I had him eating out of my hand after a week. The trick was to knock his confidence first, then make him feel special. Right now, Donovan was disengaged—slumped over my kitchenette counter with his palm over his eyes—so I’d have to ignore him until he tried to get my attention, then ignore him some more to bring him down a peg or two.
I moved further into my kitchenette, pulled a whiteboard marker from a drawer, and popped the lid. “So, our goal is to stop Connor.” In big letters, I wrote on my refrigeratorGoal = Stop Connor. “Now, forgive me, you’ll have to fill me in a bit more.” Turning, I pointed with my marker at Nate, the dark muscly one. “Who is Connor?”
“He is Prince Donovan’s younger brother,” he answered immediately. “He is second-in-line to the throne of the Kingdom of the Crystal Gardens.”
“Fantastic, thank you, Nate! Now…” I pointed at the blond one. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
He stiffened. “I am Eryk.” He bowed.
I gave him a warm smile. “It’s lovely to meet you, Eryk.”
Eryk’s eyes widened very slightly.
Turning, I tapped the fridge. “Okay, so Eryk, please tell me if I’ve got this wrong, but I feel like I need to stop and summarize our goal. This Connor person is hunting thesespark stones, correct? And these stones hold special powers?”
“Yes, my lady.”
Ooh. That was a new one. Usually my team called me “boss” when I used my managerial rapport skills. “Fantastic,” I said, writing downspark stoneson my refrigerator. “Can you please elaborate on the spark stones a little bit? Tell me how they function.”
“Uh, yes, my lady. The spark stones are primordial material from when the realms were brought into being. They are crystals that contain the essence of each realm. Each one is usually located at the center of their realm and is packed with the raw power and magic of that world.”
“They are the first building block of every part of our universe,” Cress butted in. “They?—”
“Sorry, Cress.” I held up a finger. “I understand you have something to share, but please wait until Eryk is finished.”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. I didn’t flinch; instead, I gave her my “down, bitch” stare—a look I’d perfected during my stockbroker days.I am in control here. Back off.
After a long moment, I turned and wrotespark stone = raw power magic crystalon the refrigerator. “Eryk, please go on. Can you give me an example of a spark stone, and what it might do?”
He shifted on his feet uncomfortably for a second, watching Cress from the corner of his eye. “Yes, my lady. Every realm has their own stone, and that stone vibrates with magic. That magic seeps out to the rest of the realm, giving life to the world and the creatures in it.”
“So, all those creatures you mentioned before,” I said, tapping the marker against my chin. “The vampires, the shifters, the elves… they all have their own spark stones in their own realms?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“And this Connor character—the Prince’s little brother—wants to ‘devour’ these stones.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Why?”
Nate tentatively put his hand up. Donovan, still slumped over the counter, let out a groan.
I ignored him. “Yes, Nate?”
“The stones are living things,” he said. “They contain the essence of a realm’s magic. You must understand, my lady—Connor may be brother to my liege, but they are opposites. My liege sacrifices everything for the safety and wellbeing of his people. Connor only serves himself.”
I nodded. Nate, the kiss-ass, was trying to get me to like Donovan, the popular guy in the group. This was what happened when the team hierarchy was unsettled; the members tried to reestablish the status quo.
Donovan might be the popular one, but I was a boss. I turned my back on Donovan completely, subtly indicating with my body that he was not important to me at all. “So, Connor is trying to find all these spark stones, so he can eat them and take their magic.”
Nate and Eryk both nodded.
“Where are the spark stones usually kept?” I pointed with my marker. “Cress?”
“Most are usually located deep under the earth, in the center of each realm,” she replied automatically. “But as Connor began his evil quest, each realm began to take steps to hide them. In most cases, Elders have been entrusted with the stones.”
“Okay. So, each realm has a stone, and most of them are hidden. Connor is trying to find them and eat them.” I clicked the cap on my marker. “So… where do I come in?”
