I decide to let her keep speaking, because sometimes she ends up summing it up for me at the end. Yup, that’s what I’ll do. My gaze settles on Charming. Hmm. Where can I bury his body? Maybe I could get Theo to eat him? In his dragon form, of course. Eating him in human form would be an issue. But dragon snack Charming? Totally normal.Oops, sorry, I got the munchies, and he was just there.
Theo snorts, and Malachi raises his brows.
Gwyneth throws her hands in the air. “So, in summary.” See? I plotted a non-murder murder while she got to the point. Multitasking at its finest. This is why we rock as a team. “Making everyone an Idol.”
Wait… what the Blazes did I just miss?
Chapter Twenty Nine
Nash
If I thought giving into this need for Daphne would dampen the thrum beneath my skin, I was sorely mistaken. And now my ill-advised actions are having consequences. I curse the Idols and everything they stand for as Gwyneth reveals what few know—that the power flowing in one direction, all the way to the top, was never meant for them. She wants to reset a realm entrenched in routine and built on the false premise that you’re a failure if you don’t meet the almost impossible standards the Idols set.
Now they want to burn it all down, and I am here, ready to light the match, and if necessary, I can be the one to walk intothe fire. Daphne has done that enough for one lifetime. It’s time she realized others can and will put her first. By some miracle, she hasn’t become jaded from the way the world has tried to shape and bully her into submission.
From the outset, I knew she was different. That first diurnal when I walked into the library and saw her laughing, the sun shining around her wild hair as if she commanded it, I knew she was about to change everything. Not because of the way my moody brother watched her every move with rapt interest when his focus on females had always been fleeting, or the way Theo’s dragon reached for her as something he coveted as his most precious possession. No, it was the way her blood sang to me.
Unbeknownst to her, we share a similar link to the Idols. She is the root of their power, and I am a product of it. I’m not certain what that means for our future, but I do know I will move Idlyian and Blazes to ensure no harm comes to her, which means I may need to take myself out of the picture.
I leave behind the gang arguing about hair gel and drift through the door into the main library. It’s a hive of activity as more and more creatures seek sanctuary from the turbulent nature of the Idols. The Hallows was already a brutal place, but it had rules and expectations. With the gathering of such power, it is setting everything we know into turmoil.
I nod at a candlestick who hops along the wooden floor and raise a brow at a sprite arguing about ocean placement on a map rolled out on a large table. I need a private audience with the one being who may be able to help me navigate this future and come out of it unscathed.
I glance up at the spiral staircases and focus on the darkened left corner. My shadows spill free and assess whether it’s a space I can get advice without being overheard. Yes, they urge, go now. I ascend and disappear into the stacks. It appears tobe a dormant corner, not invaded by any living being. Just two armchairs with a small table between them.
“I need advice,” I rumble.
“It took you long enough,” the All Knowing drawls.
I glance over my shoulder to check if we’ve attracted any attention.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Nash Stirling. If I do not wish to be seen or heard, then I shall not be.” A figure shimmers into view on an armchair, and I swallow as the All Knowing makes himself corporeal. As predicted, he is handsome, with sharp cheekbones, a strong jawline, and dark-blond curly hair. He’s dressed in a simple pair of black breeches and a matching shirt hanging open to show a hint of a tattoo handwritten across his chest.
“Sit,” he demands as he steeples his fingers together in front of his face.
I do as instructed and study the being who, by definition, holds more knowledge than all of us put together.
“I do,” he says, addressing my unspoken words. “But that doesn’t mean I have the answers you seek. Having knowledge and knowing when and where to apply it are two different things.”
That makes sense. I can’t imagine how full his head must be.
“I want to know if there is a way to resist the call.”
“Of course.”
I lean back and glare. I don’t have time for games.
He sighs as if he’s dealing with an unruly child. “You need to be more focused in your questioning. Perhaps start by defining the problem.”
Even though he’s giving me the direction I need to get the answers I want, it doesn’t stop the flicker of annoyance at his tone. “I feel the call in her blood. Her power is right there, waiting to be devoured.”
“Have the dreams begun?”
Flashes of what will become of the kingdom should I choose to ignore the call? The horror, the blood, the pain and misery? “Yes.”
“Then expect to be summoned shortly. They will force the issue if you dance around that which they want you to do.”
“What they created me to do, you mean.”
