Emma’s lips twisted but she seemed to believe him. She turned around to face my Master and me. “Well, your Propheros has been sullied by some of the loosest women in Smoky Badger, but you win some you lose some. Why are you both looking at me like that?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
No.
My heart thundered in my ears.
My Master waved a hand to her. “Where were you, my child, when the soul eater named the Propheros?”
No. No. No.
My hands balled into fists.
“Travis was trying to pull me off the ground when…” her mouth turned into that small ‘o’ again. She understood the importance of her proximity.
Travis guffawed. “No, seriously? You’re still a virgin, Em?”
First she blanched, then she went red in the face.
“It’s not her.” My denial came out in a low rumble.
She blinked at me as if she didn’t recognize me for a few seconds. “Destined to stop the coming darkness, huh?” she said in small voice.
“It’s not me?” Travis asked. He had unzipped his coat and clutched the front of his shirt. “For real, I’m not the Propheros?” Tears of relief welled in his eyes and his shoulder sagged. “Does this mean I can go home?”
I wouldn’t believe it. I refused to believe it. Travis was the Propheros and he was destined to die to protect us from the Stygian. I would continue to act as Chevalier after his sacrifice, and Emma would return to her life and live to an old age. I’d never see her again, but she would be safe.
She should have never come. It was confusing the truth of the situation.
“Are you well, Chevalier?” Master Ylang asked. To Travis or Emma’s ears he no doubt sounded sympathetic, but I knew better. It was a warning. I straightened my stance.
“Of course, Master.”
He waved a hand spotted with pigment of age. “Regardless of who you have brought to us, you have successfully brought the Propheros.” He walked over to Emma, examining her with cloudy eyes. The urge to grab her and run was almost overpowering. Then Master Ylang’s attention swept toward me.
“It took you days to deliver the Propheros to us?”
Looking straight ahead, I answered, “Yes, Master.”
Slowly, he made his way toward me. “And what could have delayed your journey for so long?”
My lips tightened, but I forced myself to speak. “I met with a complication.”
“What complication?”
“I temporarily lost my ability to use my magic.”
Master Ylang stood in front of me, nearly nose to nose, yet I maintained my blank stare. He didn’t speak or move for a long time.
“Well,” he finally broke the silence and moved away from me. “We must make our guests comfortable so I may gather our House to hear of all we have missed. Days can provide an eternity of information.”
I bowed my head. Master Ylang clapped. It wasn’t loud, but less than a minute later a servant of the House appeared in a brown robe. He was instructed to take Emma and Travis to guest quarters.
Emma tried to catch my eye, but I kept my head bowed, aware that my Master was closely watching. It still felt like a building was falling from the sky, crashing onto my head. Thousands of tiny invisible needles pricked at my forehead causing it to break out in a sweat. As Emma passed by, my feelings of shock intensified ten-fold. I knew in that moment I was experiencing her feelings as well, like I had when I felt the heat of her desire. She knew the Propheros was a sacrifice for the greater good.
As soon as the doors shut, my Master held his hands behind his back.
“How many days, Calan?”
