Page 144 of Enchanted Shadows
Kessara was missing.
My wife was gone.
For twenty-four hourswe combed the forest and up the mountain. No one had seen a trace of any of the three missing people. I walked the forest and sent out tendrils of my power until I couldn’t walk anymore, burnout bearing down on me, in which Miles had hauled me up to the castle and thrown me in my bed.
My bed which still smelled like her.
The sun was coming through the windows cheerfully, assaulting my senses. I’d only slept a few hours, my body unable to fully relax.
How could three people just disappear like that? They had to be out there somewhere. Yet as every minute stacked onto another, every hour slamming into another, it seemed more precarious we hadn’t found them yet.
Last night before I’d fallen to my knees in the forest, I’d held out hope that if Jorah could hide away safely in the forest until itwas safe, so could Kessara. No one had seen any of them leave Kavan Keep.
But without food and water? Without a coat or blanket with as cold as it dipped in the nights now? No, this second day brought with it an aching dread. But I could do nothing about it from bed, so I sat up to get dressed, to head back down to the forest.
I moved to get out of bed, tossing my curtain shut. I startled when I noticed I was not alone. Miles was sleeping on my couch and had woken with the sound.
His voice was groggy. “You need more sleep.”
“I’ll live,” I answered dully. I wasn’t as convinced, but not because of the amount of sleep my body had. “I need to get back down there.”
“Krew has not ceased the search all night,” Miles reminded me. “You know that.”
“I do,” I agreed. “But that’s only more bad news.” The only thread of hope I had was that I was working off the strange notion that if Kessara were really dead, I would somehow know. I would feel it.
What if they’d managed to get her out of Kavan Keep though? What if Calix had already removed her from Wylan?
Miles threw his shirt back on, we grabbed a coffee, and headed back out to the meadow, which was the meeting point for the search parties.
Krew had beaten us down there, and just in appearance, he looked like he had slept just as little as we had.
“Owen,” he greeted, striding for me and slapping me on the back. “Two quick updates. The first of which is that an Agrian ship arrived at the docks in Nerede with a letter from the Queen. They were warning us that Calix bribed some guards and broke free from his cell.”
“A little late,” I commented. I suspected he’d gotten here the same way Kessara originally had. He’d gotten free and hopped thenext ship out of Agria, then kept hopping them until he got to Wylan, hidden in shadows the entire time. Though with the timing of it all, it seemed he’d only beat me ashore by a day’s time or less. So it should be relatively easy to figure out which ship he’d snuck in on.
Krew continued, “The second is that someone on the night searches swears they thought they saw a mass of shadows, but it was there and gone. Do you know if there is a way to tell the difference in Calix’s and Kessara’s shadows?”
“Not by appearance,” I stated, doing my best not to get my hopes up. “Only in how they feel.”
Krew’s brows lifted as he waited for me to elaborate. But I didn’t feel like talking much.
“Calix’s shadows are not as heavy, but they bite as if dipped in acid. Kessara’s feel thick, but not unkind. Calix’s almost sting, Kessara’s just feel cool to the touch.”
Krew was quiet at that. His eyes were full of understanding. We both knew if it was Jorah who was missing, he would be more than distraught. He was kind enough not to make me any promises, he just looked at me with the same worried look I was sure was mirrored in my own eyes.
Deciding that was the best explanation I could give, I headed in the direction of the cabins. I was hoping that Kessara had drug herself to my cabin in the night. My stupid heart refused to give up hope that she was safe. Miles fell into step beside me but gave me space.
I knew Kessara was gone, and yet with my every step toward the cabin, I pleaded she’d be there. I looked for her in the sunlight reflecting off the trees, in every shadow cast from the sunlight peeking through the branches.
Where are you, Kess?
Just before making it to the cabins, I saw a blur of motion, what looked like a single line of turquoise magic.
Unbelievable. Of all things I had to deal with this day.
I gestured to Miles to hide around a large tree. I monitored my breathing and listened in. Only when I was sure they were all gathered did I step out of the shadow of the tree and say, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Molly, to give her credit, didn’t bother lying to me. “The same thing you are?”
