Evie tossed the metal chains through the bars to him.“Put a collar on each of you and lock it.”
Shaking, the man did as he was told, first on his unconscious friend and then on himself.He yelped when a quick sizzle lit up the metal.
“Zevat,” he cursed.“You’re an abomination!You should be locked up in here instead of us!”
“Someone tried that once,” Evie murmured.
The lack of explanation left Daya wondering just how traumatic her experience had been.Given that Evie was wielding such extreme power, she could only imagine what her childhood must have been like before the Wolflumen.
Turning away, Evie led the way back up the stairs.Daya followed her, still marveling at the raw power that seemed to pour off her.Remnants of energy snapped and danced through her hair, lighting up space around them.
Veda was waiting nervously for them just outside the walls of the keep when they came out.“Are you okay?I felt magic and heard a loud crack, and I was worried.”
“We’re good,” Evie assured her.“Just warning the prisoners to behave once we leave.”
“I thought it might be you.Daya’s power feels different,” Veda said, looking curiously at the other woman.“What did you do?”
Evie held out her palm, and a small swirl of lightning danced in her hand.The air cracked and sparked around it in a vortex of energy.
“Oh wow.Does it hurt?”Veda asked, raising up on her toes to see better without leaning closer to the sphere of magic.
“A lot,” Evie admitted.“The energy can be overwhelming.”
Veda considered that, watching Evie thoughtfully as the lightning winked out from her palm.
“What do you plan to do with this place?”Evie asked, looking between the two of them.
“We were just discussing that last night but haven’t decided yet,” Daya said.
“I want to destroy it, but I feel guilty about that,” Veda admitted.
“I can understand wanting to destroy it after what happened here.”Evie looked around the mountain.“But the surrounding land is a really beautiful piece of nature when it’s not overrun with monsters.”
“What would you do?”Veda asked.
“Well, if I were an earth mage, I’d probably help nature reclaim it,” Evie said.
Daya smiled, because that was exactly what she had suggested the night before.Giving it back to the earth, to let time and nature take its course, was instinctive to her.Veda had been surprised, not realizing they could do such a thing with their magic.It had given her plenty to consider during the night.
“You wouldn’t destroy it?”Veda asked Evie.
“I’ve destroyed a few places.It can feel really good when it was full of bad people who hurt you.But I’ve also destroyed one that I really loved, by accident.Once they’re gone, it’s never the same.”
Holding her necklace in her hand, Veda looked up solemnly at Daya.“What do you think Connor would do?”
“He’d rebuild it, use it for a good purpose,” Daya said with certainty.
She was just as certain that Cass and Marin would destroy it.None of the options were wrong, but she was determined to let Veda make the choice, as she’d been the one harmed at the site.
Veda reached out to pet Neka, stroking her feathered layer of fur thoughtfully.
“Just remember, you don’t have to destroy all of it,” Evie advised.“You can pick which parts to keep for the future, and which to bury deep within the earth.”
Chapter 26
Ravensmere Keep, Realm of Calderre
Threedaysoflonginterrogations with every level of the military had finally ceased.It had been more than they expected, yet he and Morgan agreed that it had played out well.Connor was pretty certain he’d convinced everyone he spoke with that his memory of the battle was fractured, and that he was happy to be back within the fold.
