Page 28 of The Demon Tide

So, for a brief moment, I give in. I hold Trystan’s gaze and breathe in his power as the door shuts between us.

CHAPTER FOUR

RIVERBONDRISING

Tierney Calix

The Wyvernguard

South Wyvernguard Island, Noilaan

Eastern Realm

Sixth Month

The next evening, Tierney is once more down by the Vo, leaning against the stone railing, the moon gleaming bright, her thoughts on Trystan and the fight to come. Waves splash over the terrace’s edge, lapping playfully at her feet, her boots and socks kicked off to allow the longed-for, rejuvenating connection.

The river’s smooth water feeds into her Asrai veins, and she breathes in deep, reading the Vo’s vast network of tributaries as easily as she can read her own Water Fae form. She stiffens, sensing a subtle trace of another power at the edge of that network, hovering to the west—an unnerving hint of Shadow near one of the distant streams. Poised, yet not infiltrating.

Not yet.

A flare of concern bubbles through Tierney, prompting a vow as her eyes fix on the West.

Makeone moveinto my river’s waters, Vogel, and you’ll feel the full wrath of my storm.

But then, along with her bravado, the concern continues to swell.

Vulnerable. My river is vulnerable.

The yearning rises to have Viger Maul here, his Death Fae stillness surrounding her as she tells him of these fears, as she’s increasingly wont to do, his words always few, but his thrall often leaving her with a feeling of deep understanding. She’s gotten in the habit of seeking him out, late at night, at the island’s base after the evening’s last call.

Her gaze slides over Noilaan’s translucent protective dome and the line of storms that top the Vo Mountains, the Wyvern-fabricated storm band spitting silvery lightning and roiling with violent clouds. The storm-barrier was recently fortified, and a huge Vu Trin military force has already deployed to the easternmost edge of the continent’s Central Desert. Another deadly barrier for Vogel to get through.

But what barrier is there to protect my river from invasion?

Troubled, she considers how the Vo will lie wholly unprotected when she and thousands of other soldiers deploy west to meet Vogel’s forces in the desert lands.

Tierney grimaces, knowing full well that the Vu Trin will need every last shred of Fae power to help them stop the Magedom and Alfsigr.

But what will it matter, if Vogel manages to infiltrate the waters?

Tierney’s thoughts slide to how she and Elloren used Ironflowers to block Mage spells what seems like a full lifetime ago.

I could really use your help, Elloren, she opines.You and I...we’re quite good at puzzling things out. I bet we could puzzle out how to shield the rivers. Instead, you’ve disappeared without a trace. And what I’m sensing is so subtle, I doubt I could get even Fyordin to fully believe me. But...you’d listen.

Tierney’s gaze sweeps from the storm band toward the forest and the glowing runic border. She frowns as she ponders once more...

Where are you, Elloren?

A small rush of water power ripples around her, flowing over her lines in a gentle caress.

Tierney stiffens. She knows Fyordin’s connection to her same bonded river makes it difficult for him to staunch his pull toward her, the same way she has trouble keeping her power from flowing into his, but still, it’s irritating. She tightens her grip on the railing, forcibly contracting her aura toward her center as she fights the urge to let her magic eddy through his.

Fyordin comes up beside her, his gaze flicking down toward the water lapping at her bare feet. “Enjoying your freedom from my reign of terror, Advisor Calix?” The amused sarcasm in his tone raises Tierney’s hackles even further.

“I am.” She shoots him a wry look.

Fyordin returns her sardonic look, cocking one indigo brow. “I’ve pushed you because you’re brilliant and powerful.” His domineering voice is tinged with a warmth that rattles Tierney anew. “I’m glad you’ve some respite this eve. You deserve it.” He peers out over the Vo. “You should take time to enjoy the upcoming Xishlon festival, as well.”

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