The Domini saga : lich lords favor

Bren brings Kynes through the boarding-house door, supporting his numb casting arm as harbor smoke clings to their clothes. Elira Thorne and Ilyra Voss turn toward the orange glow between the shutters.

Elira rises slowly, her attention fixed on Kynes’s arm before shifting to Bren. Ilyra gathers the nearest papers from the table, her expression sharpening at the news.

Bren eases Kynes toward a chair and keeps his affected arm supported. Outside, harbor bells sound through the smoke while Elira closes the shutters against the fading glow.

Kynes gives a wicked grin and draws the remaining magical heat from the ruined countinghouse into his numb casting hand. Violet fire coils beneath his skin, and the loose energy settles under his control.

The absorption succeeds, but the cost bites immediately. His hand locks tighter, numbness spreading into his forearm as the captured power leaves his spellwork less precise than before.

Kynes looks from Bren to Elira and Ilyra with a sarcastic smile, then relaxes his hand. The tight fingers loosen, and he settles back into the chair.

Bren’s sternness softens into amusement. Elira checks the loosened fingers once more, while Ilyra returns to the papers, and the room’s immediate tension finally ebbs.

Kynes raises his good hand. Telekinetic force traces a precise circle through the floor around his chair, its inner edge filling with steady blue-white healing light.

The circle settles into a quiet rhythm beneath Kynes, drawing warmth through his body while the room watches without interrupting. Bren’s stern look softens.

The healing circle continues its quiet rhythm beneath Kynes, but his warning cuts through it with deliberate certainty. Bren meets his gaze without flinching.

Elira remains still beside the table, recognizing the boundary Kynes has drawn. Ilyra lowers the papers in her hands, her attention fixed on the room’s sudden, focused silence.

The warning settles over the room with unmistakable force. The healing circle continues beneath Kynes, while Bren studies him and the two women measure the promise behind his words.

Bren reaches across the table and rests her hand against Kynes’s uninjured one. Her expression remains steady, but her voice has lost its earlier amusement.

The room grows quiet again, but the silence is no longer uncertain. Bren keeps her hand in Kynes’s, while Elira and Ilyra return their attention to the papers and the city beyond the shutters.

Kynes settles into the healing circle and slows his breathing until the room’s sounds recede. The blue-white light steadies around him, drawing his body into a deep, restorative trance.

The circle’s light passes through Kynes in calm pulses. His breathing becomes even, his posture loosens, and the strain left by the ruined countinghouse begins to leave him.

Time passes without interruption. When the trance completes, warmth has returned to Kynes’s body, his breathing is clear, and the healing light fades into harmless sparks around the chair.

Kynes raises his hands and draws two scraps of darkness from the room’s dim corners. The shadows fold into sleek crows, their eyes glowing violet.

A single command passes through both summoned birds: Mara and Slaan are to take out every watcher with extreme prejudice. The crows accept the charge without hesitation.

The shadow crows slip through the shutters and vanish into the harbor’s darkened lanes, following the magical threads toward Mara and Slaan.

One crow reaches Mara first and settles near her, delivering the order in a whisper of cold shadow. The other finds Slaan and gives the same message.

The spell completes cleanly. Both allies receive the command, and the two shadow crows dissolve into harmless wisps, leaving Kynes’s room quiet again.

Kynes continues the healing trance, breathing slowly as the blue-white circle gathers into steady pulses beneath his chair. The room’s distant sounds fade beyond the rhythm of the magic.

Warmth spreads through his body and settles along his injured forearm. The stiffness releases, sensation returns to his casting hand, and the last violet traces beneath his skin fade harmlessly.

The healing circle completes its work without interruption. Kynes’s posture straightens, his breathing clears, and his hand opens freely, no longer locked by numbness or imprecise spellwork.

The circle dissolves into harmless sparks. Kynes emerges from the trance restored and alert, while Bren remains beside him and the others give the quiet its proper respect.

Kynes turns his attention outward, reading the boarding house, the street beyond, and every reflection trembling across the shuttered windows. The search is quiet and exact.

His perception follows the watcher routes through the harbor lanes. He finds abandoned sightlines, cold footprints, and no active presence close enough to threaten Elira.

Bren watches Kynes’s face for confirmation rather than reaching for a blade. Elira remains inside the warded safety of the room, while Ilyra keeps the gathered papers close.