“No one is going anywhere,” Stellan declared, reigniting the tension in the small room. “Your father just shut down the port in Aphira. Even if there was a ship ready to go, it would take us days to get there. Marin is sick. Quinn is still out there. The best course of action is to stay in Astraeus until we can get the Bloodstone back from her. That guarantees—”
“Nylah has to go to Andarre. Whatever you brewed for her is just a band-aid. What if you forget to whip a batch one day?” Cade asked, his voice low and lethal. “And last time I checked, no one had put you in charge.”
Bridget’s shoulders tensed. “Cade…”
Stellan’s jaw flexed. “I’m the oldest one here. I’m the only one with any real experience with Vega or the Sanguis in this room. I’m the one who’s seen what the future holds if you leave Elyria right now.” His gaze swept across the room, landing hard on Cade. “Trust me, it doesn’t end well. Do you think just because you’re the prince we should all listen to you? Guess what, you’re not the only one of those in this room.”
Castor raised his brows. “I trust Cade’s judgement. Besides—”
“You left,” Cade snapped. “You disappeared for three years without even bothering to tell us the truth about anything. You didn’t even want to come back here. If it was up to you, we would still be in the dark right now. We’re going to Andarre.”
Cassia locked eyes with Bridget. There was a plea for help there, but words got lodged in her throat. Something ancient swirled in the air. There was too much history loaded in Stellan’s statements. She couldn’t help but think their confrontation was a long time coming.
“What do you expect to tell your father? If you leave, he’ll know Bridget’s here. He’ll know about Nylah. I don’t think he’ll like the interruption to his wedding plans for you.”
The books on the shelves around them trembled in place. Finn backed Archer closer to the door.
“It’s time. I’m through playing his games.”
“Is it?” Stellan asked, a ghost of a laugh on his face. “The second he knows, every responsibility you’ve avoided comes crashing down on you.”
“I can handle it,” Cade snarled.
“I know you can’t. Your little stunt with the gate and blood magic proves that.” Stellan looked Cade up and down. “You’re nothim. Not the Cade I knew. Right now, I’m not sure you ever will be.”
Cade and Stellan stood chest to chest.
“Take me to my father,” Cade said, his voice low and lethal.
Cassia’s stomach swooped to the floor. Their father was unpredictable. Every time they truly fought, a major life change happened. She didn’t think she could take another one.
Cade grabbed Stellan’s arm. The Shaman laughed.
“Do you think because you’ve seen me do the spell a few times, you know how to? Your powers—”
A crack almost exploded Cassia’s eardrum. She covered her face from the sheer force of magic that exploded throughout the room. After it passed, she looked up. Cade and Stellan were gone.
“Where did they go?” Bridget demanded from the floor. Finn and Archer helped her up.
Cassia couldn’t take her eyes off the spot where they’d been standing. Cade was confronting their father. She couldn’t shake the image of their fight four years ago from their mind. The next day, Cade had left. Her father had changed. Elora had changed. Everything—
“Where’s your father right now?” Castor’s hand on her arm brought her back to reality. The sound of her own heartbeat almost drowned out his voice.
Bridget’s anxious face appeared in front of her. She hadn’t even seen her move. “You have to have some idea.”
It took a moment for Cassia to find her voice. “Probably his study. He always spends the afternoons there when he’s stressed.”
They were all out the door faster than Cassia could blink. Castor grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind him. She could barely keep up with his quick steps. Her mind wouldn’t stop spinning. The others were arguing and shouting things at each other, but the voices sounded like gibberish.
A blur of rooms and hallways turned into her father’s study. It was hidden behind a portrait of her great grandfather. His sly smile and twinkling eyes had always intrigued her. Now, as she looked up at it, he seemed to mock her with secrets. Shouting echoed from inside. Wordlessly, Cassia ran her finger down the painting’s gold frame until she found a latch.
She was shoved through the tiny opening before the portrait had even opened an inch. Her father’s study was darker than she expected. Usually, sunlight illuminated her father’s study and the floor to ceiling windows and glass roof shimmered with the afternoon sun. But dark clouds swirled over the heads. For once, the lamps in the corner were on. They flickered every time her father spoke. His tan skin looked purple as he glared at Cade and Stellan. Cassia didn’t think he could get any redder. Until his gaze zeroed in on Bridget, who had stumbled in behind her.
“You,” he hissed, raising his hand.
Before any magic left his fingertips, his hand was slammed into his desk by a gusting wind.
“You’re not touching her,” Cade growled, his eyes ablaze with growing power. The morganite pendant under his shirt glowed a dark orange.
