Chapter One
Unknowns
DRUSTAN TURNED HIS COURSE, under Alcander’s direction, away from the still burning manor and towards the rocky outcropping poking up from the land. It was the highest point for miles, which is no doubt why Alcander chose it.
As they flew, Drustan’s dragon wings beat out a calming rhythm that worked to soothe Kiora’s pounding heart. Despite that, she couldn’t help the nervous glances over her shoulder. The black cloud of smoke billowing up from the manor looked so much like the Shadow, her breath hitched for a moment each time she turned, thinking that the Shadow had returned. The fact that they she couldn’t feel the drain of magic that preceded the Shadow was doing little to erase her nagging fear.
The last few hours had been a blur. They had managed to retrieve Emane and in the process kill two Tavean scouts, Soolan, Dralazar, and Layla. Kiora’s stomach contracted under the memory. Dralazar told her to choose—Layla or Emane. She chose Emane. And now the only burial Layla would receive was beneath the burning pieces of the manor with her master, Dralazar.
She hadn’t even been allowed to mourn before the Shadow appeared, bearing down on them, swallowing everything in its path. Had she not risked drowning them all, they would be dead. She still didn’t know where that thought had come from, but water had proved to be a very effective shield against the unnatural magic the Shadow possessed. No one should have the power to take others’ magic away.
Emane seemed to sense her pain, and tightened his arm around her waist. But how could he sense her pain? She had severed their connection. And now she would have to tell him. That, and she had to admit she’d kissed Alcander. The urge to scream lodged in her throat, hard and painful.
“Kiora, you didn’t have a choice,” Emane whispered in her ear.
She nodded, swallowing as Alcander glanced back at them, or more specifically—at Emane’s arm wrapped around her waist, which resulting in an immediate stiffening of his spine. Nervousness melded with guilt into a thick soup that settled in the pit of her stomach as they reached the rocky outcropping.
Anxious for a distraction, Kiora wiggled free of Emane’s hold before jumping off Drustan’s dragon body. She hopped around the jagged levels putting up a border for the encampment, then started a fire. Drustan had shifted back into human form and was pacing anxiously while Emane and Alcander sat awkwardly near the fire.
“What?” Alcander yelled at Drustan. Kiora jumped. Alcander could be harsh, and cold. But she didn’t think she had ever heard him yell.
Drustan turned slowly, “What if the Shadow finds us?” he asked. “And we are left helpless on these rocks?”
“How would the Shadow find us?” Emane asked.
“It’s found us twice already,” Drustan answered. “And we barely survived both times. Had Kiora not trusted her instincts with the lake, we would be dead.”
“Twice?” Kiora asked.
“Before the manor, in the woods. The Shadow may not have come, but those were its followers. Weren’t they, Alcander?”
Alcander nodded, slowly, thoughtfully. “Yes.” His eyes narrowed as he stared out across the valley. “I have no idea how they found us.”
“That is what’s wrong,” Drustan said. “If we don’t know how it is finding us, then how do we know it won’t again?”
