Page 92 of The Dark Mage
“Don’t give me that look,” she managed, her voice sharp.“It tore you apart when you couldn’t get to me, so don’t act like my reaction is somehow beneath yours.”
Esrin stepped back, startled by her fierce anger.She used it to burn away the panic threatening to consume her.If only she had a sharper mind for strategy, a clearer plan to guide them forward.
Wordlessly, Esrin extended a hand, helping her back onto Patina.
“What now?”she whispered, rubbing her face with trembling hands.Every inch of her body already felt sore andworn.
Without a word, Esrin handed her a piece of hardtack and some cheese, then swung himself up behind her.Ren’wyn tucked herself back into his thighs, unwilling to create space between them despite the ache in her muscles.They needed to press on until they found more evidence.
With a swift kick, Esrin urged Patina into a canter.Ren’wyn couldn’t see the worry in his eyes, but it weighed heavily on her as they rode into the fading light.The road they now traveled was unfamiliar, the surrounding countryside foreign and unsettling.By the time they entered a line of woods, the sun had dipped low, casting long shadows across the ground.
When darkness finally fell, they stopped.Ren’wyn’s legs nearly buckled as she dismounted, but sheer willpower kept her upright.She refused to show weakness.Esrin tossed her a blanket and some food before setting up his own bedding with curt, frustrated movements.He threw his blanket roughly to the ground and devoured his supper in quick, angry bites.
Ren’wyn picked at her meal, her appetite gone, her emotions a tangled knot in her chest.She struggled not to cry, the effort burning in her throat.
“Damn it, where are they?”Esrin’s sudden outburst shattered the silence as he slammed his hand to the ground.
Ren’wyn jumped, startled.Small fissures spread like spiderwebs through the dirt.The boulder behind her shuddered, chips breaking free with faint cracks.
“The last time this happened…” Esrin’s voice rang with raw anguish.“They died, Ren’wyn.They died, and I couldn’t save them.We found them hung on the side of the road.Their bodies were still warm.Gods, if it wasn’t the worst thing since the day Bier rode into Ishvaen without you and my heart cracked so deeply I thought it might stop beating.”
He put his head in his hands and fisted his long black hair.The ground quivered again as his magic seeped out of him.Dust rose around her ankles, spiraling in restless swirls.
“And now—damn it!”he shouted, punching the earth oncemore.
The granite boulder behind him split with a deafening crack, the sound like thunder rolling through the clearing.
“Damn it!”he roared again, his anger unleashing his power.A powerful gust of wind tore through the camp, lifting the edges of their blankets and making Patina whicker nervously.
Ren’wyn ached witnessing Esrin’s pain, for the magic writhing uncontrollably around him.She glanced at Patina, grateful for the horse’s steady nature despite all he had endured thatday.
Deep in the pit of her stomach, Ren’wyn’s magic called to her.She wanted to answer its pull.First, though, she touched Esrin’s arm and tilted his chin with her otherhand.
“This is not your fault, Esrin,” she said gently.“We all know the risks of rebelling.We understand that traveling might bring discovery.The good we do balances the fear, and we all have to accept and own it.”
“I can’t let go,” he replied, his voice low and strained.Ren’wyn wasn’t sure if he was talking about their companions orher.
Finally, she released her hold on the Void, the persistent call impossible to ignore.In the dark, a heavier blackness swirled from her hands and arms, frost creeping up her skirts as her pupils dilated.She watched the shadows coalesce and cling to her as she ran her fingertips over the earth.
Ren’wyn felt the remnants of Esrin’s angry magic in the ground and the fractured stone behind her.Like fragments of dried leaves or strands of torn silk, his power lingered—vibrant and bright.Pieces floated in the air, shimmering like dust motes stirred by a breeze.She had never looked for this with her second sight before.
Fascinated, she brushed her fingers as if gathering the shards of magic with her hands.Her shadows obeyed, black mist curling around the fragments of air and earth.
To her left, Esrin inhaled sharply.
“What the hell, Ren?”he rasped, his aura pulsing.
Ren’wyn flicked her fingers, and her shadows danced with the splinters of his magic, making them shine like blue, green, and silver stars in the mist.They floated, glowing in the darkness.
Esrin reached for one, his aura a living, breathing force.When he touched it, he sighed with visible relief.The contact loosened his control over his power, and a soft wind caressed them both.The ground trembled, and more small pieces of stone crumbled to the earth.The rising breeze lifted Ren’wyn’s hair, sending it into her face as her dress rustled.
When the shades appeared, Esrin froze, fear rippling through his power.
Ren’wyn gasped as each spirit reached for a star cloaked in mist.The colorful lights absorbed into their translucent fingers, settling where their hearts would have been in life.In the distance was the comforting presence of Aiden, Moira, and Daren, their contentment thrummed softly withinher.
Only one shade held back, its heavy presence unmistakable.Ren’wyn knew who it would be.Bringing a hand to her heart, she beckoned him forward.
The darkness shook, and the shade melted before reforming directly in front of her.His reappearance brought a biting wind that frosted her cheeks and shoulders.
