Her face beamed as she scooped up Thorne and spun him around. “I got you,” she cried with fake menace. “You can’t escape the monster.”
Thorne burst into a fit of laughter as she continued to spin.
Vardan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Aurelia. Please take him somewhere else. These useless games are quite distracting.”
Aurelia nodded, her face tight. “Let’s go, little one,” she said, carrying the toddler toward the door.
Thorne reached his hand out toward Vardan. “Dada! Stay!”
“I know, dear. But daddy’s busy right now,” she said, voice pained.
Thorne burst into tears, his cries echoing down the hallway as her mother disappeared with him in tow. Ava couldn’t help but release a sob at the scene. Her sweet mother and brother, seemingly a bother to Vardan. Though Thorne had mentioned how their father had been, seeing it broke Ava’s heart.
Vardan turned to Orion. “You said this visit was important. What’s going on?”
“Valeria and Eros. They’re taking things too far.”
“How so?”
“They don’t agree with how we want to handle thecrossbreeding situation. Won’t answer my letters or attempts to communicate. They’re planning something.”
Vardan frowned. “What could they be planning?”
“Have you ever heard the story of Lomos?” Orion asked.
“Of course. He was supposed to be the god of balance. But legends say he was discontent sharing duties with the other gods and goddesses and became obsessed with power.”
“And what happened to Lomos?”
“The other gods and goddesses trapped him as punishment for his crimes. Where is this going?”
“Where did they trap him?”
Vardan scoffed. “No one knows. This is all conjecture anyway. Most don’t even believe he existed and was some fabricated tale to keep us in line.”
Orion shook his head.
The scene changed and Ava lurched forward, as if she could yank it back. “No! We need to know more!”
Before them was a desert. It was barren, nothing to see but cracked earth, rocky crevasses and sand stretching toward the horizon. Shouting echoed from a nearby cave and the picture wavered as the entrance came into view.
The mouth of the cavern was made from a reddish rock, blending in with the terrain. Orion and Vardan stood outside, arguing with Valeria and Eros. Four fae stood behind the Frosthaven royalty, their hands bound as if they had been brought against their will. Ava studied them. It appeared as though there was one from each remaining kingdom.
All five kingdoms were represented.
“What in the world?” Ava muttered.
“You must cease this madness,” Orion boomed, angrier than Ava had ever heard him. “You will awaken something you can never come back from. We can never come back from this.”
Valeria got in his face, her hands covered in ice. “Thenleave. If you don’t want to be a part of this, get out. But Eros and I will complete the ritual.”
“You’re blinded by power,” Vardan growled. “Lost to the promises made by the old texts. This will only lead to ruin, Valeria.”
“Leave!” Eros shouted. “You will only distract us from our task. Unless you intend to try and stop us?”
Vines burst from the ground, raised by Vardan, wrapping around Valeria’s legs. She froze them and they shattered. Vardan tried again but was met with the same resistance.
“Orion,” he growled. “Help me.”
