Rory POV

Convincing everyone to get on a ship headed to Cyran was difficult. They all agreed it was the right way to go, but they were overly concerned about bringing me on a ship for six days given my chaotic magic episodes. I would agree normally, but these raids to rescue slaves have used more magic than I usually do. It’s kept my tank of mana from overfilling. The ring has had to work as hard the last week and a half because of my magic output. Silas gets it, but Ema and Braxton have been overly concerned about it since we started staying in inns in town.

The good news was we had been on the ship, Desfran Wind, for four days. Captain Nickie Desfran had informed us we would be docking in Tana Town, a quiet fishing village along the river. She has a delivery there on special order from the Kanna Merchant’s Guild, so it can’t wait. As much as I was enjoying traveling upriver on this wooden ship, I looked forward to visiting solid ground.

Below deck, I head to our bunk room where I find Silas has tried to cover the whole room in paper. “Silas,” I called out to him.

He’s sitting on the floor in the corner flipping from one sketch he made of my ring to another. “Hmm?” He briefly looked up.

Our bunk room wasn’t big. There was a set of bunk beds on either side of the room with a storage locker in between. There were maybe four feet of floor from one bunk to the other. “What’s with all the paper?”

“Research!” He exclaimed. His happy expression met my concerned one. “I figured out how the spell was made. Ramire Bishop was ahead of his time in every way.”

I giggled, closing the door behind me. “I think that much was clear.”

“He forged a new metal that he called spellcaster iron. When he combined it with his magic, the spell became bonded into the metal itself. The red jewel in the ring was where he bonded the bloodlines to the spell. Finally, he covers the outside in a common metal with a set of runes to protect the spell on the inside. The common metals can house magic when runes are carved into them.” Silas’ eyes were captivated by this new information. “He was a wizard, a blacksmith, and a researcher. Ramire brought his dream to life.”

When Silas said he was dedicated to his research, I didn’t imagine him holding himself in a tiny room, smiling like he won a prize while sifting through books. Silas was in his element among all these papers. His golden eyes had this special glow about them like he could entice the words to come off the page as he read them. At this moment, it was hard to believe this magical dork was the heir to the whole elf kingdom.

“So, you made progress,” I grinned. “Where did you get these other books? You only had two books with you plus the one I had, but I see as many as 11 new books.”

“The Kanna Archive had references to Ramire Bishop’s work in each of the new books that I borrowed. He made history in a lot of waves before his retirement.” Silas’ positive attitude had me feeling at ease.

“So, what’s next?” I asked him as I slid to the floor across from him.

“I understand how Ramire Bishop created the ring, but I need to figure out the spell. I am hoping to learn more from the Secret Archive in Desfyra,” Silas said, thoughtfully. “For now, let’s go through these books and see if we can find anything new about his work with polymorphic magic. I have a few tests that I want to run as well.”

Silas scooted closer to me so we could start analyzing the new books. His long black hair was tied back, so I could see his pointed ears. If he learns to use the polymorphic magic as I do, will his ears bleed as he shifts form? The idea of blood dripping down his fair skin made me a bit sad. Ema doesn’t bleed when she shifts because she changes form once a day. I have been shifting once a week involuntarily because Ema demanded that I should. My wolf form would chase her monkey form through the woods while Braxton and Silas watched over us. I haven’t tried being in my natural form with the glamor charm on, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. My natural form is when I look the most like my parents, and it was important to me to keep it separate from my life as Rosewyn Sillber.

Silas’ arm grazed mine, pulling me back to the present. “Drifting off on me, Red?” He asked, slyly.

“How could my attention possibly stray from you, Prince Halestone?” My sarcastic voice was matched with a playful grin. We were close enough that I could feel the heat coming off his body. His warmth was so inviting against my skin. I wanted to lean in and fall asleep for a while.

Knock…Knock…

Braxton opened the door to find both of us very close to each other, and I felt the need to blush. He didn’t comment on our proximity, instead, he called us to follow him. We had docked in Tana Town already, and Braxton was anxious to check the newspapers in town. Braxton and Emera have been acting as my publicity team by spreading the stories of me rescuing the victims of N’ila from slavery. Silas and I organized our paper mess quickly, so we could meet up with Braxton and Ema waiting on the deck for us.

The sky was beautifully blue with a slight chill in the air. The hot summer had faded from Gleaca this month. Tana Town was as quiet as Captain Nikki promised it would be. There was only one main street in town, and we followed it from the dock to the local cafe, Tana’s Brew. Braxton yipped like a puppy when he saw the newspaper pile on the counter. He grabbed the paper and froze in his stride and became rigid. The three of us called to him as his face began to look pale.

“Braxton.” Ema’s voice almost sounded demanding. “What is it?” Braxton remained silent as his face stiffened, reading the paper. Ema poked him impatiently. He grunted but remained focused. She climbed up on his shoulders like the man was a tree to see for herself what held his attention.

“Em-” I started to question Ema, but Silas gave my hand a squeeze, asking me to let it go. I relented as we watched Braxton and Ema be very comfortable with each other.

Ema’s eyes looked like they might pop out of her head. “It’s about Athyra’s trial. This is an interview with the guild coordinator, Buster Knalls. He talks about how Athyra’s going to be stuck in Gleaca for twenty years doing community service through the guild. Her brother was there to make sure she had a fair trial and everything.” Ema looked like she might explode. “Shit. They locked her shifting ability for five years!”

