A human seer and an elven prince have one thing in common: a missing sister.
Seraiah's dreams have a habit of coming true, but when all her dreams turn into nightmares, she fears for her sister's life. Each nightmare is a little different, but they...
The warmth of Seraiah's skin lingered on Kai's fingers as he returned to his room. In the flickering light of a single candle, he could make out a smear of blood from the cut on her throat.
Something had come over him when he'd seen the blade bite into her, her eyes wide with fear and something else. He hadn't intended on using his magic against her attacker with how unstable it had been of late, but seeing her hurt had changed his mind.
He was lucky he hadn't lost control and caused her further harm.
Perhaps he should have let Kestrel go after the intruder, or gone after them himself, but the only thing he'd cared about in that moment—cared about now—was Seraiah's safety.
Kai washed his hands at the basin and gathered his things. He and Kestrel had been going over what he'd learned when he'd heard sounds coming from the room next door. Kestrel hadn't seemed worried, but he was glad he hadn't ignored it or their seer would have fallen into the wrong hands.
He had no doubt the mages were behind the attack tonight. There had been rumors of them spotted in the city, but no mention of Sterling. If she'd ever been brought to Baromund, she wasn't here now.
Kai shouldered his bag and looked around the room one last time. He could hear Kestrel and Seraiah moving around next door. He'd give them a little extra time while he collected their horses. At this hour, the stable boy was likely dead asleep, so he'd have to saddle them himself.
Downstairs, the fire in the main hearth was nothing but coals and all was silent. If the innkeeper had heard the commotion, he hadn't bothered to check on it. Even though Kai had paid for his silence, he suspected the mages might have paid more to stay out of their business.
In the stable, Kai quickly saddled his horse and then moved on to Kestrel's. The faster they got out of here, the better. Now that the mages had discovered Seraiah, Kai knew they'd continue to chase them. Continuing the search for Sterling would not be an option as long as Seraiah was with them.
There was only one place he could take her where she might be safe from their reach.
Home.
Kai dreaded what might await him there.
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"You should clean that," Kestrel said as soon as Kai left.
Seraiah was still standing in the center of the room with a hand pressed to her neck—the same place where Kai's fingers had touched. At Kestrel's words, she sprang into action, grabbing a towel from the washbasin and wetting it before using it to dab at the cut. It barely stung anymore.
Kestrel picked up Sterling's book from where it was splayed open on the floor and shoved it into Seraiah's satchel. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone. If I were here, he never would have been able to grab you."
"I thought he was you at first," Seraiah said, watching her move around the space.
Kestrel shook her head. "You were asleep when Kai came back, and I didn't want to wake you, so we went to his room to speak about what he found. I assumed you would be fine."
