As soon as the pressure eased, I swung toward Rome. “Are they going to be okay? How come we managed to use a pocket but no one else could?”
He shook his head, worry creasing his brow. “I’m not totally sure. Normally there’s not enough power here for a lot of our god tricks, which is why we’ve always taken the ‘back ways’ into Topia. But this time it worked … easily. It’s possible that it was because of your power combined with mine. The moment I touched you …” He trailed off.
“And maybe, if the other gods released their channels at the same time … the power is spreading back to Minatsol.” A slight awe entered my voice.
All of a sudden I wanted to sit down, because my legs felt a little wobbly.
“Are you okay, Will?” Rome moved closer to me, his concerned face swimming before mine.
“Does your power feel really drained all of a sudden?” I asked, having to clear my throat a few times. “Because I’m feeling a little weary.”
He wrapped his arms around me, lifting me into his warm body. “It’s been too long since you rested. Since you took power from us. You’re weakening yourself.”
Part of what he said was true, but there was a niggling worry deep inside that told me this wasn’t a normal “too much power usage, not enough sex” drain.
“Why did Coen suggest this place?” I asked, my eyes searching Rome’s. “And how far is this Peak from the cave entrance? Will it take them a long time to reach us?”
Rome nodded. “Unless they can take a pocket too, it will take them sun-cycles to reach us.” He shrugged. “And I’m guessing Coen was just aiming for the highest peak in Minatsol.”
Sun-cycles.That wasn’t good. Hopefully as the power returned to Minatsol, they’d be able to take a pocket to us.
“How large is the Great River,” I wondered, not sure how far it might spread across Minatsol.
Rome turned, holding me firmly. “Pretty large,” he said, staring out over my head. I’d been focussed on him, but I turned to the view then. “As I said, Champions Peak is pretty far from the banishment cave. But I can see the water.” He pointed out toward the setting sun.
“No freaking way!” I craned my neck further to take it all in.
He was right though. Way out in the distance, I could see trees being uprooted, debris flinging into the air. “I’ve never seen anything like that,” I choked out. “How is water so powerful?”
“When you think about it,” Rome said softly, “it’s the most powerful force in both worlds. Our very life force.”
Which made Staviti’s crimes all the worse. He’d deprived every other living being on these worlds from their life force.
“The others are going to be okay, right?”
Even though they were gods—even Emmy now—and they should all be fine in almost any situation, I’d never stop worrying about them.
“They’re at the base of the mountain,” Rome said, turning around. “They must have managed to take a pocket closer. I’m sure that’s them approaching.”
He strode toward the opposite side to where we’d been standing, the side that faced the ocean. The top of the stairs that had been carved into the mountain came into view. I could hear them now too, and my heart fluttered almost uncontrollably for a few beats.
Coen was first to appear, and I was pretty sure he’d forgotten he carried the dweller. She bounced about on his shoulder as he took the stairs five at a time, somehow not falling off the narrowly carved sections. When he landed on the top of the mountain, his eyes went straight to me. More specifically, to me in Rome’s arms.
“What’s wrong with Willa?” he demanded, storming across. The dweller was dumped to the side. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I was feeling a little weak and dizzy before. Rome’s just being overprotective. I can stand on my own.”
I was almost certain of that.
Coen’s expression deepened, and I mentally cursed when I realised he’d heard that thought.
“Put her down,” he told his twin.
Rome slowly lowered me to the ground, and I braced my knees, keeping them locked until my centre of balance kicked in. My legs wobbled a few times, but I managed to remain standing, straightening just as the last of my family appeared on the top of Champion’s Peak.
Emmy rushed straight to me. “What’s wrong with Willa?” she demanded with as much fire as Coen. Her head swung straight to Cyrus. “Her energy feels depleted, which is one of the weirdest things I’ve ever said, but I usually feel it swirling around her. It’s not the same.”
Cyrus took a click to examine me, first with his eyes, and then with a hand across my head. “Her energy is different,” he said slowly. “It almost feels like … that of a normal god now. Not as potent as before.”
