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EVYNRIA LEFT THE BATH sooner than the others, her mind swimming with the information she’d gathered from Arnes about her part in this quest—That he knew her birth time, knew she’d come from her father’s county, that the stars had chosen her, down to the detail of Enloris joining her.
‘Her companion,’ Arnes had called him, but in what way? Her mind latched onto the words like a leech, trying to drain and squeeze every possibility from them.
The image of Enloris standing fully nude in the bath kept flitting into mind, as well, like a pesky fly she had to bat away. Images of him wearing nothing, water dripping over the ridges of a well-honed chest, but having barely glanced at her before turning to look the other way. The confusing emotions that moment had given her still ricocheted inside her against one another. Somehow full of shy relief and wanton disappointment.
She hadn’t let herself look any further, not only for her shyness, but for some reason her stubbornness. If he wouldn’t look at her, she didn’t want to look at him. Not like that, and not there, with all to see her gaze at him. She definitely didn’t want to think for too long about why her heart slapped against her ribs like a child begging for attention at the thought of what she would’ve allowed had they been alone.
The waters had felt like medicine, though, and her body seemed to float as she made her way back to the dressing rooms. The lock was enchanted and recognized Evynria’s touch as she turned the copper lever.
After untying the makeshift coverings Otsana had designed for her, she dried off slightly with the cloths they’d left behind, and then got dressed in the clothing the owners had passed around earlier. The outfit consisted of a pair of loose white trousers that went from the base of her ribs to the tops of her feet, and a sky blue tunic that fell just above her knees with long slits up the sides that reached the waistline of her pants. The sleeves hung long down to her wrists, and embroidery of metallic gold thread adorned all of the hems.
The last pieces seemed to be a shawl of some sort with a sheer mask to wear over her face. She’d seen people wearing the shawls over their heads, around their necks, or tied at the waist, when they’d entered the town. She could see how wearing it around her head would shield some of the sunlight, so she wore it loosely over her damp hair, and was happy for the face covering to help keep the sand from her mouth, but tucked it into her new satchel for later.
Halfway through dressing, Otsana joined, throwing on a matching outfit, only her tunic was a bright fuschia instead. They chatted quietly about the medicinal qualities of the bath as Otsana led Evyn back to the front of the shop to wait on the others.
Ylid joined only minutes after, wearing a sunshine yellow tunic, and the owner asked if they’d like tea as they waited. Apparently the owner—Eldif, they’d introduced themselves as—recognized Ylid not only from their last visit, but for their fame in Emiliar as a powerful mage. Evyn watched in amusement as Eldif then lavished the three of them with a silver tray and teapot of fresh mint tea, bowls of bright fruit, as well as new satchels and pouches that were better suited for the desert elements.
The pouches were meant to be tied to belts around their waists, and the satchels were crafted from a thick, flexible cloth. Evyn had just finished switching over her extra clothes, water canteen and other necessities into the new bags when the men finally came to join them.
Her heart drummed in her chest with a strange new awareness, but Ylid and Otsana looked calm and unphased, so she tried her best to also be casual.
“Did you drown up there after we left you?” Ylid asked with a grin.
“Nearly,” Roan replied. “It was a close one, but just in time, we managed to rescue Arrius from the depths.”
Arrius ruffled his feathers for a moment, but then a laugh burst from him, the sound booming through the shop like thunder. “Aye. It was a close one.”
Despite her efforts, Evyn felt rather distracted from feigning nonchalance as her eyes took in the look of them in their new attire. It had been some time since the handsomeness of a person mattered to her, but there was something about seeing Enloris with his freshly cleaned red hair, dark with moisture, tied back loosely, while dressed in a sleeveless teal tunic that revealed the musculature of his arms. The sight had blood rushing through her like a sudden wave crashing to shore.
Her gaze kept drifting to his arms, his neck, the few strands of hair that traced his cheekbones and jawline. She gulped and took a sip of tea to distract herself.
Roan, but for his mask, looked rather dashing, as well, in a matching sleeveless red tunic. Having also seen his bare chest and back, it had her wondering more and more about his face. But at the moment, it made it safer to pay attention to him, instead.
“Where’d you get the fancy new gear?” Roan asked, pointing at Otsana’s new satchel.
The faunomancer grinned. “Ylid was gifted them, as were we, for their heroics in the capital.”
She opened hers wide to show how roomy they were inside, but then frowned. “My dagger’s not in here. Must have left it up in the dressing room. I’ll return shortly.”
Evyn smiled at Roan as his attention had now fallen on her. “That color suits you. Brings out your eyes.”
She felt her face warm. “Thank you. Yours, as well, though I cannot tell you much further because of your mask.”
