Page 217 of The Shadow Wand

Outrage kindles deep in my core with surprising force. I draw my palm away from the root and push myself to my feet.

“So, you know,” I quietly seethe at the forest, my lips turning down into a trembling grimace as I face down the trees. “You all know what I am.”

A wave of panic suddenly overtakes my outrage.

I’m alone. In a hostile forest. In a land where the military wants to kill me. And I have no idea how to get out of here.

And Vogel is going to come for both me and this entire Realm.

The ground seems to shift beneath my feet, and I lean down and brace my hands on my thighs as I force even breaths and battle back the fear.

Lukas’s words come to me, filling my mind.

You’re a warrior. I have always known that you’re powerful. But now,youhave to believe it.

Fresh tears sting my eyes at the remembrance of Lukas’s deep, bolstering voice. And Lukas’s, Valasca’s, and Chi Nam’s unwavering conviction that I could be strong.

They all believed you could be a warrior, I rage as the anguished grief sweeps through me.And they gave up everything to help you escape.

You have to be strong.

I glance down at the crushed ferns where I was crumpled up a moment ago, my rune blades lying on the ground, as an even starker realization grips hold.

Vogel can destroy the Noi military’s runes. He can march up to the most powerful sorceress in Noilaan and effortlessly cut her down. Which means he’s going to be able to march right into the Eastern Realm and destroy everything and everyone in it.

Determination bolts through me.

You have to get to the Wyvernguard and warn the Vu Trin.

I press the runes on my palms, my rune blades flying up from the forest floor and into my hands.

Then I close my fists around their hilts.

No more falling apart, I order myself, grasping the blades tight. You’re on your own now.

Grief burning in my chest, I sheathe my blades, wipe away my tears, and feel for my other weapons, the knives strapped to my arms and just under my pant legs’ hems, the Wand sheathed at my side.

All there.

Lightning flashes, the air charged with the incoming storm’s energy as urgency rises, sparking an answering flush of energy through my tangled lines. I need to get to the Noi city of Voloi, home of the Wyvernguard. And I need to get there fast.

Because Vogel is coming for the Eastern Realm.

The Shadow Wand is rising.

I tense my brow at the purple forest surrounding me, picturing Chi Nam’s map of the East. If this is truly the Dyoi Forest, then I need to travel east and get past both the Zonor River and the Vo Mountain Range. And beyond that, over the Vo River to reach Voloi.

But I’ve no compass...

A child’s scream splits the air, the sound piercing my thoughts as my whole body tenses.

Another scream in the same direction. And then an insectile screech that ends on a chittering note.

I pale as I remember that sound.

Scorpios.

Terror blasts through me, momentarily rooting me to the spot.

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