Page 26

Now, it was the morning after our travels, and I was stiff from how badly I slept on my own. I had felt so refreshed after sleeping next to Robyn—despite the odd dream—that I didn’t think about how I might react to sleeping on my own again. Though, I had nobody to blame but myself.

On another note, I learned something new about the Valwain. Their version of relaxing and recharging , in reality, meant training.

Looking up and out across the small clearing I sat in, I took in the sight of the Valwain.

Teagan was training with Quinn, currently circling each other like vultures, waiting to strike.

Chess was doing his own thing, seeing how fast he could make different plants sprout from the earth with his zirilium and collecting vital parts of each stalk to make various concoctions.

Ezra was sitting with Margo not too far from me on a small blanket, along with a picnic basket of books to study.

And Robyn was training in hand-to-hand combat with Drayven.

And somehow, though everybody else was dressed in training leathers, both Robyn and Rayven lost their shirts along the way.

My eyes were glued to him—my husband. I watched as he threw a flawless punch towards Rayven’s jaw, but he knocked Robyn’s arm away as if it was no more than an inconvenient bug flying around his face.

They’re evenly matched , I realized.

It was in that moment I noticed the tattoo snaking up Rayven’s right arm—meant to look like the shadows he wielded. If my limited knowledge on the Islanders was correct, this was a traditional tattoo, only given to those who had mastered their shadow wielding. It was an honor to possess.

I tried my best to focus on their actual training, how they seemed to ebb and flow with one another and perfectly anticipated the other’s move, but I couldn’t seem to. It was obvious they’d been training with one another for years. Yet all I could focus on now was Robyn.

Sweat has started to bead across his skin, making his golden tan glow even more than usual, especially in the early morning light.

I could make out small scars littering his otherwise flawless skin, all over his torso, back, arms, and chest. I tried not to stare at his toned abs, and failed, observing his skin stretch over the muscles there.

I watched as he shifted forward and how his hair fell across his forehead, the sunlight hitting it perfectly and lighting it up, showing off the red hues that were usually hidden.

If the sun were a person, it would be him.

My mouth was practically watering.

I heard a throat clear nearby, snapping me out of my careful observations. I could feel the way my face immediately turned bright red, but I tried to ignore it as I looked up at Quinn and Teagan, one of which was the source of the sound.

Quinn was scowling at me. The sound most definitely came from her.

“Having fun?” she asked, though there was an edge to her tone, letting me know she didn’t actually care. I wasn't sure what her problem was with me, but I obviously must have done something to offend her.

“Um, sure. I suppose so,” I responded, unsure of what else to say.

“You know you were drooling, right?”

My hand flew to my mouth so fast I barely registered it. Even though I knew she was lying, my embarrassment was clear in the flush covering my face and ears.

“ Quinn .” I heard Teagan say, a warning, but she couldn’t wipe off the small smile from her lips fast enough for me not to catch it.

Quinn sighed and placed her hands on her hips. “Listen, we all know there’s more to you than meets the eye, yet you keep turning us down when we ask you to train. You even turned down Byn , for Stars’ sake.”

Quinn, Teagan, and Robyn had each offered early this morning on our way out to this meadow, but I had swiftly declined. Although now I was beginning to regret it, with my zirilium growing stronger each moment, causing random pains to shoot through me.

I could feel my expression darken. “You’re mistaken. There’s nothing special going on with me,” I said sharply, then reined myself back in. “I’d prefer to be left alone now.”

Quinn opened her mouth to argue but paused when Ezra, who was sitting nearby, dramatically cleared his throat, in a way you knew was meant to be overly obvious. Quinn’s cheeks flushed a bright pink, and she turned on her heels to resume her training without another word.

Teagan scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “I swear, she’s an awesome person once she warms up to you,” she offered meekly, then followed after Quinn.

I sighed, dropping my head into my hands, and without thinking, reached for the necklace chained around my throat, tucked under my shirt.