He laughed. “I appreciate it either way.”
Evyn didn’t know what else to say, still feeling rather shy about the fact he’d seen her in practically nothing earlier. She had appreciated his offer to not look at her, though. He was always so thoughtful in ways that surprised her.
But then she felt a sudden twist in her heart—an all-too-familiar feeling that something terrible had just happened, or was about too. The hairs all over her body lifted as acid climbed her throat.
Only one word rang in her mind. Otsana.
Without speaking, she leapt from her seat and ran past them all towards the dressing room.
“Evyn! Where are you going? What’s wrong?”
“What’s happened?”
She didn’t know, but also her tongue seemed too frozen to help with a reply, every part of her focused on taking the stairs two at a time. Enloris wound up right beside her, then quickly overtook her, making it to the dressing room first.
Evyn made it to the room to find Enloris standing in the middle, blocking her view. She raced around him only to find the room empty. Otsana’s dagger remained on the counter, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Her breath sharpened and her heart pulsed so strongly she felt it in her neck.
“Where is she?” she gasped.
Enloris turned around, face grave but inquisitive. “What did you sense?”
Evyn shook her head. “Only that something was wrong. Just my intuition.”
He nodded right as the others showed up.
“What’s happened?” Ylid asked.
“Where’s Otsana?” Roan asked just after.
Evyn felt sick, whispering, “I don’t know. I just felt a pang in my chest like something bad happened.”
“What do you mean, something bad?” she heard Arrius thunder from behind the others. “Where’s my sister?”
She looked up to see Arnes putting a hand on Arrius’ chest to halt him from speaking further. “Evyn, are you ever able to have visions on command?”
She paused, thinking. “Sometimes, but normally it’s when I have—tea! I need her tea cup and any loose leaf tea you can find, preferably already brewed to save time. Bring them to me quickly.”
Ylid spun around and sprinted out of the room to do just that.
“It’s not an exact science, but hopefully my guides will give me the answers we seek. I’ll ask them where she is.”
Within moments, she heard the slap of Ylid’s slippers coming back up the stairs. They arrived, teacup and teapot in hand. “Will these do?”
“That’s Otsana’s cup?”
“Yes.”
Evyn nodded, accepting them and kneeling on the ground.
Under her breath, she requested the aid of her guides as she poured into Otsana’s cup. There were a few dregs at the bottom already, but she needed to add the extra intention of finding her, to ensure its success, rather than only seeing how Otsana was when she’d drank her tea.
After swirling liquid around the cup, she poured it over one of the cloths leftover from earlier and then turned the cup back over. She peered at the leaves in the silver cup and let the images stoke her intuition, twisting it clockwise.
“Where is she, where is she, where is she?“ she whispered under her breath as she looked.
Slowly, the images of the leaves grew a vision in her mind’s eye, like trying to remember the scraps of a dream.
Otsana walked up the stairs. Someone was waiting there, but under an illusion spell. The illusion fell, a cowl hiding their face. Some sort of insignia on the pommel of their sword—a raven’s head wearing a crown. They held a cloth to Otsana’s mouth and she fainted in their arms. The vision shifted, showing the kidnapper dragging her away down through a back door, then shoving her into a burlap sack.
“What do you see?” Arrius asked suddenly, wrenching her from the vision.
Evyn blinked. “She was taken. I don’t know by whom, but they had an insignia of a raven with a crown on the pommel of their sword. Wouldn’t that tie them to the King of South Galvany?”
Arnes crossed his arms, but nodded.
Roan’s eyes widened behind his mask and his head whipped to look at Arnes. “How do they know?”
The Skylothrope shook his head. “Perhaps an astrologer of their own? A spy? We’ll have to ask one of them once we’ve gotten Otsana back.”
His words had a slight growl to them that sent shivers down Evyn’s spine, but she couldn’t waste time clarifying any of what was just said.
“They went down the back here, holding her in a sack,” Evyn said, pointing to the right where the back door had been. “If you run, you may be able to catch up with them.”
Arrius turned and sprinted out of the room, with Roan and Arrius just behind. Enloris, however, hesitated, looking down at Evyn.
“I’ll stay here with Evynria in case they return. You go,” Ylid told Enloris. “I’m powerful enough to protect us if they return, but you’re faster and a far better tracker. Go!”
He looked at Evyn, who nodded. With her acceptance, he ran off so quickly she barely saw him leave.
Evyn sighed, deflating to the ground, jaw quivering. Ylid raced to her side and put an arm around her shoulder.
“You’ve done what you could,” they said in a gentle voice.
She nodded, but fear wrapped her heart in a death grip. She just hoped it was all enough.