Did my father know they lived? His network of creatures was so vast, sometimes it surprised me that he wasn’t completely insane. Surely the continued existence of the Second Line would be something he’d mention, if he knew? The Second Line could have been a threat to us as well as the First Line.
I had so many unanswered questions, but I needed to inform my father as soon as possible. My loyalty was to Avalon first, but my family was close behind. I owed the Second Line nothing.
Vox was frowning again. “I get why you’re here. And how you’re here. But what do you want? Your altruistic mission”—he sounded sceptical—“isn’t needed here at Boellium.”
Lierick looked at Avalon. “Ellanora Halhed was really clear. My place is at Avalon’s side. I’m—we’re—here to protect Avalon, to help her understand and control her powers, and hope that she agrees to help us in return.” He leaned forward, closer to Avalon once more, his eyes earnest. “I want to set Ebrus free. I want to sethimfree.” He nodded at Vox, and I saw the very moment Avalon started to bend. She was fierce when she needed to be, and she loved Vox. She would raze all of Ebrus for him.
As if he knew he’d sealed the deal, Lierick rocked back on his heels before Braxus could take a bite out of him. “And we need your help to do it. I just don’t know how yet.”
Four
Avalon
Ineeded a nap. Maybe I’d wake up, and this whole thing would be a fever dream. What did I do with everything I’d learned? I wanted to go back in time until I had no idea that… well, that I could go back in time.
Even though it seemed completely inconceivable, it resonated in my soul. I knew it was true. Now I had to work out what to do with this information.
And what to do with the enemy in our midst. Even though Lierick didn’t feel like an enemy. I also hated the First Line, and Baron Vylan specifically. I knew how he treated Vox. How he treated Shay.
Despite Lierick’s words, you’d have to be blind not to see that his hatred for the First Line was indiscriminate.
I was in the middle. On the outside once more, with my hands tied.
I’d let Ebrus burn for Vox. This country hadn’t ever done anything for me; I’d been magicless and useless to the Upper Lines. To the Lower Lines, I was damaged goods. The Second Line was a cautionary fairytale to most of us, despite the fact that their Heir was standing in front of me, looking at me imploringly.
I had to talk to the Twelfth Line. I needed to know if they knew about the Second Line and had been keeping it from me. Lying to me from the start, even if it was by omission. It wasn’t fair, because it wasn’t like I’d told them everything about myself either, but still, this felt big. Huge, even.
My head was starting to hurt, and my heart already ached. It was like it knew what it had lost, even if I didn’t remember it. Vox had died in my arms, and if the book in front of me was to be believed, that had been less than five hours ago.
I reached out and linked my fingers with Vox’s, holding him tightly to me as I cleared my throat. “So you came all the way down here on a whim?” It seemed impossible, just like Lierick’s existence. “To what end? Just to have a chat with me?”
Lierick shrugged. “Well, the actual intention was to abduct you and bring you back to Ozryn. But I wasn’t entirely convinced you even existed, that you weren’t just some delusional prophecy. Obviously, I was wrong.”
“Like fuck you’re taking her anywhere,” Hayle growled.
“How could you know that if time went back?” Vox asked.
Honestly, it hurt my brain to think about. If I reset time, he wouldn’t have known I was there, therefore he wouldn’t know that I existed when he walked up in this next recreation, which probably should have resulted in it repeating… This was too much.
“I checked our copy ofA Future Historybefore we got off the boat. I’ve checked it every step of the way since we set out to sail down to Boellium. I saw our mistake—my mistake—and corrected the course.” He smirked at Hayle. “And if I wanted to take her, you couldn’t stop me.”
“Try it,” Hayle gritted out.
My head was seriously starting to pound now. “Enough.I’m not going anywhere with you, so I suggest you come up with a new plan or go home.”
Grinning widely, Lierick swept his arm around the library. “Attending Boellium is my birthright, is it not? You’re looking at the newest conscript of the Second Line.”
“They’ll murder you in your sleep,” I muttered at him. It would only take one person running to the First Line with information about the Second Line to cause a full-blown bloodbath.
Lierick tilted his head. “I guess I’m an Eleventh Line conscript then. A little late in the year, but no one will really know. Who pays attention to the other conscripts, especially the ones from the Lower Lines? The dirt scrabblers.”
Shaking his head, Hayle dragged me closer again. Soon, he’d be trying to tuck me inside his jacket. “And will everyone just ignore the invading boats?”
Lierick’s grin this time was nothing but predatory. “They won’t even know they’re there.”
I shuddered at the idea of anyone having that level of power. To bend and warp your brain until your brain refused to believe what your eyes saw. “Will long-term use of your powers hurt the other conscripts?”
I wouldn’t mind if a few of them got their minds melted—namely Eugene—but most conscripts didn’t even want to be here. They didn’t need to have their brains turned into cheese over some centuries-old vendetta between two Lines that weren’t even their own.
