Mom crumpled a little, but I refused to let the news affect me.

"How?" But I knew already, before Galleytrot said it out loud.

"The same way the Chosen masked his magic before." A soft whine of complaint escaped my friend. "I'm sorry, Syd."

It wasn't his fault and I wasn't about to let him think it was. "We'll find him," I said with far more conviction than I felt.

Mom visibly took a firm grasp on herself, her body vibrating with the effort it took. "Yes," ...