“I don’t know.” Shyla wished she could forget Mojag’s terrible memories. She understood why he’d want to get rid of them. Despite the purge, they still remained with him. At least they weren’t nearly as sharp. “We’ll find out when he wakes up.”

“Son of a sand demon, you did it, didn’t you?” Jayden demanded from the doorway. “He’s just a boy.”

“No, he isn’t,” Shyla said. “He hasn’t been since his parents died.”

Jayden glared at her. Then he swooped in and picked Mojag up in his arms, cradling him to his chest. “If you harmed him, we’re leaving.” He turned his anger on Gurice. “And you’re not invited.”

Fourteen

Jayden carried Mojag from Shyla’s room. Gurice stared at the doorway. “After our parents died in one of the Water Prince’s raids, Jayden helped us so much. Mojag was unruly, sullen, prone to angry outbursts, and I didn’t know what to do with him. Mojag considers Jayden his brother.” She huffed. “A better sibling than me, that’s for sure.”

“No.” Shyla put her hand on her shoulder. “You’re doing a good job. He had a traumatic experience at such a young age. Witnessing your parents’ murder is not something you recover from without some permanent scars.”

“Wait.” Gurice turned to her. “He saw them being killed?”

Oops. “You didn’t know?”

She slumped. “We found him hiding in a trunk. I’d assumed our dad told him to stay there and not to come out no matter what. He wouldn’t come out for a long time. And, when he did, he didn’t talk for a circuit afterwards. I never asked if he saw anything.”

“He’s been holding that inside for a long time and needed to release it. You did a good thing, Gurice.”

“I hope so.” She tilted her head at the wall. “It’s dry. Does that prove something?”

Shyla added heat to her gaze. Her name shone on the wall. “It does!” She grinned at her friend.

“Uh-oh. Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like what’s next?”

“How would you like to be the first person to take the oath for the new archive of the Invisible Sword?”

“Like a new beginning?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“Is it going to hurt?”

“I’ve no idea.”

“Funny, but really…is it?”

Shyla laughed. “Roll up your sleeve.”

Gurice grumbled but pulled the fabric of her tunic up over her shoulder. Her Invisible Sword symbol shone on her chestnut-colored skin. Only another sworn Invisible Sword member with magic could see it.