“So?” Adare growled.
She turned her glowing eyes to him. “The seven of you have a pull. Like magnets.”
It was obvious she was dumbing down the explanation, but at this point, Logan didn’t care. “Why have the Fae decided to intervene now? You weren’t worried about the Seven before.”
She blew out air. “We obviously didn’t know when you first created the Seven. Then, you accidentally created the perfect counterbalance of two of the members in other dimensions and five members here; symmetry and safety existed with that balance.”
“Oh.” Logan glanced at Ronan. “But now Ronan is here, and only Quade is out there.”
“Yes.” She nodded again. “With six of you here, the pull would be too great. Way too powerful. Quade’s world would burst, and then Ulric’s. By completing the Seven, you’ll draw Quade whether you want to or not. He’s stronger than his dimension, or he wouldn’t have survived it so long.”
Garrett wiped both hands down his face. “Okay. It’s time we took Ulric out for good. We know the combined blood of the three Keys will kill him, and we have two of you.”
She threw her head back as if in disbelief. Then, taking a deep breath, she reclaimed the marker and the notepad, drawing circles on it. “You’ve attached three dimensions you shouldn’t have bound together—and you’ve moved them away from where they should be. Now one is gone.” She crossed out Ronan’s old world. “You’ve left a void, but so far that seems to be okay. If these two go…what’s going to fill their places? You’re fucking playing checkers with dimensions.”
Logan winced. Had he heard her swear before? “You don’t know it’d be catastrophic.”
Her eyes softened with a glimmering sadness. “Unfortunately, we do.”
Ah, shit. “Your people. The ones you lost?” Including her family?
She nodded. “Yes. We were experimenting with creating a paradise where we could all live, and we caused a rift that split time and space. It was our fault, and we paid the price.” Her voice rose in conviction. “You can’t do the same thing. Learn from our mistake.”
His heart hurt for her. “Honey, you have to realize that the Kurjans are working tirelessly to free Ulric. At some point, they’ll burst his prison world to get him out.”
She blinked. “One problem at a time.”
The Fae really had no clue about the Kurjans. Logan shook his head. “All right. So you take me out. Somebody else will just step up and take my place. Your plan doesn’t make sense.”
Her mouth tightened until her smooth lips looked white. “Logan. Only warriors with certain bloodlines can survive the ritual of the Seven. Surely you’ve realized that fact.”
Well, sure.
Wait a minute. Tension gathered around the table.
Logan’s breath caught. “Tell me your people aren’t planning what I fear.”
She set the paper down. “Adare and Ivar don’t have any other family. Their bloodlines die with them. The plan was to take Logan out just to buy time and then…”
“Take out Ivar and me so we can’t reproduce,” Adare said thoughtfully. “Of course, the Kayrs and Kyllwoods seem to procreate like rabbits, but there are only so many members of one family that can be sacrificed. It’s not a bad plan.”
She blanched. “It’s a horrible plan, and one I wanted to avoid. That’s why I tried to kidnap you.” She faced Logan directly. “I hoped that once I explained the situation, you would decide not to complete the ritual. I just needed some time.”
Benny planted his huge hands on the table. “The story is a good one, but it’s irrelevant. At some point, Ulric will be free, and only the Seven can fight him. We need to bethe Seven—forged in blood and bone—when that happens, or every single Enhanced female, mated or unmated, dies. Ulric has the power to do it.”
“The original purpose of the Seven was to keep Ulric in prison,” Mercy burst out. “If he’s out of prison, you have no function.”
Benny cocked his head. “So the fairies don’t have all the facts. Good to know. You’re wrong. That’s all I’m gonna say. We need Logan in the Seven.”
Logan’s chest constricted. Benny was crude but correct—the role of the Seven played out until the very end. Looked like they were damned no matter what they did. In that situation, you went with legend and Fate. Always.
Benny cleared his throat. “Let’s order pizza. I’m starving.”
Mercy looked at Logan.
He met her gaze evenly. “I agree with Ben about joining the Seven, but I’m willing to discuss this further. Your people have much more experience with other dimensions than we do. Maybe we could work together to figure out a solution.”
Her frown was more sad than angry. “My people won’t work with you. And you won’t listen to us. It’s war, then.”
