“I would think so,” Chancey said. “The Warden is relatively young as far as angels go, but his father? That man wasancient—like, hundreds of years old. He might’ve been old enough to remember the Elven migration from Edinmyre.”
My insides twisted. “The Warden’s not just going off legends and map clues! He’s going off a first-hand account from his father. He could be more than a step ahead of us— he could be miles ahead!”
“And yet he’s been searching for these clues for what— a hundred years?” Kallie pointed out. “The Warden may have information, but he’s missing huge pieces. He doesn’t have the full picture from his dad, or he’d have found these keys by now.”
“It’s us,” I pressed. “We’re the full picture— demigods. He needs us to find the keys. Maybe it’s best if we abandon our search, because clearly, he needs us to find them for him.”
Ava reached for my hand. “We can’t do that. There has to be a reason demigods must find the keys. It’s part of our prophecy. We won’t let them fall into the Warden’s hands.”
“What if he already has them?” I asked. “He had the angel key. Who’s to say he’s not hiding others?”
“If he is, we’ll find them,” Ava pressed. “Right now, the merfolk key is our priority. Once we find it, we’ll have over half the keys.”
I furrowed my brow. Ava was starting to worry me. First she’d forgotten Arthur Cedrick was Unseelie Fae. Then she forgot noxite was formed after the Elven Genocide. These were things we already knew. Now she’d miscounted the keys.
“We already have four out of seven keys,” I said gently.
Ava hesitated. “Right. And the more we have, the less chance the Warden has of using them against us.”
“Then we have to keep searching,” I said. “Kallie, do you have any more information?”
“I’m working on it,” she insisted. “I’m going to have to cross reference this history with what I know about Amalie. Let me get my notes together, and we’ll meet up later to discuss, all right?”
We agreed, and went our separate ways. I guided Ava back to our room. I didn’t have long before my factory shift, but as I closed the door to our cell, I couldn’t help but admit I was concerned. Something was wrong with her memory, and that terrified me. Were there other things she was forgetting, and what could I do to help her remember?
I knew she’d deny anything was wrong if I asked her, so I felt around our bond to see if there was a way to get inside her head and help her out. I found an opening and nudged my way inside, but I didn’t get a glimpse into her mind before the doorway slammed shut completely. The effect was so strong it made me stagger backward. Ava whirled around, and one of the big wheels of her chair rolled over my toes.Ow!
Oberi squawked loudly and clacked her beak at me. She wasn’t pleased with me, either.
“What exactlydo you think you’re doing?” Ava demanded.
I took a step back. “I— I was just trying to help.”
“I felt you poking around in my head!”
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” I said gently. “I just wanted to figure out what was wrong. Apparently, that wasn’t the right way to approach this.”
“No!” Ava cried. “What made you think it was better to invade my thoughts than to justaskme?”
“I noticed you’re forgetting things, and I’m concerned about your cognitive function. I didn’t know if you’d tell me.”
“That’s up to me,” she insisted. “At least give me the choice.”
“Pidge, please,” I begged. “I don’t want to fight.”
“Then you shouldn’t have gone poking around in my head! That’s not okay. Just because you have the ability to do it doesn’t mean you should. I love that we have this connection, but I still need my privacy.”
My shoulders dropped. “Are you hiding something from me?”
“Ancestors, no!” Ava sounded even more upset now.
“Then why can’t I look inside your head?” I honestly didn’t understand. If she trusted me, why couldn’t I help her?
Ava blew a breath. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’m trying to help, and you’re overreacting.”
“Oh, I’m sorry I asked to berespected,” Ava sneered. Her wheels squeaked as she opened the door and started wheeling into the hall.
