Serenna…” Jassyn rasped, the word rough as he tested his voice. “She’s in the Wastes. With the wraith. She’s safe.”

Vesryn froze, but his intake of breath was harsh. His eyes widened, emotions flashing in the jade depths, confusion and hope colliding. “She’s…safe?”

Jassyn nodded, swallowing past the knot strangling his throat. “And there’s more. She’s…” He exhaled slowly. “With your brother.”

The prince’s disbelief thundered through the bond, striking Jassyn like a punch to the gut. His heartbeat faltered beneath Vesryn’s shock, but he steadied himself with a breath and pressed on. “Aesar… He’s not quite how you remember him.”

The truth soured in Jassyn’s mouth as he shared the haunting reality of what he’d seen. Aesar, broken under the king’s power. Lykor, emerging to shield him, only to be twisted into submission, compelled to kill Vesryn.

But Lykor had endured, no matter how many times Galaeryn had ravaged his Essence, forcing his transformation from elf to wraith and wraith to elf.

Jassyn squeezed his eyes shut. Shame spiraled through him, a horrific realization sinking in. He’d forced Lykor to relive that torment, wielding the same magic to invade his mind and bend his will—becoming no better than the king.

“Aesar survived,” Jassyn said, his voice a hoarse whisper. “Because of Lykor.”

Silence stretched and Jassyn glanced at the prince.

Vesryn’s face contorted as his hands curled into fists, knuckles white against his knees. Sensing his cousin’s anguish brewing, Jassyn gently steered the conversation to the other information he’d gathered. He filled in the gaps with everything else relevant to the moment—Serenna portaling into Lykor’s war room, mistaken for a threat, accepting a bond as a last resort for survival.

Jassyn sensed Vesryn splintering, the fortress he’d built around his grief beginning to crumble. As the news settled in, his own heart shredded in his chest along with his cousin’s.

“My brother…” Vesryn’s voice cracked. His eyes unfocused, searching through something Jassyn couldn’t see. He tangled his fingers in his hair, shoulders sagging, crushed under the impossible reality. “He’s…” A deep breath shuddered through his nose. “You’re telling me he’s alive? After all this time?”

Jassyn tried to fight past the lingering effects of Lykor’s bite and lift a hand. But his limb only twitched, the feeble gesture of solace falling short.

A tremor tore through the prince, his jaw clenched so tightly it shook. “I mourned him. I—” The words broke off as Vesryn shot to his feet, his eyes hardening to steel in the starlight. “Where are they?”

Jassyn turned inward, sifting through fading memories—an isolated stronghold, sleepless nights, vigilant patrols. His pulse quickened at the sight.

“There’s a dormant volcano,” he said, pulling himself back to the jungle, meeting the prince’s expectant stare. “Deep in the Wastes, surrounded by snowy peaks.” Jassyn paused, his mind drifting over the pattern of stars seen from Lykor’s balcony at night. “I could try mapping the constellations, but they’re unfamiliar. Zaeryn or your officers might know the region if any rangers have ventured that far.”

Vesryn nodded curtly, already pacing a path in the grass, fingers twitching at his sides. “Can you move?” he demanded, his impatience beginning to simmer. “Or can you show me how to dispel whatever is crippling you? I want to find them. Tonight.”

The finality in the prince’s voice had Jassyn hesitating. He feared rushing in headfirst without a plan would do more harm than good. “We need to be careful of the coercion on Lykor.”

Vesryn whirled around, eyes ablaze with manic light. “Don’t tell me what to do. I’m getting my brother and Serenna back and you’re coming with me to untangle the magic binding his mind.”

Jassyn drew a grounding breath, rebuilding his mental barriers to shield himself from Vesryn’s volatile emotions. “We will,” Jassyn agreed, steadying his own voice. “But we need to discuss how to handle—”

“There’s nothing to discuss,” the prince snarled, fury spilling into every syllable. “Stars, all we’ve done is speculate for weeks.” He stalked closer, crouching beside Jassyn, ruby light flaring in his palm. “Either you show me how to purge that toxin,” he growled, his face cast in a fierce, blood-red glow, “or I’ll toss you over my shoulder and take you to Thalaesyn right now.”

Unsure if such a feat of healing was even possible, Jassyn opened his mouth to argue. But before he could respond, the prince went rigid. Vesryn’s breath caught, his magic extinguishing in an instant.

“Do you sense Serenna?” Jassyn whispered. Nothing else would rattle him like this.

Vesryn sliced a hand through the air, demanding silence. His eyes flew wide, darting back and forth too fast for Jassyn to follow. Suddenly, the prince sprang to his feet and tore open a portal, the dark void rippling in the air.

“Wait!” Fighting to move, Jassyn’s legs twitched feebly. “If Lykor is there and sees you—”

But the prince was already dashing through the gateway. Mind reeling, Jassyn swore and gritted his teeth, trying to push himself up. His muscles trembled, frustration mounting as his body betrayed him.

In an unusual moment of foresight, Vesryn had left the portal open. Jassyn’s stomach tightened with the urge to fling himself through—just as recklessly as the prince—if only he could move. But doubt crept in with every breath.

Lykor would be there. And Jassyn, still struggling to stand, was anything but prepared for another encounter.

There wasn’t time to second-guess. If Vesryn faced Lykor, the coercion would trigger and he needed to be there to stop it.

Resolve steeled his bones, anchoring him against the rising dread. He had to act. Now.

When he attempted to move again, Jassyn’s hands flopped from his lap to the ground. Useless.

But beneath the soil, he sensed the pulse of life humming through the leaves and roots. Raking his fingers through the grass, Jassyn abandoned caution, swallowing his worry.

He’d only used the earth this way once before—during a training session with the prince, when he’d transferred plant life to heal Vesryn’s wounds. He’d barely known what he was doing then, but his own injuries had vanished too, revealing that self-healing with the earth was possible.

Focusing on the power racing under his palms, Jassyn closed his eyes and reached. The forest stirred around him, its ancient thrumming matching his heartbeat.

He tensed as the ground beneath his fingers withered, plants curling to ash in silent sacrifice. Holding his breath, Jassyn surrendered to the tempest of magic and let it sweep him away.