“We absolutely won’t risk that. Riven is the top priority no matter what.” I huff, then run my hands down my face. “What doyou all think? Seriously. Is it better to have extra hands, or the smaller the group the better?”
“This isn’t about to be some quick in and out thing. Your Valtrue knows that, but I think they forget that you and Yemi have zero idea what you’re stepping into.” Sevryn eyes the guys like, why the fuck aren’t you all saying anything.
The three of them share a glance that screams, yeah, we haven’t gone into great detail yet.
The particulars nor the true level of danger was exactly at the forefront of my mind either.
Getting Riven and getting out was. Is.
“It’s always better to have extra hands when facing the Abandon. I don’t know if those are the hands I’d trust, though. Especially not Jeremiah. The same rules apply to him as they do to me. If my father senses the power of pain being used somewhere that he’s never sensed before, he’ll investigate it in a heartbeat.”
My forehead wrinkles as I stare at Sevryn.
“How is that even possible? He’s just a Domain God. I don’t get how he can sense power that greatly.”
“He isn’tjustanything. He’s the third highest-powered god in the Abandon behind Obliteration and Seduction. Their father has built him up to be damn near unstoppable. Any Domain God could tap into their underling’s power and sense it. Many don’t waste their time doing that. My father has to know everything about the beings who possess a touch of himself. They fall in line with him, or he forces them to.”
“Great, so if I decide to let Gladian and his Valtrue join, we have to make sure none of them use their powers. How the hell do we do that? We can’t actually control them.”
“No, but we know someone who can,” Kyzen says, giving me a pointed look.
Yeah, I guess we do.
“Derivius, we’re getting ready to go, but there are some…individuals in my way. Will you come to our front lawn, please?”
Not a second later, a flash of white beams behind Yemi and Sevryn.
“Who’s…” Derivius trails off, groaning loudly. “He and Harriseen are quite tiresome. Very nice barrier, by the way, Yemi.”
She squeaks a thanks, but before he can say you’re welcome, Amick jumps into explaining everything that’s going on. His patience is wearing thin. We haven’t even put his full plan into action yet, but in his mind—soul—he thinks it’s already ruined.
“So I’ll need to bind your plan to their minds and their inability to use their powers until you reach Seductions. Oh, that sounds like a delightful plan. Are you going to allow their company, little troublling?”
I blow out a breath and stare up at the clouds.
I wish I were lying in Riven’s bed looking at them.
With him beside me.
“Can we do this alone? Without any extras?”
“Can we? Absolutely. Will it be harder, more dangerous? Yes. If we didn’t think we could, though, we would’ve organized our own Defenders to join,” Amick says.
“So is there even a benefit in letting them come with us?”
“Are you ready to accept the fact that Mellcom is dead?”
I flinch at his question. “What?”
“Like Creed said, he isn’t our priority. Unless you specifically say, I want you all to save Mellcom as well, then I have no intentions of rescuing him. His fate will be in the hands of our father, which is a death sentence.”
I blink repeatedly.
My memories assault my mind. Both good and bad. It’s so confusing, overwhelming, and the last damn thing I want to focus on right now.
Valories…How does someone go from being the person who bandaged my scraped knees to a person who became the reason for the bandages?
One day, I may or may not have to look Meridamus in the face again. How do I tell him, “So yeah, sorry. I abandoned your son in the Abandon, like you and my parents abandoned me in Oddian.”
