Forest of Spirits by S J Sanders

Author:S J Sanders [Sanders, S J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

Diana was not sure if she liked Nocis. Although it hadn’t felt sentient, the way it flooded over their bond had frightened her. She had no doubt in her mind that it was extremely dangerous. Watching the dark stone pulse from where it was embedded in the strix was enough to send queasiness through her belly. Silvas’s eyes were trained on her, his brow puckering with worry as he strapped the sheathed sword to his back.

Its sheath alone was larger than the sheath for his other blade and, now that he had cleaned it with the cloth from his belt, she could see that it was almost as dark as the sword itself and studded with deep red stones. Garnets maybe?

The squelch as he pulled his other sword free from where he had twisted it into the strix made Diana grimace. The mess was truly disgusting, though at least the smell couldn’t get any worse. A disappointed sigh rattled from him and she eyed the reason—the aelven-forged blade had broken off in Mora’s corpse. Silvas dropped the sword with a shake of his head.

“I’m not surprised,” he muttered. “Backed with the power of Nocis, her magic was potent enough that I fell victim to it. I am honestly amazed that it didn’t work on you as well. That her final defenses shattered the aelven blade despite all the magic forged into it ought to have been expected.”

Why had she been able to resist it? Her eyes trailed once again to Nocis. A shiver ran through her. As silly as it sounded. that sword made her twitchy.

“Don’t worry,” Silvas soothed in a calm timber. “Nocis had a terrible effect on the strix, but it won’t harm you.”

“I’m not so sure about that. I am not even certain I want to touch it,” she admitted. It was unsettling enough feeling the energy of the sword touching upon their bond. She didn’t want to get any closer than that.

“There won’t be any need. Unlike my armor and weapons, the sword is made so that it becomes a part of me when I shift.”

Diana balked. “Wait, isn’t that dangerous? You saw what it did to Mora.”

He shook his head and gave her a small smile as he steered toward the cave entrance. “This sword was crafted for me, and unlike the long-lived strix, I am an immortal being. She was vulnerable in a way that I’m not.”

“Okay,” she muttered doubtfully as she fell into step beside him.

As they stepped out onto the ledge, a cool wind swept by. Diana greedily sucked in a deep breath of the fresh air, relieved to no longer be within the confines of the strix’s nest. Although the wind had died down, night had long since fallen. Wrapping her arms around herself, she shivered. Silvas’s glowing eyes turned toward her.

“We won’t go far. Even by flight, it is a long journey back to the Arx. I won’t risk you falling in your exhaustion. I will carry us down to the upper foothills of the mountain.

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