“That’swhy you had the inferichite net made, wasn’t it?” Danny asked, spite dripping from his words. “You didn’t want to use it against the Warden’s demigods. You kept it forus, just in case one of your friends got out of line and you had to get them under your control.”
I shrugged. “I can trust my friends now, but that doesn’t mean I can trust all of you forever. I needed a backup plan, if one of you decided to rise up against me.”
Horrified gasps rose around me, but I didn’t care. They weren’t Elvish royals. They didn’t understand that contingency plans had to be put in place.
I heard Kallie give a hateful huff. “Yeah. Somefriendyou are.”
“Your perspective isn’t important right now,” I told her. “You tried to take your own crown and couldn’t do it. I can’t help it if you’re jealous of me for succeeding where you failed.”
Multiple people in the room emitted shocked exclamations, but I ignored them all. Kallie gave a comical laugh. “That crown wasn’t worth it. And you’re going to find out pretty fucking quick yours isn’t, either.”
“Where’s Ava?” Marcus asked, and he didn’t sound like he was fucking around. Whatever. He could be mad at me, too. I didn’t care.
“Where she needs to be.” They didn’t need to be concerned about what I did with my wife. She wasn’t theirs to keep.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Ez shouted, storming my way. “Where did you put my sister?!”
“She’s in my quarters, which is where she’ll be confined until this is over with. Once I have control of the city, she can roamthroughout the palace as she wishes, but she can’t leave these walls. Not for the rest of her life,” I stated bluntly.
I turned from them as I mumbled, “She’s too valuable.”
“You locked my sister in a fuckingtower?” Ez screamed. “How fucking dare you. You know that’s the biggest nightmare she could ever face. I should kill you where you stand.”
“Stop trying to threaten me, Ez. It’s embarrassingly pathetic,” I told him, swatting his words off as if he was a fly buzzing in my ear. He might as well be.
“She’s not yours to control!” Ez cried out.
“I care for her far more than any of you do. She’s a danger to herself and others. This is the best option for her,” I replied. “She’s in that tower, and that’s where she’ll stay.”
From behind me, I heard Kallie quietly whisper, “No, she’s not.”
I went still. I rigidly turned as I whispered, “What did you say?”
“I set her free.” Kallie’s words were triumphant, goading me. “She and Oberi are off to do what they promised they would.”
I gave a scream of rage. I started toward Kallie, my arms outstretched, but Marcus planted himself in my way and shoved me backward.
“You hurt her, I will put you down, right here, right now.” Marcus’ voice was dark, daring me to take one step closer.
I was powerful, and I could take both of them down in an instant if they did anything to prevent my plans from falling into place. But I didn’t want to hurt them. Not unless I had to.
“Kallie, why did you do that?” I asked desperately. “If Ava interferes, she’ll stop this rebellion! All of this will have been for nothing!”
“She’s not going to stop the rebellion. She’s going to stop itall,” Kallie stated bluntly.
Her words felt like dunking me in a sea of ice-cold water. A shiver ran down my spine and over my body, gluing me to the floor. I couldn’t move, think, or feel. Since the rebellion had started, I’d been living in a dream, floating throughout space and unable to come down, but Kallie’s words forcefully woke me up.
Hurriedly, I checked the connection between me and Ava. I found with terror that she’d shut me out. I tried to pry my way through, but her mind was a steel fortress, and she wasn’t letting me in. Oberi wasn’t responding, either, and his replies to my prodding questions were just as silent. I screamed through our bond for them to hear me, but neither of them listened. I couldn’t even tell what Ava was thinking right now, let alone what she was doing or where she was.
Dear ancestors. Did that mean she’d already started?
“What… what does that mean, Kallie?” Opal questioned. She was asking the question aloud, but she didn’t really need to, because I think we all knew.
“She’s going to use her demigod powers to harness the Earth’s soul, and break the connection between the spirit world and ours. When that happens, the entire universe will collapse, and everything will cease to exist. Our souls, our gods, our afterlife and nature itself will be destroyed, and there’s not a damn thing Charlie will be able to do about it,” Kallie said victoriously.
Several people in the room began to scream. Shouts of panic and despair went up all around, overpowering the sounds of battle outside.
“Why would Ava do that?” Ivy asked, sounding horrified.
