“We’ll have time to figure out how to deal with that,” I insisted. “My own powers are growing stronger, too. And Aleks is back, which?—”
“Which only complicates things further.”
“He’s on our side.”
“He’s evenmoreconnected to Lorien than he was before. And there’s the question of his cousin, as well. They’re both unpredictable.”
“I trust them.”
My brother shook his head. “I understand why youwantto, but...this is all incredibly risky.”
“More risky than letting Nova continue to venture back to Midna and try to force more magic into this realm?” Thalia asked, bluntly. “Because that wasn’t working particularly well, either.”
Bastian gave her a withering look.
Never one to apologize for speaking her mind, Thalia only folded her arms across her chest and stared right back at him. “Everything is a risk, given the crumbling foundations our world sits upon,” she added.
“…The more immediately pressing thing,” Eamon put in, “is that we have no idea where to begin, should we choose to undertake this task. I’ve been wracking my mind, trying to think of any clues I might have come across in my studies, but I can think of nothing that suggests where Lorien’s so-calledmind,body, andheartmight be hidden. There are no maps to follow,and the words of the curse suggest we’ll find these pieces in more than one realm, which makes it all the more daunting.”
I started to agree, until an ideadidoccur to me—a memory of the strange energy I’d felt when Thalia and I had been exploring the ruined library in Midna the other day. That library was very close to the room where Calista had cursed Lorien. Could there be more clues waiting there?
I’d been overwhelmed by the clearly powerful magic saturating that spot, but maybe with Aleks and his power beside me…
“I still don’t think pursuing this will end well,” Bastian said. With a resigned sigh, he added, “Though I can’t deny that it all warrants closer consideration, if nothing else.”
“Yes,” I agreed, quick to seize on any chance at hope once again. “And I think I know where to start looking, at least.”
After leavingmy brother’s office, I headed straight for my room to prepare for another trip to Midna.
The less time Bastian had to overthink our plans, the better.
I was beyond exhausted, dangerously close to delirious from lack of sleep. But I had a plan now. A target. A purpose that carried my feet forward with little need to think.
I walked past the study where I’d spoken with Zayn earlier, ducking inside to see if he was still there—he wasn’t. I wondered if he’d gained the courage to go speak with his cousin. And what happened next?
Would he come with us?
Shouldhe come with us?
Was my brother right to be concerned about whatever invisible marks Lorien had left behind on both Zayn and Aleks?
Of course he’s right.
He was right more often than I wanted to admit, and it was annoying.
I shook my head to rid it of the doubts creeping in. Caution was fine. But we’d taken them back, hadn’t we? Zayn was entirely free—I could still remember the violent way we’d ripped Lorien out of him; I’d had far too many vivid nightmares about that moment to forget it.
And as for Aleks…
I braced my hands against the chair Zayn had occupied earlier, gripping its worn velvet so tightly my hands started to go numb. Staring at the dying embers in the fireplace, I made a promise to myself: Aleks was mine, and I was his, and there were some things that couldn’t be taken from us, no matter what came next.
As I turned back for the door, I nearly collided with Lord Renvar.
He’d clearly followed me in—and silently, at that. Even now, he moved with the quiet, stalking grace of a predator as he stepped into the room. He stopped entirely too close to me, blocking the path to the door in a very deliberate way.
“Lord Renvar.” I lifted my chin. “You startled me.”
He gave a slight—somewhat mocking—bow. “My apologies. I would have announced myself, but you seemed too caught up in your thoughts to notice me, anyhow.”
