He wrapped me in a loose embrace, planting a kiss on top of my head and then letting his chin rest there, taking a moment to collect himself.
“Eamon should be arriving shortly,” he informed me, pulling away. “I had some questions for him.” His gaze flicked again to Lorien. “And now I suspect we’ll all have quite a few more.”
While we waited for his arrival, my brother and Thalia filled me in on the aftermath of the battle. Zayn eventually managed to offer me a friendly, relieved greeting, but he continued to keep to himself after that.
“The number of dead could have been a lot higher, all things considered,” Thalia said quietly.
“The most concerning things at the moment are actually the borders of the palace and Tarnath. The protections that Calista erected centuries ago seem to be weakening. A side effect of Aleksander’s strange power, we think.”
Lorien tilted his head at the mention of Calista’s name, but he didn’t move from the spot he’d taken by the unlit fireplace. His expression remained carefully neutral.
“Those wards have stood for over five hundred years,” Thalia said. “I don’t think they’re going to fail overnight.”
“We don’t know what Aleks is capable of. If we don’t stop him soon?—”
“I will.”
Bastian started to reply, only to press his lips together and take a deep breath through his nose.
“I’m going to stop him,” I said, quietly.
He and Thalia exchanged a soft, uncertain look, but they said nothing else until Eamon arrived.
Once we were all assembled in the smaller room, we took a moment to make sure the space was secure from eavesdroppers. Zayn finally joined us, and we all gathered around the rugged table in the corner, save for Lorien, who continued to brood by the cold hearth.
I wasted no time laying out my plan. “You took me to Calista’s grave not so long ago, during one of our trainings,” I said to Eamon.
His gaze darted uncertainly toward Lorien before looking back to me. “…I did.”
I didn’t look at Lorien myself, but I would have sworn I couldfeelthe color draining from his face, the sudden tension radiating from him. Not surprising—and this was why I’d kept my plan close to my chest. I’d been afraid he wouldn’t follow me back here, otherwise.
Because, according to most stories, Calista’s grave lay in the same place where he’d killed her.
It was also the point from which her protective spells flowed. A sacred place of sacrifice and ancient power—and, hopefully, the resting spot of one final secret that I needed to unravel.
“My magic felt stronger there than it has anywhere else in this kingdom,” I told the others. “So we’re going to invite the Order to meet us there…and tell them it’s where we want to negotiate.”
My brother straightened. “Negotiate?”
“We’ll tell them they can have the last piece of Lorien’s cursed soul—his heart—in exchange for leaving this realm in peace. We’ll agree to stop pursuing the rebirth of the Vaeloran Cycle so long as the dome of protection that Calista created is allowed to endure.”
Thalia leaned forward. “You aren’tactuallygoing to give it to them, are you?”
I met her skeptical gaze with a slight smile; she knew me well, at this point. “Of course not.”
“Good.”
“I’m going to give it to him,” I said, nodding toward Lorien.
The silence that followed this statement was thick enough to choke on.
Zayn shifted in his seat. “…Can we take a vote on this?”
“No,” I said, flatly. “It’s our only chance to keep things from spiraling completely out of control. We have to trust that Lorien and I together—both of us at our full power—will be too much for Aleks to handle. And once the threat of him is neutralized…” My breath hitched. I hated this.Hatedtalking about Aleks like he was the enemy. But I pushed through. “Once we can focus on…other things…then we can take out the Order members. Starting with Severin, hopefully.”
“And what happens if Aleks proves too strong toneutralize?” Zayn asked.
I had no answer for that.
