I spin between Morgana and Sin, waiting for them to tell me I’m wrong.
Sin looks grim as he answers, “Yes.”
My vision darkens. Am I about to swoon?
Absolutely not. I refuse.
Instead, I plant my hands on the table and spin back to Morgana. “How?” I ask, my voice hard.
This is a big secret. One that they should have told me the moment Cassandra’s memories were restored. My fingernails dig into the table.
Morgana finally looks up at me. “The night Atlantis fell. You sent the priestesses and children off the island through a passageway in the mountain that Sin and I didn’t know about. They got out. You bought them enough time, Vivian.”
My shoulders sag, relief washing through me. Cassandra had done it. She’d bought them enough time to escape.
Morgana continues, but her expression is pained, “When Leon sunk the coastline, I sent the forsaken to look for survivors. I couldn’t believe how far he’d gone. And I was partly to blame for releasing him. I thought he’d killed everyone, even sunk the boats, but my forsaken found some. Two small boats, full of women and children. We couldn’t leave them, not when the Council wanted to eradicate every trace of Atlantis. So, we brought them here.”
My hands shake, and I release the table, sinking into my chair. “You saved them?”
“We did,” she whispers. “We let them stay as long as they wanted. Most of them returned to Moon Goddess temples in other cities. We found good homes for the children, but Arianna…” she pauses, looking guilty now, “Arianna didn’t want to go. She was so angry at learning of the Council’s existence and that they’d ordered the destruction of her home. She wanted to stay and fight.”
I shake my head. “No. No, you did not let a teenager get mixed up in all of this,” I whisper in complete dismay.
“We didn’t want that for her either. When she refused to return to her own realm, we brought her to our city so she could make a new life here,” Morgana answers.
Sin continues, “She didn’t take well to being dismissed. She made it through the forest of the forgotten dead and demanded we not ignore her.” He smiles a bit at the retelling. “After that, we took her more seriously. She’s the only person, besides Morgana and me, to have ever made it through that forest without being shredded, and she was mortal. We continued her training here, away from any real danger, until she was older.”
“Arianna had a gift for moving through the shadows. She was incredibly stealthy, especially given she was a mortal. She was the perfect spy,” Morgana says.
My gut twists inside of me, but Morgana continues, “We needed more eyes in the Council, and Arianna wanted to go. She knew she would need to work her way into their inner circles. She posed as a mortal from one of the poor villages in the Otherworld. Then she snuck into the Council’s castle, completely undetected. She made it all the way to Need’s bed chambers before anyone ever realized she was there. When Need finally saw her, Arianna said she was there for a job. That she could be of use to them.”
A slight twinge of pride wedges through my anxiety and fear. Of course, Ari could get through the Council’s castle. She was always great at blending into the shadows.
“Arianna exchanged her services for immortality. The Council granted it, seeing her value to them. With immortality, her powers grew, and she was able to control darkness. It wasn’t something the Council had ever seen, and they valued her skills immensely. She worked for them, integrating herself deeper and deeper into their inner circles, sending us back intelligence every chance she got. Until…” Morgana tapers off, the guilt crushing her features once more.
“What happened to her?” I whisper.
“About two hundred years ago, she was caught trying to send us a message. The Council had her arrested and thrown into the prison underneath their castle,” Morgana answers.
My stomach churns, and I might be sick. “She’s been a prisoner for two hundred years, and you haven’t gotten her out?”
I’m yelling again.
Morgana shakes her head slowly. “We’ve tried. All our spies were unsuccessful, getting caught in the process.”
“Then you go get her!” I yell back at her.
Morgana smiles weakly. “I can’t – not yet.”
“Why the hell not?” I yell, pushing off from the table and standing.
“Need is at the head of the Council, but her reign is mediated by the other members. There are rules to keep the realm leaders in line. As the head of theShadow Realm, I have never attacked the Otherworld. Sin has not caused any trouble in their realm, either. We’ve both tried to stay as hidden as possible since Atlantis fell, giving them no reason to think we are a threat. Because so long as Sin and I act peacefully, they can’t send an army to the Shadow Realm. They can’t attack. The Council won’t allow a multi-realm war without just cause.”
I frown. “But Need, she wanted Leon and me to find you guys.” I turn to Sin, grimacing. “We were supposed to kill you.”
Sin winks at me in response. “Good luck with that, kitten.”
My cheeks heat, and I turn back to Morgana. “Why would Need want to instigate such a fight now?”
