Now this?
Closing her eyes for a moment, she brought her fingers to her temples where the sudden throbbing of her pulse was beginning to grow into a headache. Maybe if she went home and threw herself into her work at the shelter, she could forget about the dream, this man, and all the questions swirling in her mind.
“If there’s nothing else you need from me, I’d like to go back to my house now.”
The grave look on Tegan’s face didn’t give her much hope of that. “Actually, we’re only getting started.”
“What more can I tell you?”
“We still don’t know enough about the attack on Micah and his men.”
“I already told you, I had nothing to do with it.”
Tegan gave her a nod. “I believe you, Phaedra. But you’re the only witness to what happened. Anything you can tell us would be a help to the Order.”
“Because we’re going to find out the truth one way or another,” Micah added in a low growl. “Whoever’s responsible is going to pay for what they did. I mean to see to that personally.”
She didn’t doubt that for a moment. Micah may have been near death’s door only hours ago, but he was healing now. The dangerous soldier she met in the scorched woods was a lethal force of nature now—much of it focused on her.
“I told you everything I know. If I could help you, I would.”
As she held Micah’s penetrating stare, she couldn’t stop the horrific incident from replaying in her mind. The sudden blast of light. The visceral pulse of the energy that exploded all around them. She didn’t know where the attack had come from or who had ignited it . . . but she recognized the unmistakable force of it.
She knew that power all the way into her marrow.
“What is it?” Tegan frowned, suspicion glinting in his eyes. He slowly shook his head. “You haven’t told us everything, Phaedra.”
He said it with such certainty it felt as if he could read her troubled thoughts. She didn’t want to hide anything, especially when lives had been spent. Yet to voice what she was thinking might ultimately cost lives too. Innocent Atlantean lives.
She sent a nervous glance at Zael.
His brow creased with concern. “If you have information, you need to tell them. Tell all of us now, Phaedra.”
She knew he was right. She looked at Micah, her chest tightening at the thought of the agony he must have endured. Astonished that he’d survived. Despite their clash, she couldn’t deny her relief that he wasn’t killed along with the others.
“The light didn’t come from Atlantean hands. Not mine or anyone else’s. It was too strong for that, too pure.”
“Ultraviolet?” Lazaro asked, dread edging his deep voice.
She shook her head. As deadly as sunlight was to members of the Breed, what she felt in that barren forest was something beyond even that.
“There’s only one source that can emit that kind of light and power.” She looked at Zael again, seeing the grim understanding wash over his face. “It came from a crystal.”
Tegan raked a hand over his head. “Holy hell. How can you be certain?”
“She is,” Zael said. “Phaedra’s probably the one person in all of the Atlantean realm who could tell you that without a shred of doubt.”
“How so?”
“Because all five of the Atlantean crystals were created by her parents.”
Everyone stared at her now, a mix of reactions playing across the three Breed males’ faces. Surprise, curiosity, intrigue. All of those emotions churned like a storm in Micah’s piercing gaze.
“Your parents created them?” he asked. “How?”
“They were alchemists and mystics. They were also soul bonded, which made their gifts doubly powerful. Using those combined gifts, they created an enormous energy source that provided nourishing light and impenetrable protection for our people.”
Zael nodded in sober acknowledgment. “Without their work, Atlantis would’ve been vulnerable to every enemy. Even now, both the realm and the colony are shielded by their crystals. Our people owe Maenos and Sindarah a debt that can never be repaid. Peace be upon their souls.”
