“Holy aether,” Kit breathed. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “She’s asking questions she shouldn’t be asking. As myAeternum, she is blessed, and it’s possible the magic doesn’t work as well on her,” Caius said, repeating what he’d told Sam days earlier.
“By that logic, the magic holding you here might not work as well on you, either,” Kit pointed out.
Caius considered her theory. It made sense, butwheredid he start? There were memory restoring methods they could try to break the magic binding Rory’s memories, but there weren’t any‘break out of prison’methods to try.
“Before I decide, I need to consider the consequences of every possibility.” The weight of the silence between them was heavy, and he sighed. “I’ve already made a mistake that put her in danger, and I can’t risk doing it again.”
“She’s in danger as she is,” Lenora interjected, surprising them all. “If she stays in the dark, she is as good as dead.” Her eyes glazed over slightly with her last statement, and Caius and Lauren shot to their feet.
“Did you see something?” he asked theSibyl. “Lauren, did she keep any of her abilities?”
TheAngelshook her head. “I didn’t think so.”
“I can hear you two,” Lenora huffed. “No, I do not have my abilities, but I remembered a part of a prophecy I saw.”
“What did you remember?” Caius asked, losing what little patience he had left.
“Watch your tone, young man,” she scolded him. “I’ve told you I only remember pieces. Well, more like tiny shards. In one potential future, Rory knows, and she’s in the Lux Palace, screaming your name as Gedeon chokes her.”
Caius’ body turned cold. “What? You’re sure?”
Lenora nodded. “I don’t get the sense that she’s dying, only suffering, but in a future where she doesn’t know, she’s on the floor, dying, with blood pouring from her mouth as Gedeon stands over her. I-I don’t know if she actually dies or not. I know that in both futures, she dies if you don’t arrive soon enough, but I’m not sure which one gives you more time.”
“You see different futures of different futures?” Kit asked.
Lenora nodded. “Every future can go different ways, and when I have my abilities, I see them all.”
The librarian gaped at her. “I didn’t realize it was that bad.”
Caius cursed under his breath, and shadows snaked up the walls.
“Whoa,” Kit breathed, looking around.
Lenora reached forward and grabbed his hand. “Stop.”
Her touch made the shadows recede almost instantly. “We have to restore her memories,” he said with finality. “We know she is on the path to Gedeon as she is. I cannot allow that.”
“She is on the path to Gedeon no matter what,” Lenora reminded him. “But I don’t think keeping her in the dark is the best option.”
“If we can’t restore her memories, we have to tell her,” Lauren added, and Kit bobbed her head in agreement.
He looked around the room, remembering when he once made Rory clean up his mess. Would telling her of memories where her emotions ran high be the key?
The others were waiting for him to respond, and he rolled his shirtsleeves up, bending over to pick up a piece of wood. “I know we have to tell her if she doesn’t remember, but first, we try it my way.”
He continued to collect as much debris as he could hold. “Lauren, you and Sam find everything available in Erdikoa that involves restoring memories.” The armload he carried clattered loudly when he dropped it near the door. “Kit, add anything to do with memories to your research list.” His throat tightened as he turned to Rory’s mother. “Lenora, tell me if you remember anything else.”
TheSibylremembering minor details about her visions was helpful, but he feared what they revealed could break him.
15
ERDIKOA
Rory hada stare-off with Sam across the dining table as they ate an early lunch with her father.
“Why are you looking at me?” he grunted, sticking half a sandwich in his mouth.
