Forehead furrowing, I concentrated on assessing it, letting my magic spread out like probing fingers. It took so much concentration that I had to call upon everything Matron Olsander had taught me.
“How strange,” I murmured. “It almost feels like a veil or some kind of net is deep within the land.” I paused and glanced up at the prince as my mind raced. “Do you think our crops are dying from an unnatural occurrence that has nothing to do with the gods? That perhaps whatever I’m feeling in the land is encapsulating the orem?”
The prince’s lips parted. “Does it feel like that?”
“I don’t know, but I wasn’t strong enough before to dive my affinity this deep. It makes me suspect that what I’m feeling now has spread throughout the continent.”
He scowled, the expression making him look downright scary. “If that’s the case, my guess is that Wormiful and Crimsonale are behind whatever you’re feeling.”
“That’s what I’m thinking too, and if they’ve found a way to douse our land’s orem and starve our fae, then we’d be forced to move south. It plays into exactly what they’re pushing for.”
His hand pressed against my back. “But how are they doing it? How are they creating whatever you’re feeling?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea, but if we don’t figure it out, my affinity can’t save us.”
I closed my eyes and returned my attention to the soil. Brows scrunching together, I dug deep into my reserves to force my affinity to dive farther.
Whatever was in the land zapped me again, its responses growing stronger the farther down I went, almost as if it was trying to deter me. But I pushed my affinity through it anyway, burrowing my magic as deep as it would go. The netting heated in response, growing hotter and hotter and hotter as I drilled through it.
ZAP!
I was flying.
Arms and legs extended upward as a clear sky shone above me.
Pain ricocheted through me as something followed me from the soil.
I landed on the ground so hard that I couldn’t breathe.
“Ilara!” the prince yelled.
My head lolled. My sight blurred. Everything went black.
“Ilara!” Hands gripped my shoulders as anxiety filled the male’s voice. It sounded as though he called out from far away, as though the male was underwater. “Ilara!”
My entire body was convulsing. Vibrating. No, that wasn’t right. The male was shaking me as he tried to rouse me.
I opened my eyes to see the crown prince bending over me, his eyes blazing as intense fear lined his expression. His hands gripped my shoulders as power ratcheted off him, radiating around him in an aura so strong that I flinched.
I blinked as an aching pain in my gut made me wince. Groaning, I tried to sit up. “What happened?”
“Don’t move.” His hands traveled rapidly over me as he felt for injuries, but there was no blood. No broken bones. Not even bruises as far as I could tell. Just . . . pain.
I brought a hand to my forehead. Hair flew around my head as a slight throb twisted my stomach. “Norivun, what happened?”
His face twisted in worry. “I don’t know. You were feeling the soil, using your affinity, and you said something about it being strange, and then—”
I hissed as pain slid through my gut, strengthening with every second that passed.
“Ilara?” His voice grew quiet, his hands gentled. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Nothing? Everything? But I’m okay. I think.” But I didn’t know for sure. Whatever I’d just felt in the soil had done something to me. It was internal if the roiling in my stomach was any indication.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to sit up more. “Let’s go back to the castle.”
The aura off Prince Norivun throbbed even more. “Yes, I want Murl to check you over.”
Before I could respond, the prince’s arms were around me, and he was gently lifting me as he stood. Around us, his four guards had their backs to us. They’d formed a protective circle, as though guarding us from any unseen attacks.
My ring of fire that had been encasing us was gone.
I froze. “When did my fire stop?”
“When you flew from the ground onto your back.” Norivun tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. Tightness lined his expression. Even his wings had closed around me, as though every fiber of his body had gone into hyper-protective mode.
I nibbled my lip and felt for my magic. Pain accompanied that attempt, but my magic still swirled in my gut. It was still there, but it didn’t rise readily.
“My magic is . . .” I shook my head. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
Norivun’s eyes shuttered. “We’re going back to the castle. Now.”
The prince mistphased us back, insisting that I conserve my strength. I didn’t argue. Whatever had resisted my affinity in the Isalee field had left a lasting scar. My magic felt drained and weak. It’d already been low since I’d used so much during test two, but I hadn’t realized that searching that field for life would have such a detrimental effect.
We reappeared just outside of the healing infirmary, the prince’s guards only seconds behind us.
“Murl!” Norivun barked.
The castle healer appeared in a rush through the door, his hair tousled. He took one look at us and gestured us inside. “Lay her on that bed.”
Norivun did as he said, moving on a gust of air that transported us across the room in a blink. The prince set me gently down, and then Murl was there, hovering and assessing.
The healer’s brow furrowed as his affinity dipped into my body. Warmth spread through me, a tranquil feeling following.
I sighed.
Murl’s frown grew. “You were in pain.”
I nodded, which got a scowl from the prince.
Haxil, Nish, Sandus, and Ryder all moved to areas in the room to stand watch. Even here, they didn’t let their guard down.
“Tell me what happened. Tell me what prompted this visit.” Murl’s hands continued to flutter over me as I told him about the deeply buried veil I’d sensed in Isalee’s soil.
He frowned. “So something in the land pushed back at you?”
“I think so.”
“Do you have any idea what it could be?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I’ve never felt anything like it.”
Murl’s frown increased, but he continued working, quietly probing and evaluating. When he finally finished, he settled back on his stool. “I don’t know what to make of it, Lady Seary.” He tapped his chin, his expression remaining perplexed. “Something feels strange within you, but I don’t know what.”
I sat up straighter as the aura off Norivun rose.
“What do you mean?” the prince demanded.
“It’s almost as if something is encapsulating her magic, like it’s suppressing it. It’s as though something in the Isalee field attacked her.”
A snarl tore from the prince’s throat. “Attacked her? What would do that?”
Murl shook his head. “That’s a very good question, my prince. At the moment, I’m unsure.”
I brought a hand to my gut, to where I always sensed my magic. “Is that why it hurt here before you doused the pain?”