The inmates nearest the cafe windows had their attention on something outside, drawing his eyes to the street. Everyone stared in the same direction, and he sighed.
What now?
When he stepped onto the cobblestone sidewalk, he expected to see a fight or something of equal caliber. What he did not expect to see was Lenora running down the street, yelling his name.
Everything in him filled with a sense of doom as he ran to meet her.
“Sam!” Her eyes were wide with the beginnings of hysteria. “I was wrong! I was wrong!”
He grabbed her shoulders gently to calm her down. “Breathe.” The woman wasn’t easily rattled, and his hair stood on end. “What were you wrong about?”
“It’s not her,” she told him. “I couldn’t see it before. I thought it was Rory, but it’s not her.”
He understood her words but not their meaning. “Who is not Rory?”
They were plunged into darkness as the realm shook beneath their feet.
He tucked Lenora into his chest and covered her head with his body, unsure of what was happening.
The dusky morning sky was gone, the candles illuminating the sidewalks and shops were snuffed out, and he couldn’t see anything as if he were blindfolded.
Screams filled the air, and Sam barked orders at the legion members within hearing distance, telling them to collect who they could, seat them together to ensure their safety, and find their way to the nearest shops for candles and matches.
His legion spoke to the inmates, trying and failing to calm them down.
“Caius,” Lenora whispered.
“You thought Caius was Rory in one of your visions?” he askedher, keeping his voice even. If his brother was in danger, he would drop everything to help him.
“No,” she replied as her voice regained its strength. “Caius did this. He broke the barrier.”
Sam pulled back, ready to take flight, but Lenora stopped him. “You must save her.”
“Who?” He wouldn’t ask again, not when Caius broke the sky and was going to Gedeon.
“The maid,” she insisted, stopping his entire existence. “The maid holding my daughter’s soul.” Tears slid down Lenora’s cheeks as she whispered, “Only the golden child can save her.Only youcan save her.”
Sam shot into the sky.
52
ERDIKOA
Stassi pretendedto look around the king’s office for the alleged jacket, kicking herself for choking under pressure. She stood up and shrugged with a nervous laugh. “I must have left it somewhere else,” she told Tag as she walked toward the door.
“I can help you find it,” he offered.
Before she could respond, the guard outside yelled for Tag. “We got two wanderers out here.”
“Stay here,” Tag ordered and jogged across the room and into the hall, leaving the door open. The king’s office was gigantic, and it was hard to hear from her current position. She dashed toward the door to find out what was going on.
“Our apologies, man. We’re a little lost,” Keith’s voice said smoothly.
“What business do you have in the palace?” Tag asked, folding his arms across his chest.
As she was prone to do, Stassi made a stupid decision and stuck her head through the door with a wide smile. “Hi, Dad! What are you two doing here?”
From the look on Patrick and Keith’s faces, they didn’t think she was still there. It shouldn’t have taken as long as it did, but Tag kept asking her about trivial things, forcing her to stop and answer.
