“You tried,” Kane mutters.
“In the aftermath, we found Prospero.” Julien’s voice is calm, eyes fixed on me. “He was already dead.”
My shoulders drop. Another lead, gone. Another truth left buried.
“We brought the girl, Raelynn, to Kacey for healing,” Julien continues. “We did not know who she was until then.”
“Poor Kacey,” I whisper. “Her poor sister.”
“Prospero may be dead, but revenge is a powerful motivator.” I frown at Julien’s words.
Kane’s fingers trace my spine again. “Tragedy changes people,” he murmurs. Words I remember well.
Ezekial presses another kiss to my hand, then threads our fingers together as he lowers it onto the bed. “Kacey has requested to resurrect him.”
Every hair on my body lifts.
“We want your input,” Kane adds.
Myinput? I look at them all, but they’re still, waiting, like they genuinely want to hear what I think.
“Will it hurt Kacey?”
“No,” Julien answers, shifting a little closer. “It is draining, and after healing her sister she will have less power for a few days. But she knows this. She wants answers.”
And, maybe selfishly, so do I.
“He could tell us so much,” I murmur, studying the covers as I consider it all.
I used to think ignorance was easier than the truth, but now that I have the choice… we have a choice.
Kane’s cool fingers cup my jaw, drawing my face to his. “This is your decision.”
“Mine?” I frown, trying to turn to the others, but he holds me still. “But he was an enforcer, a Council member, he served with you for decades. It’sourchoice.”
“We want what you want,” Kane says firmly.
And I believe him. That they’d be happy to live with the not knowing, to move on and bury this in the past, if that’s what I wanted.
But I’m sick of the not knowing.
“I want to know everything.”
“You heard our girl.” Sai grins wide, markings ablaze. “Let’s go resurrect this fucker.”
Chapter 38: Ezekial
Inside the cage which once held a dragon sits a dead man who once was my friend.
Prospero’s body slumps in a metal chair, held by leather bindings in the very centre.
Beside me stands Jasmine, and while I may appear unperturbed, the sight of his scarred face churns something old in me, becoming tight and bitter.
We fought together, rose in ranks together, led together. A blood mage, cast out of his homeland for his Dualist beliefs, but welcomed by the Council District, just like the rest of us misfits.
And now… he’s dead.
“Kacey, I’m so sorry about your sister. If there’s anything I can do…” Jasmine’s soft voice pulls my attention, but Kacey’s response is lost under the crackle of memories.
