Page 37 of Song of Night

I find my pants and tug them back on, then I turn to face him. “Agreed. We’ll continue our temporary truce to regain our magic, and if we survive the battle against Vyrin, we’ll go our separate ways.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

ZARA

When we walk back the way we came, Jaylen is there waiting for us. Her eyes widen when she sees me, and she throws her hands in the air.

“I thought you two had been eaten by something! After telling you there weren’t monsters in this area…” Her face morphs from surprise to anger. “Don’t do that again!”

“Sorry,” I say softly.

Jaylen narrows her eyes, cocking her head to the side. “You two are… practically glowing with magic all of the sudden.”

I duck my head, a blush heating my cheeks, and Jaylen’s mouth falls open.

“Oh…”

“After the explosion—we—we lost our magic,” I explain haltingly. “But since we share a bond with it… when we’re together…”

“I see.” Jaylen rocks back on the heels of her boots. “Well, that’s about enough sister bonding considering we just reunited. Why don’t I introduce you to my companions and you can get some food and weapons.”

I nod, relieved at the change of subject. The last thing I want to talk about right now is me and Asher.

“Oh, and when we get there—” Jaylen turns so quickly I almost run into her— “Do not tell them who you are.” She directs her comment to Asher, her eyes pinned to his.

His jaw flexes, but he nods. “I take it the Lord of Night is not well regarded in these parts?”

“Most of the people here are refugees from Night. But a handful were born here, in Cyrena. They have no magic, and Vyrin has told everyone for decades that you stole their magic.” Jaylen’s lips are set in a firm line. “Even I can’t protect you if they discover who you are.”

We continue walking, but Jaylen’s words pique my curiosity.

“So, those born in Night possess magic, but those born here do not…” I muse aloud. “Doesn’t that cause strife among you?”

Jaylen shrugs. “When we explain the situation in Night, most do not wish to wield magic so badly as to live in a war-torn city, subjected to potential death anytime you cast a spell. Or even if you don’t, and there’s a random surge.” She looks over at me. “Besides, the longer one of us is gone from Night, the weaker our magic becomes, until eventually, it vanishes altogether.”

Asher raises his brows. “Really?”

Jaylen nods. “Our camp is almost entirely Incantrix, with a couple Animus. The Animus can still shift at the full moon, but they cannot wield any other magic.”

“But when you travel back to Night, your magic is replenished?” I ask.

“Yes.” She confirms. “The moment I step foot in the city it comes rushing back to me.”

Asher shakes his head, his expression stormy. “I never imagined…never knew the damage I caused to the rest of Aureon.”

We fall silent, and Jaylen leads the way through the forest, about a quarter mile to a huge, twisted tree. It’s easily three times as large as the rest, not just in height but in girth. It would take twenty men to circle the thing, arms stretched. Mist curls around the trunk of the thing like silver snakes along the forest floor.

Like the tree Jaylen first appeared in, this one has a hidden door which she activates by pressing a series of knobs cleverly concealed in the bark. A small gap appears and she ducks through, gesturing for us to follow. When I step into the shadowy interior of the tree, I’m greeted by two armed guards, one on each side of the hollowed-out trunk. They’re wearing simple garb: brown pants, boots, and tunics which I imagine help them blend into the forest.

They cast wary glances at me and Asher, their eyes following us as we pass by them, though they don’t move a muscle. Long bows are strapped to their backs, and they carry several daggers each. Blocks of ice would have provided a warmer welcome than these two. Jaylen was right when she said they don’t like outsiders.

I hear the sound of wood creaking as the door closes behind us again, and we’re plunged into total darkness for a moment. Then Jaylen presses something on the other side of the trunk and another door opens. The dim ocher light of the forest reveals an entirely unexpected landscape.

We’re standing at the edge of a narrow ravine that splits the forest floor. Steep, earthen steps banked by fallen logs lead down to the bottom of it. It runs as far as I can see before twisting sharply and disappearing from view. The sides of the ravine are so steep that one would have to rappel into the interior to access it from above, which would be seriously hindered by the barricade of thorny vines hanging near the apex.

I follow Jaylen down the steps, Asher at my back. The smell of woodfire and cooking meat hits my nose, and I realize how starved I am. It’s been at least a day since I’ve eaten, what with not being able to consume any of the fae food. As we reach the floor of the ravine, I see a couple dozen people at least. Sitting around fires, sharpening weapons, flocking arrows, stirring soup. Several call greetings to Jaylen, but Asher and I receive the same frigid stares the guards above had given us.

It hits me, then. My sister has a family here. And she has a life in Night as well. A whole life that I’ve missed for the last ten years. The last time I saw her, she was a child. Now she is grown, and she is fierce and brave and has survived against all odds, through war and the Waste both. There’s been a void inside me this whole time, a missing piece where she belonged, but now it feels even bigger knowing that all of this transpired, all this time we could have had together. It feels as if I’ve been gutted, a pain as sharp as a blade.

---