“No.”
“How do you know what he showed you was a lie?”
“Because Callum denied it.”
“And you believe him?” my father blurted.
I lifted my chin, slightly hardened, and steadied my resolve. “Without doubt.”
My father took a slow breath. “I knew he would come back. I fucking knew it.”
“I think Callum is right—Leviathan can’t touch me. Otherwise, he would have just grabbed me and taken me back.”
“Doesn’t mean he doesn’t have another trick up his sleeve.”
Hawk appeared in the open doorway, dressed in his armor because he was on duty. “Aunt Eldinar has just arrived with General Ezra. They’re in the courtyard.”
“Did she send word she was coming for a visit?” I turned back to Dad.
He was already out of his chair. “No.” It was the first time he was wearing his entire king’s uniform, the well-made tunic and trousers that fit him to his measurements. His black armor was pieced together over him, and he was the only one in the realm who wore a cape with his uniform—because he was the king.
I’d removed mine since I’d stepped down as queen.
We headed to the courtyard, my father taking the lead and moving with normal mobility like his full independence had returned. The only thing that would forever remain was the dark scar on his shoulder where the platinum had permanently adhered to the skin.
His cape flapped in the breeze when he stepped into the courtyard, Aunt Eldinar having dismounted from her dragon Macabre when she arrived. She was in her iridescent white armor that fit the curves of her body and her strong legs perfectly. Her long hair was swept back into a braid similar to the way I wore mine.
She headed straight for my father with eyes that contained alarm, not serenity. “Talon, we need to speak urgently. Riviana has detected compromising changes to the portal between our world and the underworld.”
I immediately looked at Hawk as an automatic reaction.
He had the same instinct, turning to look at me.
My father was the only one who didn’t show emotion.
“She says the physical barriers are fading, and soon, the realms will become one. The progression is slow, slow enough that she didn’t detect it right away, and even when she did notice it, the changes were slight. But now, it’s become very clear to her that the barrier is breaking down as we speak.”
My father stared at her face for a while before he turned to look at me. His gaze remained glued there for a while, though he didn’t seem to be looking at me…but past me. Then he turned back to Aunt Eldinar. “Lily just informed me that Leviathan visited her. Tried to manipulate her with a false memory about Callum.”
Aunt Eldinar looked at me. “Did he mention the portals?”
“No, he said nothing about that. Just tried to turn me against Callum—and then left.”
She looked at my face once again. “It takes great power, energy, and resources to attack the barrier in this manner. They probably tried an alternative plan in the hope it would spare them the fatigue. But since it didn’t work, they’ve continued their efforts. It’s only a matter of time before they break through.”
“And what will happen if they do?” my father asked.
“The two realms will become one,” she said simply. “We’ll live among elves and humans and dragons and demons and the Covenant. This is bad, Talon. Very, very bad. Lily may have escaped the underworld, but they clearly aren’t finished with her.”
“Can it be stopped?” Talon asked. “If they’re eliminating the barrier, perhaps Riviana can repair it simultaneously.”
“She said it doesn’t work like that. That they’re powering this magic with souls, which is something she can’t use.”
My father fell quiet as he considered his options. “There must be something we can do to stop it.”
“I can’t think of anything, and neither can Riviana,” she said. “But I agree with you, Talon. We must find a solution. Otherwise, our world and the one that comes after will be destroyed.”
16
