Black Crown (Darkest Drae, #3)(8)

I nodded, thinking back to how I’d wanted Tyrrik to be healed after being impaled. Desire . . . Yep, yep. Got it. Definitely wanted to be invisible from the Druman.

“Then you need to envision the power to make it happen. Think of it like a shield or covering.”

I thought of the gold net over Zivost, the thin filaments like what I’d seen covering the forest when we’d first arrived. I closed my eyes and willed the golden magic to cover me and make me invisible. I took several deep breaths, firmly fixing the image in my mind.

I opened my eyes.

Nothing. No golden magic, no net-like mesh covering my body.

“Why didn’t it work?” I asked, furrowing my brow. I brushed my hand in the empty air, trying to feel where my magic should be happening but wasn’t.

Lani shook her head. “I don’t know. Try it again.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “Okay, but can you cover your ears?”

The Phaetyn arched a brow and obliged.

Closing my eyes again, I took a deep breath, muttering, “Golden net of hair and twine, hide me, let your tendrils shine.” I cracked an eye open and sagged. Nothing. I glared at Lani, whose shoulders were shaking. “You weren’t meant to be listening!”

“Hard not to when you’re shouting by the end.”

Several attempts later, I growled, throwing my hands up in the air. “Show me again.”

Lani did, covering herself in the golden net, and I glowered at her. I refused to believe I wasn’t capable. I had crazy strong Phaetyn mojo. I’d healed Tyrrik, surprising Kamoi and his stupid parents with my power. I could do this. I thought of him lying in his black blood and me closing the wound and then burning out the golden droplets of Phaetyn poison.

“I got this,” I said, straightening with my epiphany. My Phaetyn magic wasn’t gold for starters. I envisioned a moss-green net, shimmering and iridescent, and pulled my Phaetyn power over me. I thought of the energy masking me from all eyes, making any who glanced my way blind to my presence.

“Whoa,” Lani exclaimed. “How did you do that?”

I opened my eyes. The vibrant threads of power were the color of moss, cast out around my body like a coat of forest leaves. I glanced behind and saw I wasn’t the only thing inside the net.

“That’s odd,” Lani said. “The pumpkin has disappeared too.”

So I was a little protective of the remains of my pumpkin.

“What can you see?” I asked.

“Nothing. There’s a huge hole, like someone scooped out that entire area. Your Phaetyn powers don’t work like mine for some reason. But you can’t do it that way, Ryn, or anybody who looks into the air will see a black space and know something is up.”

“Anybody?” I glanced around the garden and saw someone lurking, pretending to pull weeds. “Ask that man what he sees.”

The lazy gardner told Lani there was nothing there, but the Phaetyn queen insisted I try again.

“You don’t want to be invisible to just humans, Ryn. That’s not who we’re worried about.”

True. Maybe it had something to do with my mixed heritage. I thought of my net, this time pulling it in tighter to me and my body, and then I thought of how it should reflect the light and appear like I wasn’t there but preserve the rest of the space around me.

“Nice,” Lani clapped her hands. “If you can do that, we should be plenty safe all the way to Zivost, and you’ll be safe on the way back. Just remember, this power takes energy. Like strengthening a muscle, it will get easier the more you do it, but the first few times are challenging. Or at least they were for me.”

Having the added protection of the veil did make me feel safer, but there was someone else who I knew would appreciate the extra security when I left in a few hours.





4





I hefted my pack higher on my shoulders and peeked around the corner into the foyer of the grand entrance of the Gemondian Kingdom. I hadn’t been back down here since arriving with an unconscious Tyrrik in my claws. The high-ceiled chamber around the corner made what I was about to do real in a way nothing else had. I was leaving Gemond, Tyrrik, and Dyter to protect Lani on the journey to save the Phaetyn. She was relying on me. And I wasn’t relying on anyone but myself.

I shifted the pack again and straightened, squaring my shoulders as I set my face into hard lines. I could do this. I would do this. Not just for Lani or the Phaetyn. This was for me, and Tyrrik. For Dyter and the empire. It wasn’t the first step in the rebellion, but it sure felt like mine.

Behind me, Lani’s step was the lightest of anyone in the chamber but only because of her child size. The Phaetyn would-be-queen’s grasp on the battles being waged showed just how mature she was.

“Hold on, I want to do something,” I told her without turning.

Tyrrik could hear what I was saying, and I knew he could feel my presence around the corner because I could feel him. I closed my eyes, envisioning my net, and then pulled Lani under it with me.

“You’ll tire yourself before we leave,” she scolded.

“I’m practicing,” I replied. “And it will make Tyrrik feel better.”

Once sure I had everything tucked in right, I took hold of Lani’s hand and strode beside her around the corner.