The height difference between the two was almost comical. Avery had eldritch in her blood, so naturally, they were the tallest, strongest, and fastest of the group. Revna was a shapeshifter. Her body constantly went through changes, which was probably why she was so short.
Avery sighed. “You’re always blaming me for everything. I didn’t even give her that much.”
“And I’m sure that’s why she’s currently running away from all of us, right?”
Ciro, who had been uncharacteristically quiet for the past few minutes, spoke up. “Are we sure that’s the right person?”
Revna snapped her head back at him, her gaze unreadable. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I’m just saying. If she truly was the heir, wouldn’t we be able to detect more…energy, around her?”
Neri’s heart tightened. She wished Ciro hadn’t mentioned that. He was right, sure, but if the girl was truly the wrong person, then they were all dead.
“What, you think a heir of Bloodbane was born without magic?” Revna was arguing. “Are you going to say that Tarian is going to be freed next?”
“I mean, considering the lack of surveillance and all, I’m sure an accomplished group of rebels could certainly—”
“That’s not my point!”
Neri sighed. “Ciro, be serious. If that’s not Aurelia, then we just let loose a powerless human in the Woods. That’s going to disrupt the entire balance of the magic system in…” She trailed off. Her throat was suddenly dry. She looked over at Revna, who was pale.
“…in Morin,” Ciro finished. “That’s an issue, isn’t it?” He glanced around, purple eyes sparkling in the moonlight.
“Of course it’s an issue, you incompetent mushroom!” Revna was almost shouting. “Go find her, quickly!” She turned into a raven and was already dashing into the night, leaving a feather spiraling behind her. Avery sighed, but shook out their limbs. In a second, they had morphed into a puddle of thick black goo and were slipping away into the trees.
“Freaking transformers,” Ciro muttered under his breath.
“What are we going to do?” Neri was in a panic. “If that really isn’t Aurelia, and they really are powerless, then we’re going to die!” She meant that literally. If the delicate balance of magic didn’t power the runes, then all the people who had been associated with rune magic in the past would die. That was how runes worked. Their effects would be nullified if they lost or gained even the slightest amount of power.
“Nah.”
Neri stopped and stared. “What do you mean ‘nah’?”
“I’m just saying, if we’re dead, then we’re dead, and we don’t have to worry about any of this anymore.”
“Shut up, you suicidal manic!”
Ciro held up his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, I’m not the one who—”
Neri stiffened, looking away.
The air was tense. Neri wanted to cry. He should’ve known better than to mention that.
Ciro patted Neri’s shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that,” he said. At least he wasn’t trying to lighten the mood with his nonsense jokes anymore.
She shrugged him off. “It’s whatever,” she muttered.
