I’d seen the wizard was at his father’s funeral. He’d looked so devastated, and I’d had to swallow the compulsion several times to comfort him.
“I see him a lot. He works with Nick every day. His father’s death must really be messing with him. He hardly speaks to anyone.” She gave me a questioning look. “Why? Are you into him?”
“No, of course not. Just worried about him.” I did have an unhealthy urge to see him, but I reminded myself I needed to stay away. The last thing I wanted to think about was that betrothal hanging over us. I decided to change the subject. “So, what have you been up to?”
The chatterbox was back. Once Afton began talking, I couldn’t get a word in. She rattled on about her forced friendship with Deidre and her homesickness. She told me working with Pop made her want to go into the medical field. Before long, we stood together at the side of Nick’s bed. His closed eyelids flickered and their long mink lashes fluttered as if he were dreaming.
With Conemar for a birth father, what suppressed powers did Nick have? And what if that power changed him? The uncertainty scared me. How stupid and hypocritical was I? I hadn’t changed. Had I? This was Nick. We grew up together. I knew him. He’d never hurt anyone.
I placed a shaky hand on his arm. His eyes fluttered and opened.
“Hey, cuz,” I said. “Do you think you’ll need a toupee, or will you go with the comb-over thingy?”
“Ha-ha,” he said weakly. “Very funny. Did someone dunk you underwater or is this your new look?”
“Touché.” I was relieved he still had his sense of humor, and it must’ve shown on my face.
He frowned. “I didn’t have a lobotomy. They just lanced the surface of my skin. They’ve assured me the hair will grow back.”
“I know.” I patted his arm. “You’re going to be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
He tried to get up, and Afton eased him back onto his pillows. “You have to stay in bed,” she said. “Watch him. I’m going to get your pop. He’ll give Nick something to help him sleep.”
“I have to go see my parents.” He lifted his head. “It’s still me. I won’t be evil like him.”
Does he mean Conemar?
Afton returned with Pop, and he gave Nick a shot.
“I’m not evil,” Nick whispered.
I held his hand, tears stinging my eyes. “No one thinks that.”
“You do.”
“I’d never think—”
His eyes closed just then and he fell asleep, so Afton, Pop, and I crept out.
All the way to my room, Nick’s words replayed in my head. I wanted to take away his fears. I knew dread well. I’d lived with it the last several months. Conemar had to be defeated. It was the only way to keep Nick safe. To get us back to our old lives.
The elder wizards had finally devised a plan. The shelter was buzzing with preparations for the impending battle. I worked alongside Arik, sharpening and cleaning my sword. The other Sentinels busied themselves with readying their gear for the fight scheduled for the morning.
The screaming of my blade under the sharpening stone drowned out Carrig’s approach. “Gia,” he snapped.
I jumped, practically falling off the boulder I was sitting on. “Omigod!” After righting myself, I glanced up at him, squinting against the sun. “Maybe give a warning next time, like clear your throat or something, before startling a girl messing with a sharp object, huh?”
“Me apologies, didn’t mean to frighten you. I would like a word in private.” He abruptly turned and walked off. When I didn’t follow him, he called over his shoulder, “Are you coming, or do you need a proper invite?”
I plodded down the hill after him. He led me through trees until we stopped at a clearing by the river.
“This should be private enough.” He sat on the grass. “Come join me.”
I hesitated.
“Come on, trust me.” He patted the grass.
I dropped down beside him. It was cool and refreshing under the shade of the trees after being in the sun all day. “What are we doing here?”
He fished a powder-white stone from his pocket. “Don’t let losing your truth globe upset you. It served its purpose by revealing whom you could trust at a time when you were vulnerable. There be other ways of knowing the truth. One way be scrying. Only High Wizards are allowed to perform a scrying; it be illegal for the rest of us, because of