“Icarus. We need to go. It’s not safe here.”
Something in him snapped at whatever he heard in her words.
“Father.” His voice fractured.
“I got him out after Lily came asking after Ara and Seren. Something was off about it all. He’s not far from here, safe. As much as I hate to agree with Seren, she’s right, we can’t stay here.”
“Lily,” Icarus said, his eyes going distant as he turned to Seren. “I’m sorry, Seren. Sid—” His voice cracked on her name. “Sidonia was using Lily to spy on you and Arabella.”
Lily. The only person other than Icarus that she had ever chosen for herself. A woman she had known from the start was a kindred spirit. Doubt crept in and she began to wonder if every smirk and every shared thought had been a lie. A beautiful and terrible lie.
“We need to get out of here, Icarus,” Calder said.
“I have somewhere we can go. I’ll take Seren and show you, Calder. You can come back for the rest.”
“How about we take Ara and come back for therest?” His lips curled around the word.
Icarus let loose a sigh. “It’s not up for discussion.”
Calder opened his mouth, stepping toward his brother, but Ara reached out and wrapped her hand around his arm. The effect was almost instantaneous as Calder stopped and turned to her, sighing at whatever silent conversation they had.
“You are going to have to come back for Ara. Portaling three people after taking father pushed me close to my limit.”
“If you can’t do it, you need to say. You know the consequences of portaling without enough stamina.”
“It’ll be fine,” Calder said dismissively.
Calder pressed a kiss to Arabella’s lips that she responded to a little too eagerly. Seren glanced away, feeling like she was witnessing something she shouldn’t.
“All right, let’s see your secret hideaway, Brother.” Calder placed a hand on Icarus’ shoulder a moment before the portal opened and they stepped through into the pitch-black night.
When they took their next step, Seren found herself standing before one of the gloomiest and most decrepit manors she could have imagined.
“It suits you,” Calder said from Icarus’ side.
“It was an early home for the Atwoods. I had meant to restore it in my spare time, but haven’t made the time.”
“Does Uncle know about it?” Calder asked the obvious question.
Rage lived and died in the tempest of Icarus’ blue-gray eyes. “No. I purchased it a few years ago after researching our family history. It’s almost at the max limit for distance travelable by portaling from Calami.”
Calder said nothing as he studied the two-story stone building covered in ivy and eroded with time. She understood enough of the Darkmore magic to know he was committing the image to memory to be able to return.
Icarus turned to her, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. “I’ll be back.”
Seren nodded. Too much and too little to say made it impossible. He was gone in an instant followed by Calder who winked at her before leaving on his own. Seren took the time to become familiar with her surroundings. The land seemed to stretch forever, rolling and dipping. Scattered outcroppings of trees bled into sections of rock that had congregated in the midst of the wild landscape. Part of her couldn’t wait to see it in the light of day.
Summoning a ball of flame, Seren walked into the home, the door creaking at its hinges. The flame alighted into a foyer that time had forgotten. The round table at the center had an inch of dust that spread throughout the entire room. To the right was a dark staircase that wound around the room in its attempt to reach the second floor. Some of the floorboards were rotten enough that stepping on them was its own peril.
A sound outside drew her attention, and she wandered back to find a green portal appearing. Calder stepped into the clearing, supporting his father’s weight who held Juniper tight in his arms. Seren felt like someone had taken a boot to her stomach. Like, the air around her was too thick for consumption. The man at Calder’s side was frail and starved, but his resemblance to Icarus was impossible to miss.
Thoughts rushed her of how many years Icarus had loathed himself for causing this man’s death when he was innocent. In that instant, Seren knew one thing to be true. She would see Cyrus Darkmore’s death, and it would not be merciful. Only someone truly depraved could have committed these acts and he could not be allowed to release his cruelty on Lynoria.
A hand brushed her arm, bringing her back to reality. She had to fight back the need to reach out for him.
Seren whirled on him, no longer concerned with who was present. When she looked up at him, she saw the pain and grief he had been carrying for years transformed into something tangible. How could none of them see it?
“Don’t do that. Don’t make yourself the villain in your own story. You don’t answer to any of them. What you and I know is the only truth that matters. So just don’t, all right.”
