“Gods. I told you not to bring her.Didn’t I say this would be a disaster?”
Uther grimaced. “Disaster undersells it. Catastrophe is more like it.”
Kairos glowered at his sister. “Will you please fucking heal her.”
Elwen brushed her thumbs over my temples and threads of crimson light skimmed my skin. Coolness spread from her palms, coiling down my spine, unspooling through every limb. My lungs expanded against thepressure until the magic eased, and then Elwen drew back, her brows knitting.
She pressed a hand to my sternum, then my wrist, her fingers tightening. Only when she seemed satisfied did she let me go.
“She’s alright,” Elwen announced. “No lingering damage.”
Uther threw himself into a chair. Kairos didn’t move, but the line of his shoulders relaxed.
Elwen rounded on Kairos. “Tell me what happened.”
“Vaeris attacked us. Aelie defended herself, which triggered the binding rune to attack me. Then the palace fell apart,” Kairos said gruffly. “As soon as she broke the rune,everythingstarted breaking. The floors, walls, support structures. We had to fight our way out.”
The door opened, and Lioren stepped in. “Apologies for the interruption, but this can’t wait. Soren is calling through the scrying pool.”
Circular walls rose to a domed ceiling, and in the center sat a shallow pool. Moss clung to the rocks surrounding it, the swirling pattern of a rune glistening at the bottom. Its strange power vibrated through the rock, a low hum emanating from it.
Kairos bent to the pool, his large body perched awkwardly on the rocks, the water reflecting him in distorted fragments.
The surface rippled, and a face formed. Copper hair, bronze skin, those distinctive scales kissing his cheek. The image flickered, and Soren’s elegant features morphedinto a chiseled jaw, his black eyes turning blue, his mouth pulling into a familiar shape.
“Finally,” Vaeris sighed. “I was starting to think you all drowned.”
“Cheap tricks,” Kairos spat, his teeth bared. “As always.”
Vaeris held up his hands. “I only want to talk.”
Kairos seethed. “You don’t get totalkafter what you pulled.”
“Oh, but I do. Because your realm is hanging by a thread, and you need me.” His eyes glinted, sliding past Kairos. “Now. Where is Aelie?”
“She didn’t make it.”
Vaeris rolled his eyes. “Aelie, come to the poolright now.”
Kairos swore viciously as the rune beneath my ribs flared, a fishhook through my sternum, yanking me forward. I locked my knees, refusing to move, and the runeblazed. White-hot. My vision swam, and I stumbled toward the pool. The pain eased, and another step gave me relief.
I reached the edge, shaking.
“Good girl,” Vaeris murmured. “You can stop there.”
The compulsion released, and I sagged, catching myself on Kairos. “Call me that again, and I’ll break something you actually need.”
Vaeris smiled. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
I sneered. “I barely made it out alive.”
“I never meant to hurt you. You misunderstand what happened in that palace.”
“You must think I’m an idiot,” I snapped.
“I think you’re young.” He leaned closer, his shadows rippling around him. “Twenty-five. A child, by fae standards. You don’t understand what it’s like to wait centuries for a future that never comes.”
My stomach twisted. “Release me from the deal.”