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“They locked away a dragon’s shifting ability!” I was flabbergasted at the council’s audacity. How did her brother agree to such a thing? It would be maddening to stay in one form forever when your body naturally has more than one.

Ema looked up at me with a panicked expression. “Silas, get her out of here.”

Ema could see the fury building up inside me. Silas didn’t waste a moment as he scooped me up, leaving the door to the cafe open behind him. He ran toward the woods away from town, blasting puffs of air magic behind to make us go faster. I am sure we left people confused as we passed them in a hurry. Silas got through the treeline in minutes, heading far enough into the forest that no one could hear us in the town anymore.

Anger was boiling inside of me. My claws were forming and digging into Silas as my grip around him tightened. Silas didn’t make a sound, but his face was pained from my grip. I focused on him as his pace slowed. This man who brought me comfort when I felt vulnerable. Why did I reach for him in moments of weakness? I didn't know him well when he first saved me from freezing to death. Silas rescued me when he didn’t have to. He picked me up without a promise of reward and strived to help me keep my dignity. Now, he’s promised to help me understand my magic and make my life easier. Silas was a good person, and he deserved my best.

A flame of anger was burning in me, but I felt Silas’ magic envelop me. He was trying to heal my anger away with his calm, healing magic. His magic was cool against my skin. Silas had stopped running at some point because the tree canopy above me had stilled. It was different from other trees that I grew up under. Instead of falling leaves in the trees, I was greeted by purple pine needles. Purple pine trees? How odd. I felt the anger begin to simmer into something softer from the influence of Silas’ magic. The claws began to retract. I willed myself to relax further in Silas’ arms. Part of me hoped he didn’t mind how close we were. My eyes fluttered shut as my head rested against his chest.

Silas had lowered us to the ground as he panted softly, holding me close. We managed to stop a magic episode from occurring. Usually, I can only will myself into a wolf form when an episode starts from anger although I risk getting myself stuck in wolf form for three days again. Silas had cooled the hot anger in me with his magic. I didn’t know healing magic could work that way. I could hear his heart beating in my ear as I rested against his chest. It calmed me more. Being under these purple pine trees made it feel like Silas and I were somewhere else altogether. I wanted to stay in this moment, but I knew we needed to get back. We needed to make sure the boat didn't leave us behind.

“Silas, thank you,” I whispered.

He didn’t move an inch as he spoke. “Always, Red.”

I lift my head to find his eyes closed and his arms wrapped around me. “We have to go back. Captain Nikki has a schedule to keep.”

“Just a little longer, Red,” he mumbled.

I shook my head and started to stand up when he pulled me back down. My body knocked him over, so he landed on me. The surprising part was his lips crashed into mine. There was pain from our teeth knocking together, but when he moved his lips as if to pull away, he paused for a moment. Then, he kissed me. His lips were smooth against my dry ones, drawing me into a moment of passion. It wasn’t like when I kissed Jerico so long ago. It was surprising and irritating. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but I knew it was probably the stupidest thing we could have done under those purple pine trees.

I let it go for a moment before ending it. We couldn’t do this. I can’t have this. Silas and I have work to do and a friendship that has just started. I am damaged goods and unable to have a romantic future. We stood up in silence. Silas looked at me puzzled by my actions. I needed to tell him that it was a mistake. He’s a prince after all. Silas couldn’t have a romantic relationship with an illegal hybrid under any circumstances.

“Silas,” I started. “Sorry, I made us…fall.”

He raised his eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s what you want to apologize for?”

“No…er…No, we should have been so close, and I am sorry about the-”

He clamped his hand over my mouth, preventing me from speaking. “We aren’t doing this now. You have too many emotions following through you right now. Emera and Braxton are waiting for us.” He let me go.

Silas scooped me up again and ran us back to town. Why was this man so handsy with me today? Did he think he could just do whatever he wanted because we kissed? I feel like we might have just ruined everything. Silas was unreadable to me, and I hated that. I needed to tell him that I didn’t want anything from him romantically. Yet, I felt like I couldn't say a word about it right now.

We made it back to the boat in total silence. I wasn’t angry anymore, but I wasn’t calm, happy, or anything remotely positive. Seeing Braxton and Ema on the ship, they didn’t seem to be in a good mood either. Their long faces were foreboding something bad. Ema held the paper from earlier crunched up in her hand. There was something worse in that newspaper than the story about Athyra’s trial. Silas and I greeted the captain before Braxton pulled us below deck to our room.

In our bunk room, all of us sat quietly on the beds. Braxton looked up at me as Ema grabbed my hand to help me stay grounded. I was right, they had bad news.

“The dark elf that hired Athyra is dead,” Braxton said plainly. “You know him as Talan.”

Hearing his name, my hand clenched Ema’s. The guy who started the bounty hunt on my life was dead. Wasn’t that good news? “Ok,” I replied.

“But, now that Athyra has been taken care of, the Gleaca Council will be focusing on the rumored hybrid.” Braxton finished.

“So, shit got worse?” I asked in a pitiful voice.

“Yeah, Ro. Shit got worse.” Ema answered.