The Nature of Magic (The Curse of Magic Book 2)

Chapter 7

But it didn't seem right, not with what was coming.

"Shouldn't I stay here and train?"

Wyn's face fell. "Of course, if you'd rather train...."

Edwyr sighed. He'd not meant to make Wyn think that. "I'd rather come with you. But it seems irresponsible to leave when we'll be going into the jungle soon."

Wyn smiled again, not looking horribly disappointed anymore, thank the Goddess. "Worry not. We have time. Besides, you've been training without pause for a month. You have more than earned a break."

Edwyr felt like Wyn was just making excuses for him, giving him that special treatment Orenis had mentioned, and Edwyr didn't like that it made him feel good. He shouldn't feel good about getting to skip his duties because the de facto leader of their group had a romantic interest in him. But at the same time, this was probably the first time anyone had done that for Edwyr, and he couldn't get himself to care enough to tell Wyn not to do this. Besides, apparently, Wyn had been giving him special treatment the entire time and Edwyr had just not noticed, so this was probably not as big of a deal as it felt.

"All right. Then I would very much like to join you."

Wyn beamed at him.

++++

They ended up using the Infuser hidden in the basement beneath the castle to travel to another Infuser site along with their squawkers. Edwyr had been very curious where they would find themselves, but it turned out to be a round, stone room, surrounded by piles of rubble outside. They were now at the edge of the jungle, surrounded by fields of grass and some solitary trees dotting the landscape.

Unlike the ruins of Urzikal, this didn't seem grand or even hidden. Was it not concerning that anyone could find this place?

But before Edwyr could ask, Wyn explained as he stepped outside onto the grass, petting his squawker's head as he went. "When we found this particular Infuser, it was covered in rubble. We reconstructed this room, and enchanted it to blend into the surrounding environment."

Edwyr didn't stop following him, but he did look back to point out the stone building wasn't exactly inconspicuous. But then he froze, staring at the pile of rubble behind him, ignoring Tempest's annoyed grunt at the sudden halt. The building was...gone. Or well, disguised, he supposed, but it looked like it was gone.

"Yes, you need to walk inside the room for it to become visible to you, which is very difficult if you don't know where it is," Wyn explained. "Would not want anyone finding it."

Edwyr stroked a hand over Tempest's forehead to soothe away her irritation before gently pulling on her reins to get her to walk with him again as he continued trailing after Wyn. "So, has someone used this Infuser to gain magic?"

Wyn shook his head, climbing up into his squawker's saddle. "Unfortunately, this one seems to have little to no magic left. All it can support is travel."

That was a shame, but Edwyr wasn't surprised. They would not be using it just to travel if the Infuser had more to give.

Edwyr climbed onto Tempest's back, prompting her to start moving when Wyn's squawker did. Tempest did so immediately, taking her place next to the other animal as they trotted over the endless green fields.

"What is your squawker's name?" Edwyr said, suddenly realizing that he'd never thought to ask. Naming animals wasn't something that elves did, but Edwyr had no doubts that Wyn had named his mount. The way he acted toward her was proof of that. He petted her, handfed her, talked to her.... Edwyr had even once come across her sleeping at the foot of Wyn's bed because, as Wyn had been happy to explain, she'd gotten lonely in the stable.