“Is she going to survive this?” Alexa asked Desmond, panic overtaking her reason. “She was prepared to go back in both times so far right?” Desmond asked skeptically. “I mean, she ate, drank and went to the bathroom. She didn’t say much. But there was such a haunted look in her eyes. She was barely awake more than an hour,” Alexa said, looking back at her friend, where she still lay on the bed. Val’s skin crawled as tiny metal tendrils snaked beneath her skin. Alexa had screamed and run for Mr. Nyx and Desmond when she had first witnessed it. Sure, she had seen Val heal herself but it had never been so violent as this. Val’s bones cracked, and her left femur had broken the skin. By the time they got back though, Alexa had to do a double take because the wound was completely healed. “I swear it was poking out of her skin!” she remembered swearing to both men. They had stared at her funny until Val’s collarbone snapped right in front of them. Desmond had checked the wound, “Its as i

Alexa paced the room nervously. Cade sat at the table eating a sandwich from the platter the wait staff had brought in a few minute prior."She hasn’t woken up in over eightteen hours, Cade." Alexa said nervously."You said she sleeps after a long day of torture. perhaps that sentience or whatever it isknows she needs to be done today and is letting her rest. You said the tendrils stopped moving a few hours ago. I say he will wake soon.""How can you just sit there and eat? Aren’t you worried about her?" Alexa demanded."You are the one who has couped yourself up in here. I have been fighting off assassins and collecting Scath units. the city is crawling with Wraths these days. I swear I have never seen so many," Cade replied, shoveling more food into his mouth."I do thank you for getting the crystals refilled. She only asked for 36 but she used those up in the first two days. If it hadn't been for you and Desmond collecting so many, I

When Valkyrie made it to the main floor of the hotel, she found an alcove hidden by a tall plant and collapsed against the wall. As she buried her face in her knees, silent tears wet her cheeks.“I am sorry Emma. I am sorry I failed you. But Vex is dead. Brant is dead. And soon Barclay will be dead too. I will not rest until you are avenged. May no one else suffer the fate you did.”A few feet away, the concierge counter had a visitor.“Is miss black and Alexa ready?”“I can send a runner to check on them. My I know who is calling?”“Just let them know Cade is ready to go and the carriage is waiting.”It was just a few minutes before Alexa joined Cade at the counter.“Val disappeared a few hours ago. The staff will not tell me anything,” Alexa reported. “Our stuff is packed though. The bellman should be bringing it down now. Did you know they have luggage elevators? Cra

“Back already?” Lilith called from her place next to her campfire. Val looked around and groaned. “Don’t tell me I fell asleep…” “Well, your consciousness has not been absorbed into the spark, so you are not dead,” Lilith said dryly. Val figured she might as well ask questions and learn while she was here. “Is it common for a Spark Blessed to come to the meadow during dreams?” “Not overly common. In my day there were a few but they had always been bonded for many years. For you, bonding at just six years old, it makes sense that your body has merged more fully at this stage. Most your age now still have not had their family sparks passed down.” Lilith explained, still poking the fire aimlessly. “Why are the starks so rare in the realms and yet from all accounts, Suria has many?” “That has to do with the reason for the war. Azrael was rather tight-lipped about all that. What I did manage to gather is that the Scath are not originally from this planet, let alone this universe. Even

The ride to the nearest hotel was long and annoying for Valkyrie. Reilynn would not stop talking about ruffians and how the civil discord of the country was falling apart of the seams. Her brother Marcum seemed content to let her rattle on while Rowan kept trying to engage Val in conversation.For her part, Val sat silently next to Reilynn and staired out the window. While her thoughts drifted to Cade and Alexa and Maggie, she was constantly aware of the three unknown people around her. Their presence graded on her senses as she constantly tried to map the interior of the carriage with her mind’s eye.At any moment one of them could turn into another assassin, rival gang member, or some other unknown threat. Val kept her hand on the hilt of a dagger with a white knuckle grip under the dark cloak.When they finally arrived at a small inn around dark, Marcum and his sister got out first, followed by Rowan. Rowan held his hand out to Valkyrie to help her down