Chapter 256 Deep in the ashen lands 1

Chapter 256: Chapter 256 Deep in the ashen lands 1

Talia’s POV

The moment we crossed into the Ashen Lands, I felt it.

My magic, which had always hummed beneath my skin like a second heartbeat, began to fade. It did not disappear all at once. It was slow, like a candle being smothered by a glass jar. Each step I took, the flame burned weaker.

I stumbled.

Kaelen’s hand caught my arm before I fell, and his gray eyes searched my face. "Talia, what is it?"

I tried to speak, but my throat felt dry. "My magic. It is... fading."

Piper moved closer, her face pale with worry. "Fading how, Talia?"

I pressed my hand to my chest, and I could barely feel the warmth. "It is like I am being slowly drained. The Ashen Lands... it seems like they are designed to suppress Silvertongue magic."

Jax looked around at the dead trees, and his hand resting on his sword. "So we walked into a trap. Great. Just great."

Silas shook his head, his voice calm but tense. "We knew what we were walking into, Jax."

"I thought I was ready," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. "I thought I could handle it. But this... this is different. I feel like I am losing a piece of myself."

Kaelen’s hand tightened around mine. "Then we find another way, Talia."

"There is no other way," I said. "This is the only path to my mother."

I looked ahead at the gray horizon. Somewhere out there, my mother was waiting. And I was walking toward her with less power than I had ever had.

Piper took my other hand, her fingers squeezing mine. "Then we walk together. Your magic is not the only thing that makes you strong, Talia."

I looked at her, and I forced myself to keep moving. "I know, Piper. I just... I did not expect it to feel like this."

"Like what?" Piper asked.

"Like I am being hollowed out," I said. "Like something is reaching inside me and pulling pieces of me out."

Kaelen stepped closer, his body blocking the cold wind. "Then we do not stop. We keep moving, and we get through this."

Jax let out a low breath. "And if we cannot get through it?"

Kaelen’s voice was sharp. "We will."

I looked at Kaelen, and I saw the determination in his gray eyes. He was not going to let me give up. He was not going to let any of us give up.

"Keep moving," Kaelen said. "Stay close, and do not wander."

We walked for what felt like hours.

The gray sky never changed, the dead trees never ended, and the silence was so complete that I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears.

Then I noticed Kaelen’s hands.

He had been holding mine, but he pulled away to adjust his cloak. I saw the red welts on his knuckles. The skin was raw and irritated, like he had been burned.

I stopped walking, and the group halted behind me. "Kaelen. Your hands."

He looked down and quickly hid them in his sleeves. "It is nothing, Talia."

"It is not nothing." I grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand out. The welts were spreading up his fingers, angry and red against his pale skin. "You are reacting to something."

He pulled his hand back, but I held on. "I said it is nothing."

Piper stepped closer, her eyes wide. "Kaelen, your hands look terrible."

Jax moved to Kaelen’s other side. "What is happening to him?"

Silas’s voice was grim. "It is the air. There is silver dust in it."

I looked at Silas. "Silver dust? Everywhere?"

Silas nodded. "The ground, the air, and the trees. It is everywhere, Luna."

I turned back to Kaelen, and I saw the redness creeping up his neck. His breathing was becoming shallow, and I could see the pain in his eyes.

"How long have you known?" I asked, my voice tight with anger and fear.

"Since we crossed the border," he admitted. "I thought I could manage it."

"Manage it?" My voice rose, and I felt the tears prick at my eyes. "Kaelen, your allergy could kill you."

"It would take more than silver dust to kill me," he said, his jaw tight.

Jax let out a humorless laugh. "That is the most reckless thing I have ever heard you say, Kaelen."

Piper shook her head. "We need to get him out of this air."

"There is nowhere to go," Silas said. "It seems like the entire Ashen Lands are like this."

I shook my head, with frustration and worry building in my chest. I ripped a strip of cloth from the hem of my shirt and wrapped it around his hands, then another around his neck.

"Keep them covered," I said, my fingers working quickly. "If the silver touches your skin directly, it will be worse."

He looked at me, and despite everything, his mouth almost twitched into a smile. "You are worried about me."

"Of course I am worried about you." I tied the cloth tighter than necessary. "You are my mate."

Piper stepped closer, her voice soft. "Maybe we should find shelter, Talia. If the silver is in the air, staying out in the open is dangerous."

Jax pointed ahead. "There is something there. Looks like ruins."