Page 85 of Keldori By Daybreak

An odd mixture of relief and terror flooded my insides, turning my knees weak and my palms sweaty. I’d won, sure, and now that meant going through with the plan.

But I’d been telling the truth when I said Ciarán was the stronger Magician. Ferrin was power hungry and evil, but I’d seen how Ciarán had looked at me earlier that day, even if he pretended that part of Liam wasn’t in there. He wouldn’t let Ferrin hurt me.

“You’ll do it?” I hated the way my breath caught. “Now?”

He looked up at the distant lip of the canyon. “We don’t know how close he is. If he’s within a day’s journey, he might get here before we’re prepared.”

“And if he’s still in his mountain, he’ll take longer, and we’ll be wasting time waiting for him.”

“We’re injured.”

“Tiernan’s ankle might never fully heal, and you’re doing a lot better than you were a few days ago. Gams doesn’t have time to wait for us to be one hundred percent.”

“And what about you?”

“I’ve been managing just fine since we left Sorcha’s.”

I strode out onto the mossy canyon carpet. Puffs of glowing moss spores swirled around my boots with every step, and water droplets clung to my skin as I made my way through the clouds of steam that rose up from the ground vents.

I didn’t want to do this somewhere Orla might stumble upon us mid-conversation with her uncle we were planning to murder, and after retreating a satisfying number of twists and turns into the canyon, I figured we were far enough. I turned to stare defiantly at Ciarán through the haze of glowing haze.

“You really want to do this now?” Ciarán stepped through the steam, slow and deliberate. “Even if he tries to summon you to him?”

“He can try. He won’t be able to.”

“Fine. But don’t look at me. If he sees me through your eyes, he might know we’re up to something. That would be too obvious.”

“Right.” I turned away and faced the next bend of the canyon trail, trying to ignore the quake in my voice.

“Brace yourself, Blue.”

Ferrin’s voice was distant at first, but slowly strengthened in volume and clarity until he could’ve been standing next to me.

“…picked up the first book in her series, just to see what has everyone talking about Eliza Warrender in Keldori. Can’t say I’m impressed.”

“He’s talking about my mom’s books!” I hissed at Ciarán.

“You have to talk to him, not me, if you want him to be able to see you,” Ciarán said.

“I know, but he read one!”

“Yes, I can hear him too.”

“I mean, come on!” Ferrin continued. “Three smut scenes in the first chapter? It was a bit excessive.”

I blushed. I hadn’t yet been brave enough to crack open my mother’s erotica series.

“And yet, you kept reading after the first scene,” I quipped at him. Magick crackled in the back of my head as I finally connected with Ferrin. “Maybe try Hamlet. It’s got an uncle I think you’ll like.”

Ferrin cut off in a guffaw that rebounded against the confines of my head. I pressed my hands to my ears in vain.

“Wren Warrender, I was starting to think you couldn’t hear me. Turns out all I had to do was mention your mother.”

I resisted the urge to look at Ciarán. “Sorry the book wasn’t for you. Thanks anyway for checking it out. Royalties go straight to my college fund.”

“Oh, I pirated that garbage. Had a student show me how. But don’t worry, like I said, you’ve been officially rejected from Von Leer, so you've got time to save for college yet.”

I hated him. I hated him so much.