“Right this way, sir,” the guard said, bowing to me. Jaycee let out a low whistle.
I glanced around at everyone watching, but shrugged and said, “All right.”
The guard rose and gave me a curt nod before turning to lead the way out of the training area. I followed but looked back, tossing them a worried glance. Max raised her thumb from her lying position, and Jaycee waved frantically, both of them wearing huge grins.
When we stepped out into the hall and saw the guards waiting for me, I knew who had summoned me by the colors they wore.
Blayne.
THE DOORS OPENEDas the guards led me inside. The council room still shocked me to my core. I always forgot how large it was, no matter how many times I had been invited inside. The true shock didn’t come from the doors closing behind me, but because I had been expecting just Blayne, and instead, I had walked into a room filled with gods. Some I didn’t even know. A thousand years had passed since Samkiel was locked beyond the realms, but they seemed to be up to far more than just rebel plans. All silver eyes turned toward me, and the power from their combined gazes made my stomach consider a revolt.
“Xavier,” Blayne called, a smile on his abnormally perfect face. Not a hint of a shadow dusted his cheeks as if he’d shaved for this. “Come, my friend.”
Friend? I swallowed, but nodded and stepped forward. All eyes remained on me, watching me warily, and I wondered what I had done to come to the attention of everyone here. Blayne’s hand landed on my shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze before leading me to the massive table. A map rose from the center, extraordinary in its detail and vibrancy. I had never seen anything like it. I felt like I could step inside the image and roam through the landscape for years.
Kryella stood, green magic swirling across her fingertips as she stared at the map. Athos sat with one hand over her lips, watching the image shift. It no longer displayed towering mountains, deep forests, sprawling cities, or tiny towns. Instead, it rose and stretched, showing me Samkiel.
My heart thudded. They had found him! My heart raced in excitement and relief at the proof that he lived, but it just as quickly hammered in terror and confusion. Samkiel was not alone. At his sides, flanking him as Cameron and I used to, were Kaden and the blood general, Isaiah. Sweat coated my skin, a visceral reaction as my body remembered even more acutely than my mind what they had done to me. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that I was me, and I had control over my body. This was not a nightmare, but how could he stand in their presence? Did he not know what I had suffered? Did he not care? Blayne crossed his arms over his chest, nodding toward the shifting holograph between us. The other gods regarded me with sorrow as if I were the victim here.
“I am sorry, Xavier, but it looks like Samkiel is a traitor to the realms.”
I swallowed hard. “No, there has to be an explanation.”
Murmurs and whispers started between the battleworn gods.
“An explanation?” Koa shook his head and let out a harsh laugh, the sound echoing through the room. “Perhaps he is more like his treacherous brothers than you wish to believe. Perhaps this is why Zekiel is dead.”
“No,” I said. “That was—”
Kryella held up her hand, magic spitting off her fingers as the holograph grew. I had no words to defend the truth screaming in my face. Several images of Samkiel with Kaden and Isaiah flashed before us. In one of them, they were eating around a fire, and in the next, Samkiel had his hand on Kaden’s shoulder as if in comfort. In another, they walked down the street in a realm far from here, all of them relaxed and moving easily. But it was the last one that shattered my heart. Cameron stood with them at Samkiel’s side, his head thrown back in laughter.
The sound of it echoed in my mind, eliciting countless cherished memories. I tried to focus on just him, on his beloved face, ignoring the fact that he wasn’t trying to kill the man who had slaughtered Presley in front of me and turned his family into mindless soldiers, the man who had turned me into a puppet. I scrambled for a reasonable explanation, but I came up blank. I stared, unable to look away, love and hate warring within me. When my eyes stung with tears, I told myself it was because I hadn’t blinked.
Blayne stepped toward me and clapped a big hand down on my shoulder. “I am aware this is difficult for you, but do you notice anything different about him?”
I tore my gaze from Cameron and studied Samkiel. I was just so happy to see them, even in this form, and while I saw nothing different about him, I wasn’t sure I would tell him even if I had. There had to be a reason. I had known Samkiel for far too long. He was loyal to a fault, and he did not eat or sit with traitors. He would never turn his back on those he deemed family. I felt the certainty of that in my bones.
Samkiel and Dianna had that much in common. Should a sword or blade befall one they cared for, wrath and retribution would soon follow, and they were relentless once they were set on vengeance. After my sister’s sacrifice, Samkiel had defied the god’s orders to stay where he was. Instead, he had come for me, searching that endless waste of a planet until he found me. I had seen the proof of him time and time again. There had to be a reason.
“No,” I said.
“I understand,” Blayne said, glancing at the others in the room. Unspoken words seemed to pass between them, and I got the feeling that they thought I was the only one who could not see the truth for what it was. But this was Samkiel. He was not only one of their own, he was their king. Why had they not come for him, arrested the traitors, and asked him themselves? Why were they not at his side? My mind spun. None of this made sense. Blayne’s hand tightened on my shoulder. “I fear we are not overly surprised when it comes to your friend Cameron.”
“What?” I blinked at the drastic change in subject. Hearing his name said out loud triggered a deluge of emotions and memories, the force of them making my knees threaten to buckle. I didn’t look at him, continuing to stare up at the image of Samkiel, steadying myself before gritting out, “Why?”
“Well …” Blayne looked at Kryella.
“He needs to know,” she said with a slight nod, her eyes holding nothing but pain and sorrow for me.
Had something happened to Cameron? Was this an old transmission? Was he … The words could not even pass through my brain. No. He couldn’t be. I would have felt it.
“Know what?” I demanded.
The room quieted, and all eyes were once more on me. Blayne started to speak, and as I listened, I wished Kaden had killed me on Onuna.
It would have hurt less.
VOICES MURMURED INmy ears as I walked back toward my room, a cacophony of old and new. My legs gave out as my back collided with the wall, and I sank to the floor. I had trained and been trained for the worst of battles, helped slay monsters and beasts alike, and sustained injuries that had left me in the infirmary for days at a time. But this? I wouldn’t wish this pain on my greatest enemy. A wound so deep and harsh it shredded me to my core and split me into so many pieces I was afraid I’d never collect them all again.
