“Amos wanting you for his own purpose is something we considered, but we don’t believe he knows you’re the spark. If he did, we think he would have risked taking you,” Tarrin said.
“But maybe he couldn’t take me. What if the celebration was warded against such things?”
“Perhaps, but Endymion is not from the Autumn Court, and he did valen you. Not out of the court itself, but someone could have easily valenned you to the border and gone from there. Even if there were wards in place,” Thaddeus explained.
I turned the logic around and around, but I’d run out of theories. Facing Tarrin, I said, “So now what?”
“When you vanished for two days,” he began, and I winced,feeling guilty that it had happened at all. Tarrin noted it. “Ny, you disappearing worked in our favor. Before then, we couldn’t access certain areas of Caius’ estate. Thaddeus demanded unvetted access to the entire property—the entire court, actually—to search for you. He implied nefarious intent if they refused him, and they yielded.”
I glanced at Thaddeus. His look hardened, as if remembering the moment he’d realized I was missing.
“We came across an ancient tome Nevander overheard Artton talking about. He referenced a magical object that had immeasurable power.”
Thaddeus snapped his fingers, and the tome appeared.
“You stole it?” I yelped.
A wicked grin played across Tarrin’s face. “Of course we did. How else would we know what we’re looking for?”
Brazen.It would have been beyond risky to do such a thing. I smiled at the combined pride filling the room. Clearly, my outcry was the response they’d hoped for. I shook my head, smiling—I supposed some things didn’t change with age.
I sobered again as Tarrin continued, “We couldn’t find any information on why they want the object. Regardless of their intent, one thing is clear: it’s an extremely powerful tool that could prove devastating if they decide to use it against us.”
Reading between the lines, I said, “So, you want to find it first?”
Thaddeus smiled. “Yes.”
“What, exactly, is the object, and how do you know they don’t already have it?”
Nevander answered. “The scripture is vague,” he said, frustration lacing his words, “but we know they don’t have it because we also stole a map we believe shows the possible locations of the object.”
“Or where they have already looked,” Thaddeus said. “We couldn’t ascertain which.”
“Have we started looking yet?” I glanced toward the tome, wondering what this magical object was and why even the written word was evasive on the subject.
“I’ve tried spellcraft, but I’m going to need your help.”
I raised a brow.
“I think the object doesn’t want to be found,” Thaddeus said, “but it’s possible it will respond differently to you. If it’s ancient—and the sparkisancient—then perhaps it will prove less elusive for you.”
The logic made sense, or at least as much sense as any of this could.
“Anything else?” I asked.
“Yes,” Thaddeus said, then paused, shifting his weight slightly. “You need to master your powers.”
I nodded in understanding, anticipating the comment. It wasn’t just about my family. They were right; the fae’s power surpassed our wildest imaginings. Perhaps we would find the magical object, perhaps we wouldn’t; either way, I needed to be ready. The hard familiarity of determination slid over me—I’d train every waking hour to harness the power deep within me if that’s what it took.
“Say that we get this magical object,” I said, “then what? We fortify the protection around the human realm to keep ourselves safe?”
The air in the room stilled, and I could have sworn they held their breath. My heart dropped.
“We get this object, and then what, Tarrin?” I gritted.
He held my gaze but didn’t respond.
“Then we show them the same courtesy they would show us,” Nevander said. “We eliminate them.”
