Wylde Magic | Book 3

Fifty Five: The First Bones Of Battle

I woke up to an empty sleeping mat.

My eyes opened to a dark room, and I waved a hand to spark purple flames to life in the torch over my head. Sitting up with a yawn, I felt the mat next to mine where Thain had laid the night before. It still held a hint of warmth, and I knew he hadn't been gone long. I sorted out my state of dress, or lack thereof, and made my way up the steps, my stomach growling as I did so.

The morning had already started. A few scouts mingled by the fire pit, as did Schula and Spaulder. As I walked up to them, Schula winked at me, handing me a simple round of flatbread that they had somehow managed to pull together over the fire.

"How did you... sleep?" she asked me slyly.

I punched her shoulder and took my breakfast while she laughed at me.

"Alright, alright, I won't bring it up again." Schula laughed, turning up to face Spaulder as they shared some private conversation between them.

I tore a chunk of bread off with my teeth. Let them talk, we had more important things to sort out right now than whatever was between me and Thain.

The warmth of the crackling fire was pleasant in the morning chill, and I watched it absently while others milled about. It wasn't until a strange familiarity encroached on the edge of my senses that I looked up from my breakfast.

"What's that?" I asked.

Schula and Spaulder both looked in the same direction.

'A friend, little one,' Spaulder answered.

Mother, he was so cryptic when he wanted to be. I stuffed the last bite of bread in my mouth and dusted off my hands as I walked toward the feeling. When I got close to the edge of the trees, a dark body stepped in line next to me.

"Good morning," Thain murmured. "I trust you slept well."

My eyes dated to him just in time to catch the upward turn of his mouth before it disappeared.

"Did you just make a joke?" I mused.

"Eberon must finally be rubbing off on me." Thain shrugged, then got more serious. "You feel him too?"

I could still feel it at the edge of my magic. "Yeah, what is this? It feels familiar but... not."

Thain frowned. "He is not the same fae you left in Thanantholl, Wren."

My brows knit together as my eyes darted the forest for the source of the sensation. "What do you mean?"

Thain shrugged, walking forward and into the trees. I followed, and I found my answers a moment later.

"Nassir," Thain greeted.

But it was barely Nassir that I saw before me. My breath caught as my eyes fell on the winter fae in such rough shape. Still the color of the stone he shaped, he now wore a glamour that highlighted his sharp features. The facial hair he had since I'd met him in Icehold was now gone and his long hair was in a tight braid down his back. Standing tall, wearing only his pants with no shoes or shirt, and a mantle of white fur across his shoulders.

Nassir looked... wild. More fae-like than I had ever known him to be before. His dark expression is what shook me the most. I had seen a flash of it before, in Eidelhein, but now it was fully surfaced. Nassir was livid, and ready for war.

"Nassir," I said, taken back at first.

But his eyes slid my way out of habit as he turned to face me. His expression softened slightly. "Wren." He opened his arms to me.