Page 59 of Crown of Mist and Heat

I turned to stare at Tavian. He seemed to be frozen on the spot, like he was in the library. There, but at the same time not there.

21

Khala

"Ryze," I said, to get his attention.

"What is it?" He too turned and saw Tavian. "Shit." He stepped over closer to the assassin master. Put a hand on his cheek. "He's colder than ice. Tavian? Tave?"

Tavian blinked a couple of times and shook his head. "Sorry, I was…"

"Let's sit you down." Ryze led him over to a tree and helped him to the ground. "What did you see?"

Tavian's eyes were glazed. "The same Fae as last time. They were talking to someone. I couldn't see who. It was dark. I wasn't supposed to be watching."

I crouched beside him. "What were they talking about?"

He shook his head slowly. "I have no idea. I could only hear a word or two. It sounded like they were arguing. Then the woman, Yala, she saw me."

"The person whose body you were in?" I asked.

He frowned. "No. She sawme. I don't know how. She looked shocked. She started to point to me, and then… I was back here." He looked around. Caught sight of the burnt mess on the ground. "What… Who?"

"Dalyth." Ryze sat down next to him. "Vayne saw another portal open and close. Something came out of it and hit her."

His gaze flicked towards Hycanthe and back again. "Where was she each time?"

I thought back for a moment. "The first time, I don't know. She was with Jezalyn. The second time, she was training with Dalyth."

I suspected Hycanthe had something to do with this, but not to this extent. Whatever ‘this extent’ was. To me, it seemed like she was stuck right in the middle of it. A place she clearly didn't want to be any more than I did.

"And the third time, Dalyth ended up dead," Ryze said thoughtfully. "And Tave keeps eavesdropping on strange Fae."

"Not on purpose," Tavian protested. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not do that again." His wide mouth twisted to the side like he tasted something unpleasant.

"Do you think Hycanthe did this somehow?" I whispered. Hycanthe wasn't my favourite person ever, but I couldn't really imagine her attacking people with anything but her words.

"Not purposefully," Ryze said. "At least, I don't think so." He looked over to Cavan and jerked his head to indicate that he should join us.

Both he and Vayne crouched down beside us.

"You're the closest thing to an expert in Summer Court magic," Ryze started.

Cavan raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything. He gestured for Ryze to continue.

"Can you pin someone to a tree, open a portal, aim a blast of fire and actually hit the target, all at the same time?"

"At any other time, I’d make the claim I could," Cavan replied easily.

"So, no," Vayne said.

"No," Cavan agreed. "I could pin someone to a tree and make a portal at the same time, or do the other two, but not all of it at once. If you're volunteering, I could demonstrate." He smiled sarcastically.

"Only if I get to pin you to a tree afterward," Ryze said dryly.

Tavian made a choking sound in the back of his throat.

I had to bite my lip to keep myself from smiling.

---