The chain I kept all my Northern moon stones on.

The ones I never let anybody see, because I almost never took them off.

It was a silent comfort, having them so close.

It helped me feel more in control, when I knew I must be spiraling with how out of control my power felt.

I startled when I felt a sudden weight on my shoulder, dropping my hand swiftly.

Looking up, I found Ezra standing by me.

“Come sit with me and Margo. If you don’t want to train, you can at least help me study with Margo. Plus, she’d love to get to know you better.” He offered a kind smile.

I nodded, thanking him as I stood up and followed him back to their checkered blanket, the three of us now sitting in a triangle, their current book in the middle.

I sat with my legs crossed in front of me, nodding to Margo and giving her a small wave. She looked sheepishly at me, then picked the book back up in constantly gloved hands, placing it in her lap.

It never occurred to me before how small she was for her age, but sitting next to her now, I could see it.

She was likely a late bloomer, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d developed any zirilium yet.

She was already eight, so if she hadn’t yet, she hopefully would soon.

I was barely four when I began to discover mine.

I cringed at the memory, and a wave of nauseating guilt overcame me.

I took a deep breath, trying to clear my mind, when I felt a tug of worry and curiosity.

My head snapped up, just to see Robyn already staring at me.

Right , I reminded myself, he can feel what I feel.

Robyn maintained eye contact, and I saw so many unanswered questions in his gaze.

Rayven seemed to notice this and took advantage of it, swiftly sweeping Robyn’s feet out from under him, landing him flat on his back.

I couldn’t help but flinch, but I was grateful to not have to answer any questions as the two of them got back to it, Rayven teasing Robyn for letting something like a female get to him.

“She’s not just some female,” I heard Robyn respond in a frustrated tone, “that’s my wife , you jerk.”

I took another deep breath, trying to control the pink creeping up my neck.

“So why don’t we have the star stones today, Ezra?” I heard Margo ask, and at that, I whipped my head back around to pay attention to the conversation unfolding before me.

“What are star stones?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“You don’t know the legend?” Margo asked, confused, then looked at Ezra. “Tell her the story! Tell her the story!” She cheered.

“Alright, alright, I will.” Ezra laughed, clearly pleased by Margo’s enthusiasm. “Get ready. It’s quite the story.

“Over four hundred years ago, just before the war began, there was a Southern king named Baron. One day, King Baron Thorntier was alerted of an unusual phenomenon—they claimed the Stars had sent him a gift, for it was shortly after his coronation. His people had discovered a huge rock that had fallen from the sky in a great ball of fire, and landed near the chasm we have our mines at today. Upon further investigation, he found that the rock contained what he named star stones. He was able to harvest and forge five of them to perfection. He realized they were more powerful than any sun or moon stone he’d ever come across.

And they could be endowed with either sun or moon energy, making them an incredible weapon.

“As a sign of their continued peace, Baron met with the king of the North at that time—I forget his name—and offered them to him, as a gift. After that, the history accounts vary. We know the war began shortly after, but we don’t know where the star stones are today; if the Northern king accepted the gift and turned against King Baron.

That’s one theory, but it happened so long ago, we have no firsthand accounts.

” Ezra shrugged. “Just one of the many things lost to history over time.”

Ezra made a small bowing gesture after he concluded, and Margo clapped, giggling.

“Wait,” I said, “is that real? Did all of that actually happen?”

“Well, of course. I mean, small details are lost over time and sometimes the story is exaggerated, but the core facts are the same. It’s been recorded for generations,” Ezra responded, upbeat as always.

“I heard, back in Diorum, they were talking around the campfire about one of the ancient Southern kings, that he had been the most powerful the South had ever known. Is that King Baron?”

“The one and only,” Ezra responded, nodding.

“Huh,” I said simply, my mind reeling, wondering how I had never heard of King Baron or the star stones in my entire life in the North.

I guess Laurence nor Robyn lied—we really were kept in the dark back in the North .