The Stone Wolf (The Chain Breaker Book 4) by D.K. Holmberg (digital book reader TXT) 📕

He needed to know whether the two of them could stay friends at least. That was what she claimed she wanted, though there was a part of Gavin that suspected she didn’t really want to just be friends. Still, she had allowed him to return to the Dragon, and she hadn’t pushed him away, which she absolutely could have done.

He didn’t know, though.

“So, you have two magical beings who know about this Toral, but they don’t know anything useful about her,” Gaspar said.

He’d told Gaspar about Cyran’s escape, and now he shared it with Wrenlow. “I think Anna knew more, but she didn’t share,” Gavin replied. “She said that the Toral access a different kind of magic than enchanters and sorcerers. If it was El’aras magic, I figured she would have said something. The more I think about it, the more I start to wonder whether or not this Toral was working against us directly. I don’t know what she was after, but there was something she wanted, and she hesitated when we mentioned that Wrenlow and Olivia had been taken.”

It was that hesitation that Gavin needed to understand.

And there was one way that he could.

“We have to get a message to her.”

“You tried that already,” Gaspar said. “Before we left, you’d told her sorcerer friend you needed to speak with her.”

“I did,” Gavin said. “But this is different. That was about trying to get word to her so she could release Wrenlow and Olivia. But if she wasn’t responsible for their captivity, then I don’t know whether there’s anything more we need to do with that.”

“There’s something I can show you,” Wrenlow said, standing. “I don’t know if it will help, but it can’t hurt, right?”

“Why don’t the two of you stay here,” Gavin said to Olivia and Gaspar. He looked over to the door leading to the kitchen. “I’m sure Jessica wouldn’t mind.”

“She’ll be fine. You just have to give her time,” Gaspar said, nodding toward the kitchen.

Gavin smiled to himself. There were times when it felt like he and Jessica were fine, but others when he questioned if they could be. “I know.”

“We’ll be safe here. For now.” Gaspar nodded to him. “Take care of the kid.”

Wrenlow frowned at him. “I’m not—”

Gavin stood and shoved him toward the door.

The darkness of the city swallowed them. Gavin started moving quickly through the street, holding on to the power within him. He had to be prepared for the possibility there might be somebody after them. He hadn’t used his core reserves all that much recently, so he thought he had enough power just in case.

“Where were you released?” he asked.

“That’s what you need to see.” Wrenlow hurried forward, moving faster than Gavin thought he should.

“Would you slow down?” Gavin asked.

“We need to finish this so I can get back to Olivia.”

“She’s not going anywhere.”

“Not yet, but she still needs me. I’m going to help you with this, then get back to her, and I want to…”

“I understand,” Gavin said.

“I know that you do. You…” Wrenlow shook his head. “I shouldn’t say anything.”

“No, go ahead. What is it?”

“You just don’t know what it’s like to have somebody that you care about,” Wrenlow said. “You’ve isolated yourself. All this time, you’ve barely let yourself be close to anybody. I mean, I might be the only one you truly care about. Even with Jessica, you never got so close that anything would ever come of it.”

“I went after you,” Gavin said.

“I know, and I thank you,” Wrenlow said. “But we both know you’ve been wanting to leave the city for a while. Even after the last attack, you stayed because you felt like you had to, but not because you wanted to.”

“I stayed because I was needed.”

“What if you weren’t necessarily needed?” Wrenlow asked. “Didn’t you say that Davel Chan has been creating enchantments? And then the enchanters are here, all of them more powerful now. And with you having removed the threat of magic…”

“What are you saying?”

“I guess I’m saying that maybe you don’t have any reason to be here. And maybe you don’t really care about the city.”

“I care,” Gavin said.

“You care because you think you have to. You think that’s what I want from you, but”—Wrenlow took a deep breath and let out a sigh—“I guess what I want is for you to figure out what you want, Gavin.”

“You know what I want.”

Even as he said it, Gavin knew it wasn’t true. He didn’t even know what he really wanted.

But he knew he needed answers. About himself. About his magic and how he could use it. Gavin wanted to know why Tristan had trained him to learn magic.

What reason did he have for it?

Wrenlow turned his head away and looked into the distance. “It’s not far from here.”

They continued down the street and passed a series of shops until they reached a road that led away from the city. It was on the south side of Yoran, far enough from where they had been that Gavin wouldn’t have been able to find this place without looking for it distinctly.

“This was where they released you?”

“This is where we were when we broke out.” Wrenlow paused. There was a pile of scrap wood nearby, and he nodded to it. “Those are the remains of the wagons.”

“The remains? What did you do, tear it apart?”

“When it seemed like nobody was coming, I started kicking,” Wrenlow said. “I needed to get out, and as soon as I did, I started breaking Olivia free. I knew we were in Yoran, and I was hopeful that we would come across the constables, but none of them came.”

“Wagons wouldn’t draw the constables’ attention,” Gavin said.

“Wagons may not, but the thumping from inside as I was battering my way out should have drawn it.”

“I can talk to Davel for you.”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Wrenlow said. “Once we knew we were in Yoran, we weren’t as concerned.”

Gavin made his way around the remains of the wagon. The