Page 41 of Eldritch
Ahead of me, more prints across the muddy forest ground indicated I was on the right path.
“Maevyth!” The voice that called out from the opposite direction sounded too much like Zevander’s. I spun around, gaze sweeping through the trees for any sign of movement.
Nothing.
“Do not answer to your own name,” I reminded myself, though I wasn’t certain what deceived me right then—my eyes, or my ears. I turned back to the footprints.
The voice called out for me again, and screwing my eyes shut, I ignored it, following the prints. Every step took me farther away from the cabin, until I was standing at the trampled thorn bushes that served as a barrier around the archway into Aethyria.
On the other side of them, I found Zevander with his back to me, staring up at the shimmering portal.
I stepped over the prickly brambles, ignoring how they caught on my trousers. “Zevander?”
He didn’t move. Didn’t turn to acknowledge my clumsy approach, as if he couldn’t hear me, at all.
I moved to close the space between us, approaching cautiously when whispers reached my ear.
“Te’igniret abysira. Te’igniret abysira. Te’igniret abysira. Te’igniret abysira.”He repeated the phrase in short, frantic bursts of breath, white mist pouring from his mouth.
Quiet, tentative steps brought me even closer. Close enough to see the black flame flickering in his palm. He raised it toward the shimmering barrier in front of him, which flickered and wavered, but failed to burn away.
“Zevander? What are you doing?”
Still, he didn’t answer.
I reached out to grab his arm, but before I could so much as breathe a word, he snapped toward me, an axe I hadn’t noticed drawn back in his other hand. “Zevander!” I lifted my arm toshield my face, as if that would offer any protection against the sharp, gleaming edge of that blade.
Dark and deranged eyes bore into me with a feral intensity.
“Zevander, it’s me. Maevyth.” I held my voice far steadier than I’d have thought possible, considering the tremble in my throat.
His brows lowered, the dark pupils shrinking as his gaze seemed to sharpen. He winced and stared at the axe in his hand. Snarling, he tossed it away and dove forward, grabbing my arms and pulling me toward him. “Gods be damned.” He wrapped his arms around me, his skin warm in spite of the cold, but his muscles shook around me. Palms gripping my shoulders, he backed away, keeping himself at arm’s length as his eyes frantically scanned over me. “Did I hurt you? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No. I’m fine.” Aside from the cold that lingered in my chest.
“Thank gods.” His muscles sagged with relief, and he released me, running his hand down his face before he braced it on his hip.
“What areyoudoing out here?”
“I was chopping wood. I thought I heard something.” He turned back toward the forest, brows furrowed. “Standing at the forest’s entrance is the last thing I remember.”
The muscles in my face tensed under the effort to school the worry creeping over me. “You kept sayingte’igniret abysira. What does it mean?”
The already disturbed look in his eyes darkened. “It’s Primyrian. It meansburn it down.”
I glanced at the archway. “Burn the barrier down? Is that possible?”
“Apparently not. Good thing, too.” He stared off, eyes unfocused. “Strange, I don’t even recall what I was doing a moment ago.” Another minute of staring, and his gaze swungback to me, eyes appraising me where I stood wrapped in the blanket. “What are you doing out here?”
“Besides noticing that you’re absent of clothes, I was elated to inform you that there’s been progress with Aleysia.”
“Did she wake?”
“No. But I think I heard her speak my name.” Which sounded far less impressive when spoken aloud, confirmed when he lowered his brows.
“Youthink. You’re not sure?”
“It happened very quickly. It sounded like she said my name…but then she remained still afterward. So, I began to question it.”
