Page 131 of A Touch of Gold and Madness

Orion pointed at a particular drawing on the page. “This one,” he said without taking his eyes from whatever he jotted down beside the tome.

“Anything about the magic poisoning the land? Any drawings resembling that, I mean?”

“No. Not that I’ve seen yet.”

“You mind if I take a look?”

Orion waved a hand toward the book. His brows furrowed as he looked back and forth between two sheets of paper, a pen in his grip.

I slid the book closer to me. The drawing of the suspected soul bond glared at me. I resented it now. A part of me wanted to find a way to break it; that way, I would no longer feel like a burden to Chrome. But I pushed the thought away, realizing that it was stupid thoughts planted by an abysmal man.

I was still livid at Chrome, though. I wasn’t sure what he wanted to keep from me, but I would find out one way or another.

Gently, I flipped through the pages, looking for anything that might stand out.

I got close to the end and was beginning to doubt that I’d find anything. With my jaw propped on my hand, I felt my hopes wane as I came to the last page.

As I flipped it closed, something caught my eye. “Orion…” I whispered, feeling my heart rate pick up at the possible small revelation.

After what seemed like a few hours, I kept returning to a particular drawing. It was of a very rough and antiquated sketch of a stone with unpolished, jagged edges. Nothing extraordinary about it stood out. I almost breezed past it for the third time, but something told me to stop.

“What about this?” I asked, glancing up at Orion.

With pinched brows, he took the book for himself, cocking his head to the side. “Hm, I haven’t seen this one. I must’ve missed it, somehow,” he murmured, his eyes scanning the text quickly back and forth as he tried to make sense of it. “I can’t believe I missed this.” Confusion warped his brow, as he scratched his stubble.

“You want a better look?” I asked, sliding the tome to him.

Eagerly, Orion leaned closer to the book, his eyes widening and dancing back and forth over the page.

“What?” I asked.

“It’s…” Orion gripped the back of his neck. “It’s gone. Disappeared.”

It was my turn to lean forward, looking over the page. But it wasn’t gone. “No, it’s still there.”

Orion’s eyes grew wider, his head jerking up to look at me. “Now, I can see it.” He glanced back at the book. “Only if you’re looking at it.”

I reeled back, shocked at such a suggestion. “What? Why would that be the case?”

Orion shook his head, not understanding either. “I don’t know,” he murmured, already seemingly moved past this weird phenomena as he scrambled for his pen. “But I’m going to copy all of this down really quick.”

I sat frozen. The world tilted on its axis as I tried to make sense of this strange occurrence.

“Don’t move,” Orion muttered as he began scrawling on his loose papers. “I’ll definitely work on deciphering this. Stones hold all kinds of properties, as you know with black crystal.”

“Exactly. If this is what Forest is after, I wonder what kind of power it holds that’s strong enough for him to go to such lengths to obtain,” I pondered aloud.

“Precisely,” Orion said, his teal gaze clashing with mine before returning to the book. “It will take me some time. This language is complex, more complex than the rest of it, which tells me it’s of value. Especially since you’re the only one it appears for.”

Leaving Orion’s office had me in higher spirits than I’d been in when I’d first arrived. I felt like I was finally contributing in some way. Hungry, I made my way to the dining hall to grab some dinner. A few hours had passed in Orion’s office after the revelation, both of us searching in silence for anything else that might’ve stood out, particularly if the stone was the source of power that Forest was seeking. We originally suspected it was a weapon, or perhaps a chalice based on folklore within our world with the idea that maybe it had derived from Arcadia centuries ago.

But we came up empty-handed. Nothing stood out.

I found Aella, River, Void, and Kodiak at our usual table. No Onyx or Chrome, though.

Anger flooded me again, remembering how he’d tried to control me earlier in the training fields. I hated how small I felt when he called me a liability, reminding me of how my father always made me feel.

Setting my plate on the table, I forced a smile. “Where have you been?” River asked, pointedly filling her fork and taking a bite.

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