“Such as?” Kaden prods.
“The Great War.” Baris draws lines in the scorched earth. Three circles, one inside the other. “The Humans, corrupted by a wicked Fairy, hunted the world for magic.” He draws lines between the circles. “They waged war against the species in order to take all the magic for themselves.”
“You’ll forgive me, Baris,” Kaden snaps, “but until I was born, magic was a myth. Until I met your daughter, I thought I was alone. So, I didn’t think the reason behind the war was true—only myths surrounding a war no one could remember.”
Baris shrugs, smiling. “Neith’s curse was well-placed. As such, you forgot magic and the root to the evil of the world. Now it’s coming back.”
“What does that have to do with the Humans being in theIn-Between?”
My father sighs. “The Humans are forces of destruction. But they have a master.”
He stares at me, and waits. It only takes a moment for my eyes to widen, realization dawning like the rising sun.
Effy. She sent them here.
“They wanted to see what we could do,” Kaden surmises. He calls for our guards, Zeke rounding them up as he cradles his burnt arm. “This was a test. And I don’t want to be caught off guard when they decide to act on that information.”
“Agreed.” We all take to the saddles, the wounded given seats by the guards.
“We’ll head back to the Veridian Palace,” Kaden tell us, white knuckles holding the reins. “From there, we’ll make a plan to head home. Griffin is closer than we think. It’s only a matter of time before he attacks the Black Palace. And without us there, we are vulnerable.”
Relief swims in my gut, choking out all breath. I was afraid of staying here, trapped with Aoife, worried over Griffin. But thankfully, Kaden understands the concerns.
We’re finally going home.
