Page 45 of Fading Sun

But I’m not growing old and dying overnight, so I suppose that’s also a discussion for later.

Damien has three items laid out on the table in front of him. The Astral Compass, and two matching daggers.

He keeps fiddling with the Astral Compass. As far as we’re aware, there are no shadow souls in the mystical realm in the Himalayas, so we won’t be able to use the compass to call them to us. Which we likely would have no reason to do, even if there were shadow souls there. But the compass can be used for navigation, so it’ll likely come in handy at some point during the journey.

I have my Kindle in my lap, but it’s impossible to focus on reading. My mind keeps wandering to other topics. Right now, it’s on Astrophel’s token. I contemplated bringing it with me, but decided against it. The chances that one of the others could find it is too high. So, it’s still buried in that drawer, half a world away.

The fact that I’m now married to Damien, hiding the token, about to go on a crazy quest to find this Solar Scepter, and then use it to kill Astrophel… the thoughts and possibilities are swirling in my mind, and I can’t keep up with them.

I preferred being in the gym at the Fairmont, training. It gave me something physical to do, which kept my mind off all the other crazy stuff in my life.

Picking up my Kindle again, I try to focus, but fail. Mainly because my eyes keep drifting to the wedding ring forged around my finger.

Literally forged. Out of curiosity, I tried pulling it off this morning.

It wouldn’t budge.

And I can’t hold up my Kindle without seeing it.

Blaze snaps the book shut—loudly—and I swivel my seat around to look at him.

“I found something,” he says simply.

Damien’s guard is up in an instant. “Found what?”

“I can do a spell on our weapons,” he says. “Invictus. It means invincible. If it works, our weapons could beat any enemy.”

“And if it doesn’t work?” I ask, intrigued.

“Then our weapons will be the same as always.” He shrugs. “Might as well give it a try.”

“Absolutely not.” Morgan’s normally bright eyes are dark and hollow as she stares Blaze down.

Blaze glares straight back at her. “Mind telling me why?”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“That’s ironic, coming from you,” he says, his tone laced with venom.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she all but hisses back.

If it wouldn’t potentially make the plane combust, I’d worry they were seconds away from using their fire magic on each other.

As it is, they’re smarter than that.

At least, I hope they are.

“It means you were the one preaching about how amazing magic is, and how we should use it for the greater good, and how we should embrace the power we were born with,” he says. “You went on and on about it in Switzerland. Now here you are, thinking it’s a bad idea to try a simple spell?”

“Back off,” I tell Blaze, feeling an unquenchable need to defend Morgan, given how shaken she looks. “Maybe she had a vision about it.”

I turn to Morgan, waiting for specifics on why she doesn’t want him trying this out. Because frankly, it doesn’t sound like a terrible idea. If it goes right, it could be super helpful.

“No vision.” She gathers herself together and refocuses on Blaze. “It’s just that your magic is unknown. We should be careful with how we use it. Especially on something as important as our weapons.”

“There is no we,” he replies, his fiery eyes crackling like storm clouds. “This is my magic, and my family’s quill, and I can use it however I want.”

Wind whips through the cabin, making the champagne flutes clank and knocking a half-full glass of scotch off a side table.

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