“Did you get any information?” Garrett asked, dropping into the large chair by the fireplace.
Sam nodded. “Of course. They really do think we’re going to rip the universe apart if we finish your ritual, Logan.”
They might be right. “Do they understand that the Kurjans will make it happen, regardless? That the Seven will be the only way to save Enhanced women?”
Sam blanched. “They do.”
Silence ticked around the room for a moment. Ah, shit. Logan shook his head. “They’re willing to sacrifice Enhanced women if necessary.” All of the mates, so many humans, even the people to come. Anger swelled through him.
Sam nodded. “Yes.” He rubbed a bruise along his left hand. “But keep in mind, they thinkeveryonewill die otherwise. So it’s a bad choice among even worse ones.”
“Are they right?” Garrett asked softly.
Sam shrugged. “Their science isn’t much better than ours.” Frustration creased his forehead. “We’ve teleported for centuries, never quite understanding how. The Fae are further along, but a lot of their research has been lost. It’s the humans who’ve sought knowledge. We’ll have to turn to them.”
Logan leaned back against the wall and stretched his back. Frustration felt like ants crawling just beneath his skin. “Ivar was working on that before he disappeared. We need to get him back.”
“We will,” Sam said.
Logan rolled his neck. “Sam? Maybe it’s time you told us your function here.”
Sam’s split lip came back together. “You sound like the Fae. They really had some questions.”
“Yet they know more about your role than I do,” Logan said evenly, pushing off from the wall. If his brother was in even more danger than before, he fucking wanted to know about it.
Garrett watched the brothers quietly, just waiting.
Sam eyed Logan. “You don’t even know your full role yet.”
Well. That was true and a mite insulting. “Sam?” Logan tensed. He couldn’t hit his brother while Sam was injured, but the guy did heal fast. “What’s your function?”
Sam stood and ripped the worn and bloody T-shirt over his head to reveal bruised ribs and unhealed cuts across his torso.
Fury boiled in Logan that his brother had been hurt so. He took a step forward.
Sam held up a hand. “I’m fine. Needed to get information from them, and Niall liked to talk while cutting.”
Niall had done this? Fuck. Logan should’ve beaten him up a lot more. There was barely any blood on his blade. “I’ll kill him.”
“Meh.” Sam lifted a shoulder and turned around.
Logan sucked in air at the intricate, deep-blue marking across his brother’s entire back. It looked almost like one of the prophecy marks, but it was bigger and more detailed. Logan stepped closer to study it. Even with bruises and cuts marring the design, he could make out seven numerals, three different key designs, and finally a lock in the center. “What the heck?” he whispered.
Garrett stood and moved closer to study the design. “When did it appear?”
Sam looked over his shoulder. “Five years ago, in the middle of the night, along with a dream of Fate.” He shook his head. “Hurt like evil agony, and I can’t stand that bitch.”
His people had called her worse through the years. If she really existed.
Logan watched as a wound across Sam’s spine began to heal. Tingles popped in the air. “So you’re, what? The historian of this disaster?”
Sam snorted. “I wish. No. I’m the keeper of the chamber.”
Garrett cut Logan a look, and Logan shrugged.
Sam turned back around and sat. “There’s a sacred circle where the killing of Ulric has to happen. I protect the place, and only I know where it is.”
Logan lifted his chin. Something told him the sacred circle wasn’t in this dimension. “Okay. So that’s why the Fae tortured you? That’s what they wanted to know? The location?”
