I met Lyr’s eyes, her mouth formed an O as her jaw dropped.
I had a good fucking idea of what he was up to. And I bet Morgana was with him. She’d left us weeks ago, claiming I had things under control. We were so close to unearthing the greenshard. They were preparing for battle. Against us. Against the whole Empire.
But we’d just taken two weapons from our most ancient enemies.
Me. And the shard.
“What does the Ready have to do with this?” Lyr asked.
“It’s Arkturion Kane,” Sean said. “Kenna got word to us this morning. An ambassador from Aemon’s camp met with Kane a week ago. Whatever they said to him, it worked. He defected. He and his first legion have abandoned your father and they’ve joined Aemon’s army.”
I sat back against the cushions, my mind whirling. One enemy had weakened. But another had just grown dangerously powerful. Because Kane wasn’t just Kane. He was Shiviel, God of the Yellow Ray. Lyriana and I had just begun to match the combined power of Aemon and Morgana. We were together. We had two shards of the Valalumir, just like them. Only they both had their magic. And before long, they would have three shards.
I had to get my power back. And we had to find the others. Dario. Aiden. Meera. And Jules.
Which meant there was truly only one course of action. We had to strike. We had to head for Glemaria and meet my father in the arena.
Because without Kane there, and without his legion, my father was a sitting duck.
And I wanted it to be my hands who took him down.
Chapter
Forty
LYRIANA
My heart was pounding so fast I could barely breathe. Sean had somehow just delivered the best and worst news all at once. I could see Rhyan already reeling from it, his eyes wide, his skin pale. Kane had fucking defected. From one enemy to another. He’d always been a source of evil, a scourge across Lumeria. But, unlike the other Guardians, he was the only one of us who didn’t have a vorakh, or, access to it.
Although I didn’t have a vorakh, I had taken on one of Meera’s visions to heal her. And, I had jumped on my own, traveling from Numeria to Bamaria. I felt the weight of the red shard on my back, realizing I hadn’t even begun to tap into the full force of power I could draw on.
I met Rhyan’s stormy gaze, my hand in his, my thumb stroking his skin.
“What if they find the eighth?” I asked quietly. “And restore their power?” According to Mercurial, we had only survived Kane because of what we’d done as Auriel and Asherah. We’d performed ancient volatile magic to weaken him. We’d severed his soul, creating an eighth Guardian, one whose identity was still unknown to us.
“I was just thinking about that,” he said. “I’d bet anything that’s exactly what they’re up to. That, and going after the yellow shard.”
Gods. Every single time it felt like we were gaining on them, covering lost ground, or finding more power, they were still ten fucking steps ahead.
Sean frowned, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “I’m sorry. What?”
I swallowed roughly. I had just told Sean the truth—well, part of it. He knew now that Rhyan was Auriel reincarnated. That he’d met the real Auriel when he was with me. And that I was the reincarnation of Asherah. That seemed like enough for him to know in one sitting, just enough for him to understand how it was possible that Rhyan’s soul had been restored. But we hadn’t gotten into the bigger story, or the fact that we weren’t the only Guardians reincarnated. That all seven of us were back. Plus the unknown eighth. And if they were found by Morgana and Aemon, Kane would become our biggest nightmare. Queen Ma’Nia’s warning returned to me.
Moriel already has his shard, as does his lover Ereshya. And if they acquire more, you and your people are doomed.
“Sean, there’s more,” Rhyan said. “I’ll explain later. I’ll tell you everything.”
“You’re not the only two reincarnations?” he said.
“No, we’re not.” Rhyan shook his head. “Everyone came back this time.”
“All seven?”
Rhyan’s face tightened, but he nodded.
Sean took a deep breath. “Your father’s not?—”
“No,” Rhyan said quickly. “But … Kane is.”
