Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden Book 3)

The annoying pulsing in Lucenna’s temples pulled her to awareness. Everything hurt, and her heavy body felt so cold. The relentless throbbing continued. Gods, all she wanted to do was sleep.

“He is calling again,” an irritated voice said. “He won’t stop until she answers.”

“Her brother is concerned for her wellbeing,” another replied quietly.

My brother? The thought cleared the fog of sleep. Lucien is calling.

Lucenna attempted to move, but she couldn’t bring herself to yet. Her body was weak and unresponsive to her desired action. Her brow furrowed with annoyance. She concentrated on opening her eyes and managed to peek through her thick lashes but immediately closed them at the firelight piercing her sight.

The pulsing in her temple fueled her irritation. Lucenna sent Lucien assurance through their link, letting him know she was alive. She must be alive by how much pain she was in. His relief hit her like a punch in the gut. She gasped, then coughed when the cold air caught in her lungs.

“My lady?”

“Has she at last awoken?”

Shadows stepped over her, shielding the campfire’s bright light. Lucenna squinted through her lashes at the ones looking down at her. Slowly her mind placed the faces of Rawn, Zev and Cassiel.

Rawn knelt by her side and laid a gentle hand on her forehead. “How are you faring? You have expended most of your Essence.”

“What…happened?” Lucenna asked, her words raspy and faint. Her throat was incredibly dry, as if she had swallowed sand.

“You have been unconscious for a day,” Cassiel said. “Night has fallen.”

“What?” Her head spun when she tried to get up. “Why does this feel familiar?”

They had gone through this before.

Rawn placed his arm under her back and helped her sit. “At a leisure pace now, my lady. Zev, will you fetch me the tea please?”

Lucenna blinked her bleary eyes at their surroundings. They were camped in a small clearing within the dense trees. Fair nickered as he grazed on a mound of grass by a set of shrubs. Sleeping mats and packs were set haphazardly around a small campfire. Lucenna focused on the soft crackle of the flames and scent of burning wood. It brought back a rush of memories and she looked down at her bandaged hand, her broken finger throbbing.

“My father, he found me,” Lucenna murmured, staring at the men. “You were there. Again.”

They flinched when a spark flashed above her and a piece of parchment fluttered down onto her lap. Lucenna frowned at Lucien’s use of sending her a message through a small portal. He really must stop doing that. She picked up the parchment and squinted at the smudged writing.

If you are well enough to ignore me, you are well enough to speak to me.

I must see that you are well.

“Your brother has sent several messages,” Cassiel said.

That’s when Lucenna noticed a stack of torn parchment neatly piled beside her, along with her satchel.

Zev returned with a wooden cup of tea and handed it to her. Lucenna received it in her cold feeble hands and breathed in the earthy scent of rosemary.

“Drink, my lady.” Rawn said, “This will revitalize your Essence.”

She carefully sipped the hot liquid, its wondrous heat soothing her sore throat. Fair nuzzled her cheek, and Lucenna stroked his nose. “I missed you too, handsome.”

“Forgive us for going against your wishes.” Rawn tipped his head in apology.

“If you hadn’t, I would be on my way to the Magos Empire with my father. Thank you for coming to my aid.”

“Think nothing of it, my lady. I wish we had arrived sooner. We were searching for you.”

“You were?” Lucenna’s eyes widened and she felt warmed by that. She opened her mouth to apologize for leaving in the first place but then Cassiel interrupted.

“I saw your magic illuminate the sky. It’s how we found you. Your father is a misogynistic clot.”

She smirked. “That he is, and you certainly sent him off with his tail between his legs. I have never seen him so frightened in my entire life. It sounded as if the forest was filled with wolves.”

“Zev made a few acquaintances,” Rawn told her. “Prince Cassiel called in reinforcements, as well.”

Following where he looked, Lucenna stiffened at those idling in the bushes. She could make out the large shapes of wolves on the left, and the Valkyrie on the right. They had called in a full cavalry. All for her?

Lucenna peered up at them questioningly. Cassiel’s purple eyelids sunk in his sickly complexion and the whites of his eyes were red from lack of sleep. Zev and Rawn were also run ragged, their clothing torn and dirty.

Dread started to sink in her when she noticed someone else. “Where is Dyna?

Rawn lowered his head with a heavy sigh. Cassiel pressed a fist over his chest and Zev looked numb.

“A day after we parted, Tarn came for Lady Dyna,” Rawn said. “In the fray, we lost her to them.”

Lucenna’s blanched at the news. “What do you mean? He has her?”

Vivid blue flames shot out of Cassiel’s hands, making her recoil.

“Good gods!” She gasped. “That’s new.”

“Why did you leave us?” he asked. “Tarn came himself this time, with Von, a mage, and an elf. Both of which had powerful magic we could not withstand.”

He didn’t say it aloud, but she felt the words. If you had been there, she wouldn’t have been taken.

Lucenna was too stunned by his anguished expression to argue against it. She hadn’t been around to fight with them. She had run away because she felt she had to protect Dyna and herself. But in the end, she had abandoned them, and Dyna was captured anyway.

“I’m sorry,” Lucenna said faintly. “I…”

“Do not blame her for this,” Rawn said. “It was not her doing.”

Cassiel rubbed his face. “It’s not her I blame.”

“We tried to go after them, my lady, but the mage cloaked her with a veil.”

It was no wonder why Lucenna couldn’t sense Dyna. And now she understood why they searched for her, too. “You need a tracking spell.”

