He looks away for a beat, his brows meeting in a frown. “We have search parties out, but Blue…The devouring force camp is hidden. We’veneverbeen able to locate it, and I doubt we’ll be able to locate it now.”
I didn’t expect him to say that…I peer up at him. “What are you sayin’, Chandra? That we won’t find her?”
His throat bobs, and he looks me right in the eye. “Not without a power to rival the primordial evil’s. Not without the power of the throne.” He exhales. “The devouring force is in a place where signal is cut off. Frequencies, energy, power, nothing passes through, which means that as far as the throne is concerned, Leela no longer exists.”
“It fecking felt her across worlds, so why not through whatever wards this camp has up?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. No one does. It’s always been this way. The equinox is in four days, and I will take the throne. And once I have it, I swear to you I will do everything in my power to bring Leela home.”
“But why? Why’d it take her?”
“Power. Leela is a Vijayroodra. Destined for the throne. By taking her, it stops us obtaining the throne’s power. It keeps us weak. You see, the primordial evil doesn’t know that there is another royal blood who could take the throne. It has only recently risen, and I doubt it has discovered my connection tothe throne, but it will have felt Leela’s claim when it met her in the labyrinth.”
I stare up at his earnest face. Either he’s playing Rajni or he’s playin’ me. I can’t be sure. But telling me this amount of truth would have definitely kept me on board,ifI hadn’t overheard the bullshit between him and Rajni.
I dunno what to think, but I know this: The people I can trust ain’t in this room.
“I want to see Dharma, Joe, and Bina. Please.” I inject a tremble into me voice.
His expression softens. “Of course.” He holds out his hand. “Let me take you to them.”
I climb onto his palm, resisting the urge to bite him. That attack can be saved for when I’m sure he’s a total bastard. For now, I need to be among the trusted circle. Chandra believes there’s no way to locate the camp without him having the throne’s power, but what if he’s missing something? What if the answer lies below the Vidya library in this domain like Madame Spider said?
The knowledge you need…Yeah, that knowledge is exactly what I need right now, and I’m going to find it.
Chapter 22
SO AM I A PRISONER OR A GUEST?
LEELA
There was a man sitting at the end of my bed, his body in profile, head bowed as he whittled wood. His dark wavy hair fell across his forehead in a disarming manner, framing a face arranged in lines of concentration. I lay still, breathing evenly as memory returned in increments—the road to the mountains, the attack, andhim. The primordial evil…But wait…there was something else. Something he’d said to me…
“I told you that your tender heart would get you in trouble, didn’t I?”
My pulse jumped. The primordial evil had never said those words to me. But Araz had. Many a time. Not thoseexactwords, but the sentiment had been the same. How did the primordial evil know? My heart sank as the obvious answer filled my mind. He must have stolen Araz’s memories. Read them before he…Before he incinerated my drohi’s soul.
I focused on keeping my breath even while surreptitiously scoping out the room. There was a hearth with an armchair by it,a small table to the left, and a wardrobe against the far wall with an ajar door beside it. A washroom maybe?
A couple of lanterns were fixed to the wall, burning low and ambient, and there was a closed door to my right. This one had to be the exit. No point making a run for it, though. It would be wasted energy without any idea of the layout of this place.
“Are you hungry?” the man asked without breaking the rhythm of his whittling. “I’ve been instructed that you be fed a light meal as soon as you wake. Transference takes energy even for those being carried.”
He looked up from his task, bright jade eyes locking on to me from a face I recognized. I sucked in a breath. “You…”
He offered me a lopsided grin. “Me. Yes. Do you remember my name?” There was an almost soft vulnerability to his question.
“Yeah…C’ael.”
His shoulders dropped a little. “That’s right.”
I sat up, and the furs draped over me fell to my waist. My coat was gone along with my outer tunic, my holster, and my axes.
C’ael held out the wooden object he’d been whittling. Firelight illuminated the shape of a tiny horse with wings, one that looked suspiciously like a moona. “For you.” When I didn’t take it, he shrugged and tucked it into his pocket. “I suppose you have questions.”
“You suppose correctly. Where is he? Where’s the bastard who’s wearing my Araz?”
He winced. “Hedoesn’t much like it when people call him names. In fact, he tends to get pretty upset.”
