Page 86 of The Crowned Queen

“For getting out of the camps and learning to use your magic?” Naeva snorted. “I’ve always heard that Kaldrath was way worse than Velgrim. They had to shut it down because even the humans were horrified.”

“I had nightmares,” Araya admitted softly. “For a long time.” But something loosened in her chest, a little of the fear she’d felt floating away. “Did you all grow up at Velgrim?”

“Naeva and Caela did,” Brynn offered. “But I grew up in Farhallow after my mother entered the breeding program. I think I was…five? But we’re all together now. And look what we can do!” Brynn lifted her hand up, letting sparks dance around her fingertips. “Did any of you ever think we’d have our magic? I didn’t.”

Araya couldn’t help but smile as she watched the last ember fade. “You manifested?”

Brynn grinned proudly. “Fire. I’m still learning to control it. Naeva got precognition and Caela has an affinity for illusions.”

“Are you sure you didn’t get an affinity for talking?” Naeva shoved Brynn’s shoulder, but there was a smile on her face. “What about you?” she asked, nodding to the little shadow curled around Araya’s wrist. “Do you have shadows like Loren?”

“Oh—” Araya glanced down at the little shadow. “No. This is one of his. It just likes to stay with me.”

“But you do have your power, don’t you?” Naeva asked, her amethyst eyes bright with curiosity. “Didn’t you manifest while you were on Eluneth? Thorne told me it’s usually somehow related to what we wanted most when our power was developing.”

For a heartbeat, Araya was back in that square, the screams of the crowd loud in her ears.

“Yes,” she said quietly. “I manifested.”

Brynn leaned forward. “Well don’t keep us in suspense. What is it?”

Araya hesitated. “I didn’t have much time to explore it.” Power rushing over her like a tidal wave. Loren’s terrified face as he begged her to let him through. “Thorne called it shielding. I guess what I wanted most of all when my power was developing was to feel safe,” she said, attempting a smile.

No one laughed.

“You know what I want most right now?” Caela said after a moment. “A proper, steaming hot soak.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Araya said wistfully. She longed to scrub her skin clean. Magic and a rag with a bucket could only do so much. “Too bad there’s no bath here. We’d all have to boil water in Serafina’s kettle.”

Caela glanced at Brynn and Naeva, a wide smile spreading across her face.

“Come with us,” she said, jumping to her feet and extending a hand. “You’re going to love this.”

Chapter

Thirty-One

“She’s getting stronger.” Loren stared down at the map spread across the rough-hewn table, his arms folded tightly across his chest. “She’ll be able to make the journey back soon.”

His shadows pooled at his feet, coiling and uncoiling against the dirt floor. Their indistinct mutters rose and fell, an indistinct buzz in the back of his mind. They didn’t like being apart from her. Neither did he, but Loren couldn’t deny that her demeanor had brightened since she started spending time with the others. She’d do even better once she was back with Eloria and Galen⁠—

“And you’re still set on sending her to Eluneth?” Finn asked.

Loren resisted the urge to bare his teeth at the barely concealed judgement in his friend’s voice. “It’s the safest place for her,” he said, for what felt like the thousandth time. “And the crossing shouldn’t be a problem as long as we have a weatherworker that can get her through the blockade safely.”

Finn made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat. “You might have trouble finding one to transport her against her will this time.”

Loren stiffened, barely healed grief aching like a bruise pressed too hard. Nyra was dead—his fault. “That’s a low blow.”

“Maybe.” Finn crossed his arms, not backing down. “But what are you going to do when she refuses to get on the boat? She’s queen as much as you’re king. They aren’t going to kidnap her.”

“I’ll convince her not to refuse.” He would talk to her. Lay out the risks plainly and calmly. She would understand—no one could deny that the best place for her was as far away from Jaxon Shaw as she could get.

Even if that was far away from him too.

He glanced up at the tree line. They should have been back by now—Caela never kept them out this long. Pushing down the twinge of guilt, Loren reached out along the bond. It felt strange without any response from her at the other end—like he was staring at her through a clouded window. He could still sense her general location and the vague flavor of her emotions, but he had to focus on it—unless she was hurt or in distress. The other morning had proved that those emotions still came through the bond crystal clear.

He’d hurt her with his reluctance to back her on the runes, made her think he didn’t care about what had become of their connection. Loren wished that he could make her understand. He wanted their bond back as much as she did—it was a slow torture to know what they’d had on Eluneth and feel its absence now. But he wouldn’t risk her life to get it back. He loved her too much to lose her again.