Scorched Treachery (Imdalind, #3)(39)

“I can’t find the bridge to her mind, Thom. I’ve been looking.”

“How long ago did she go in?” Dramin asked, the confusion in his voice triggering my own.

“Ten minutes,” I provided, knowing the short amount of time would sound silly. It did to me.

It wasn’t just the time that she had been in there that had triggered my alarm. Her actions, what had happened to her body. I felt my lungs constrict in stress as I looked at the still wet specks of blood around her mouth.

My hands pressed one of hers against the blood on my bared chest, against the dozens of scars that lined my skin. The pain flared through my chest as the pressure against the scars increased, the same way it had always done. I looked at our hands briefly before dragging my eyes back to her face.

“How is he doing it?” Dramin asked, letting the unspoken name float between us.

“I don’t know. But I will find out.” I looked up to the two men, looking from the deep sea green of Dramin’s eyes, to the crystalline blue of Thom’s – the color our father had cursed us with, the color of royalty.

The necklace Ryland had given Joclyn still hung around her neck, the large ruby glistening. No, not a ruby, I reminded myself. A diamond. He had given it to her with the intent that it would protect her, just as I had placed the ?tít within her. Neither was doing her any good now.

After the protective shield of the necklace had faded, Joclyn was left with only a weak connection to my brother. I touched the stone lightly, knowing what it meant to her, but right then I hated it. I hated what it had come to represent and what it had done to her.

It had been the bridge to his mind.

My heart rate increased as I stared at the jewel, my breathing stuttering as I attempted to control myself. Before I could stop myself, I wrapped my fingers around the necklace, breaking the clasp as I ripped it away from her neck.

I waited, waited for her to wake, waited for the bridge to make itself known, but she stayed as still as ever, the necklace dead and cold in my hands. I pocketed it quickly, returning my hand to her face.

“Why didn’t that work?” Dramin asked, his voice making it obvious that he had already known it would not.

“He has been controlling her dreams through a blood connection, but a T?uha? I didn’t even know that was possible. I have never seen anything like this before, Dramin.” I gave them as much of an answer as I felt comfortable giving, keeping my voice an emotionless mask.

“I have.”





Chapter Eleven





“What?” I moved to face Dramin, his words still melting into my crude understanding of what was going on.

“I have seen something like this.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, and he took a quick step away in expectation of my anger.

“Where?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level, the anger and regality seeping out without me wanting it to. “Was it a sight, Dramin, or at some point in your living life?”

He hesitated, and I instantly knew why. Last night he had spoken in his usual guarded way about being needed; it was his reason for consenting to come to the Rioseco Abbey with Joclyn and me. I hadn’t thought twice at the time, how could I? For hundreds of years, guarded words and cryptic answers had been his way. I had no reason to think that would have changed. I felt Thom’s magic surge dangerously as his temper rose.

“You have vidět this, haven’t you, Dramin?” My voice was level, the regal tone I had tried to keep restrained for most of my life seeping through.

Dramin didn’t answer. He simply extended his hand toward me, his face pained as he gave me permission to use the full extent of his recall.

I placed Joclyn on the cold stone floor of the cave to grab Dramin’s hand and place it against my forehead. My eyes closed to blackness for only a moment before the vision filled me. I could see myself, standing over Joclyn, the stone walls of the Rioseco Abbey clear in the background. Her body was still, limp, and yet I was yelling at her, panic evident on my face and in my voice. I watched as Dramin walked into the room, his face calm for only a moment before he too panicked. Before I could see any more, Dramin removed his hand from my head, the vision leaving with it.

There was no sign of her waking up in the sight, only her limp body and my pain and panic. That sight could be in a week or in five years – I had no way of knowing. I re-ran the vision in my mind as I inspected every aspect: different clothes, my usual shorter haircut, the Rioseco Abbey.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Dramin?” I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling hard on the long uncomfortable strands.

“Tell you what?”

“Tell me what would happen! That something was wrong, something is…” I stopped, not knowing exactly what was going on. I was unable to put my lack of knowledge about what was happening into words. “We could have stopped this.”

“How?” Dramin’s voice was deep and accusatory. I could already hear the regular rebuttal of his kind on his tongue – the lack of knowledge, the inability to interfere with things to come.

“You could have told me,” I said, knowing my reasoning would be lost on him. “I could have stopped her from going into the T?uha…”

“How was I to know it was T?uha?” Dramin asked his voice raising. Anyone else would have recoiled, but I straightened in front of him, my height and heritage meant to terrify him. He, however, was so used to me he didn’t even move.