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pointed high above them.
    Kyndra followed Lugus’ finger, craning her neck to look at the top of the mountain and the fortress that rested at the top. “Of course.”
    Lugus chuckled then drew in a quick breath, his hand to his head.
    “Lugus?” Aimery stepped to him, grabbing his friend by the shoulders. “What is it?”
    “Ahryn,” he answered in a strangled whisper.
    Kyndra looked from Lugus to Aimery. “What is going on? How can Lugus know about his wife if our magic is stopped?”
    Aimery held Lugus steady as he swayed on his feet. Whatever Ahryn was telling him wasn’t good. “Ahryn is able to communicate with Lugus through her mind, regardless of where he is.”
    “By all that’s magic,” Kyndra murmured.
    Lugus fell to his knees, his face ashen and his mouth twisted in pain. “It’s the babe. She’s in labor, Aimery, and she’s dying.”
    “Go to her.” Aimery wouldn’t let anything stop him from being with his wife in such a time. Ahryn needed Lugus much more than they did.
    Lugus’ eyes opened to stare at him. “I cannot leave you. You need me.”
    “And she needs you more. Go to your wife.”
    “You’re going to need this.”
    Aimery took the scroll Theron had written and tucked it in his jerkin. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.”
    “I’m sorry,” Lugus whispered before he touched another tattoo, this one on his right hand, and vanished before their eyes.
    Aimery sighed and sat back on his heels. He turned to Kyndra to find her eyes wide, staring at the spot where Lugus had just been kneeling. Aimery forced away the terror that clawed at him and stood. He held out his hand to Kyndra and pulled her to her feet. She looked up at him with trusting eyes, and he knew then he would do whatever it took to ensure she made it back to their realm.
    “Lugus having to leave is a minor setback. We’ve got the missive from Theron, which should enable us to see Eldar.”
    Kyndra licked her lips, drawing Aimery’s gaze to them. “You seem so confident of everything.”
    He was anything but, but he wasn’t going to let her know that. “We’ll be fine. Trust me.”
    “I do.”
    He hadn’t expected her to answer but, now that she had, he was glad of it. He turned his attention to Eldar’s castle. The climb would be steep and no doubt overrun with creatures and traps for anyone who didn’t know the way.
    “What if Isran has already gained control?”

    Aimery glanced at her over his shoulder. “There hasn’t been enough time.”
    “How much time does he need to take over a realm?”
    “Eldar is extremely powerful. Isran only ever dabbled in black magic, which makes Eldar almost invincible.”
    “Almost?”
    Aimery smiled. “Why is it, do you think, that he takes away other’s magic? Our magic is some of the strongest in the universe, Kyndra. We’ve defeated black magic before, and we will do so again.”
    “Aye, but has any of them ever had a dragon’s egg?”
    “That changes nothing.”
    “He knows how much that egg means to us.”
    “Exactly,” Aimery said and faced her. “Isran knows we’ll be hunting him. If we’re lucky, he’ll think he has a few more days before we come here, when in fact we’re already here and will be pleading our case to Eldar.”
    “It galls me that we have to plead anything to Eldar. He should turn Isran over to us to be dealt with.”
    Aimery smiled at her indignation. “That is the Fae way. We aren’t in our realm anymore.
    Remember that. They do things much differently here. Thav is a realm where evil gathers to hide from the rest.”
    “And we’re without our magic. We’re at Eldar’s mercy, Aimery. Anything can happen to us between now and gaining an audience with him.”
    “Which is why we need to keep moving.” He took her arm and guided her down an alley.
    She kept in step with him, her eyes seeking into the darkness just as he was. “How large is this city?”
    “Too bloody large.”
    Aimery caught a glimpse of