“In Corron you helped me find her once.” Cassiel violently ripped out a cluster of feathers from his wing and thrust them at her. “We need you to do so again.”

“Gods, Cassiel.”

“Is this not enough? How many would it take? I will rip them all out if you wish.” His shadowed eyes were half-crazed, and desperate.

She stared at him, shaking her head. “Stop, I don’t want your feathers—”

“Lucenna,” Zev finally spoke. His voice was hoarse and cracked with every word he spoke. “They stuck me with silver and I was a useless mutt in the mud. She screamed for me while I was dying, and I couldn’t do anything to save her. She doesn’t know I’m alive. I don’t even know if she’s alive.” He knelt and took her hands. “We will give you all the gold we have. Please. Help us.”

Emotion welled in Lucenna’s throat, her vision blurring at the sound of pain in his plea. He was unraveling. They both were.

“Pardon us,” Rawn said. “For bringing this difficulty to you. We would not have come if the need not be so dire.”

Wiping her eyes, Lucenna took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Of course, I will do everything within my power to find Dyna. I care about her too, you fools.”

Zev and Cassiel sagged with relief, as if perhaps they feared she would deny them. All three gratefully thanked her, speaking over each other. Lucenna downed the rest of the tea and held out her hands. They all came forward, but Zev was the closest. He helped her stand. Her vision skewed slightly. Her legs gave out, but he quickly pulled her against his side.

“Thank you. Give me a moment to find my bearings.”

The heat from his large frame seeped through her clothes. It was a werewolf trait, if she remembered correctly. She sighed happily as it banished the cold.

“Zev, you’ve all the comfort of a hearth,” Lucenna told him. A faint shadow of amusement pulled at his dismal expression. “This mage you spoke of, what’s his element?”

“Earth.” Rawn’s jaw set tightly. So, he had been the mage’s opponent.

Her mouth quirked. Earth mages thought they were more powerful because everything around them could be affected by their element. But it made them overconfident, and she enjoyed putting them in their place.

“I think I’m ready,” Lucenna nodded. Zev slowly stepped back, but stayed near incase she needed him again.

“Will you be able to track her past the veil?” he asked.

“It will be difficult, but I will try.”

She closed her eyes and breathed in slowly. Her consciousness slipped away into the dimension where Essence lived. Hers was faded and weak, but she was determined to continue. Lucenna took hold of it and cast it out. The purple light stretched thin as it searched for Dyna in the darkness, but it couldn’t go far and it snapped back.

Lucenna groaned, pressing a hand to her throbbing temple. “I can’t.”

“What does that mean?” Zev asked anxiously. “Are you saying…?”

“No, it’s me,” she said. “I have not fully recovered. I don’t have enough power.”

Lucenna glanced at the feathers in Cassiel’s fist. He held them out to her. She only took one and cupped it in her hands. A golden haze appeared around the long black feather. Its magic powered her Essence with a strong surge.

She closed her eyes, and found her renewed Essence blazing brightly in the Essentia Dimensio. It bolted forward with a will of its own, expanding her net with a force. There in the darkness of her mind, was a green light in the far distance, but her spell bounced off the dark cloud that had it contained.

“He not only veiled Dyna’s presence in this Realm, he has her hidden in a pocket within the Spatial Gate,” she told them. “Whoever this Earth Mage is, he’s formidable.”

“Is she lost to us?” Rawn asked.

“If we hadn’t met before, perhaps, but I can see her Essence.” Lucenna furrowed her brow in concentration. “I only need to—”

The veil vanished. It was gone as if blown out like a candle.

Cassiel gasped and clutched his chest. “Dyna…”

“What is it?” Zev demanded, grabbing his shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

Dyna’s green Essence brightened and Lucenna latched on before the veil slammed back into place.

Cassiel dropped to his knees, grunting in pain. “No! It had come back. I felt our bond for only a moment.”

“She’s alive?” Zev asked urgently.

“Yes…But the veil hid her again.”

“One second was all I needed to get a firm lock on her,” Lucenna smiled. “Whatever happened, or whatever she did, that one second was enough.”

They all looked down at the ground as the tracking spell took form into an illuminated purple path of enchanted fire at her feet. It snaked across the forest floor into the woods.

“I’m going ahead,” Cassiel said, casting off his coat.

“Wait.” Lucenna took his arm. “Dyna is three days west. Even if the tracking spell fades, keep going. The mage placed a second veil on her body, and something else is keeping her magic locked away. Even if you arrive at her location, it may still be difficult to find her.”

“Take this.” Rawn whipped out a knife from his thigh holster. “It’s enchanted with the same spell as my sword. Use it to cut through the spells trapping Lady Dyna.”

Cassiel tucked the knife in his belt. Then his large black wings spread wide, and he soared into the air. The Valkyrie took to the skies with him. Zev shifted, landing on all four paws and sprinted down the path. The forest rattled as the pack of wolves followed.

Rawn nodded to her. “We are forever grateful, my lady. I believe it’s here we part ways?”

Lucenna shifted on her feet. She had hoped they would welcome her back in their company. But why would they when she willingly turned her back on them?

“If you don’t mind, I would like to accompany you to make sure she is all right,” she said.

“You are more than welcome.” Rawn quickly gathered their scattered belongings and fastened their packs to Fair’s harness.

Tucking away her brother’s messages in her satchel, Lucenna took Rawn’s outstretched hand and mounted Fair’s saddle behind him. With a command in soft elvish, they raced down the fiery path.