My dad’s hand slips a little more. I grit my teeth. After weeks of having the most intense power flow through me, I’m all human. It’s humbling. Frustrating. Scary. Giving Kera all my power condemned my father to die. I can see that in his eyes. He knows. He’s just waiting for me to accept it.
Then, from behind me, someone touches my back. A hot flood of magic spirals into me. I pull my dad up and turn. Kera hugs me. I push her at arm’s length. I can’t see any change in her for what she’s done, though from my own experience, I know it must be there. She ducks away, uncomfortable with me staring, and tucks herself under my dad’s shoulder.
Holding him between us, we sprint out of the white room. Kera leads us through a jumble of different rooms, all falling apart around us. One of the teams Wyatt sent ahead of us lies dead in one room. I can only guess the other team met a similar fate. We bust through the front foyer and race out of the Hall of Whispers a few steps ahead of its collapse. When we glance back, all that’s left is a hole in the ground and a massive jumble of stone.
The Undoing
I stand before the council in a chamber made of carved stone. How ironic is it that my father has chosen the Ruined City, the very place he nearly died, as his seat of power? Ironic and sickening.
Hadrain, the head councilman, bangs his gavel and calls for quiet. I’ve stirred their emotions with my demands. No one is on my side. “You managed to divert the invasion of the Unknown, and for that we are grateful, but the dark souls are still loose. Our king is the only one who can control them.”
“Why can’t Kera do it now?” I ask.
The place erupts in disbelief. It’s a logical question. I don’t know why they’re getting so uptight about it.
One of the councilmen stands and leans over the table as if the proximity of his answer will help me understand the error of my ways. “She doesn’t have the experience or the authority to do so.”
“Then teach her.” Duh.
Hadrain shakes his head. “It is not a teachable skill.”
I point in the direction of the stairs. “Right now, she is giving him the power he obtained by killing hundreds of your own people.”
“He is changed,” another councilman says.
A chorus of agreement sweeps the room and I have to shout to be heard. “So he says.”
Hadrain pounds his gavel and the room quiets. His kind, scholarly eyes hold mine. “He cannot lie.”
“That you know of.”
“Do you have evidence to contradict me?”
A wild laugh escapes me, and I have to take a deep breath to control my emotions. “No. The funny thing is, I don’t think he can lie, either. Power corrupts. He’s already shown you his weakness. You have to stop this. If you give it all back, he runs a real risk of falling back into his old habits. Do you want that?”
“No, but denying a man—and not just any man, our king—his power is not done.”
“Then I beg the council to think long and hard before you again give your unlimited allegiance to my father.”
The room quiets, and I turn around and see Baun standing in the doorway with Kera by his side. Everyone stands and bows, and Hadrain sweeps his hand toward a chair.
The way they all grovel in front of him makes my jaw ache. Baun lets go of Kera and takes his seat. He flexes his hands on the armrests. “Thank you all. I feel much better.”
I bet he does. I stare at Kera, who joins me near her father. I can’t even guess at her reasoning for doing what she did. She had the ability to stop all this, but she didn’t.
“Why?” I whisper to her.
“It is his birthright, as it is yours. One day, you will own his portion. Would you want someone to take it from you and not give it back?”
“I didn’t want you to keep it all, just not give it all back to him in one big dump.”
“I heard you the first time.”
“…and let it be known that until the day I have wholly obtained the confidence of my people, only then will I be given the full extent of my powers.” My father’s declaration captures my attention. Our eyes meet and I can’t hide my surprise.
His gaze slips to Kera and his lips tip in the smallest of smiles. “Let it be so.”
“Let it be so,” the council repeats.
A smile lights Kera’s face. “And you say I never listen to you.”
I uncross my arms and within the creases of her skirt, I hold her hand.
“Now to the repeal of certain laws and ordinances.”
The rest of the afternoon, Baun, the king of Teag, reverses all mandates that made human blood a crime. The dungeons were to be cleaned of all innocents and the people would accept any soul, first or otherwise, who abided by the laws and dictates of the land without causing harm, distress, or public embarrassment to said souls.
When I get Kera outside and away from the Ruined City, I roll out a blanket in a field of wildflowers, and I hold her close. “You’re tricky. I didn’t know you had it in you.” I smile. “It’s totally hot.”
“Doing what you want makes me tricky?”
“And hot. A guy needs to know his woman isn’t a complete idiot.”
She sits up, her face full of horror. “You thought I was an idiot?’
“No, I thought you were like everyone else—totally captivated by his charm.”
“He does have a lot of charm,” she says with a straight face.
“You’d make a great poker player. I thought I was talking to a stubborn but very beautiful girl who only wants me for my body.”
She stares into my eyes and takes my hands in hers. “So it’s that obvious?” She kisses each palm. Then she moves to my cheeks. Then my lips.
I roll her onto her back and hold her arms above her head. “I like obvious.” I nuzzle her neck. “It takes the guesswork out of it.” I kiss her very kissable lips, and when I pull away I hear a sigh that doesn’t come from her.
We both tilt our heads to see Bodog sitting on the edge of our blanket staring at us.
“Can I help you?” I really have no desire to help him do anything but leave, but he’s been very sensitive lately.
“The mean old woman wants you home.”
After the portal was closed and the Unknown secured, I went straight to my grandparents’ house. I wanted to make sure they, and everyone else, was safe. Safe is a relative term. The wall is still deteriorating, but now I have others who can help us secure the barrier and keep what needs to stay in Teag, in Teag.
“She also says the kitty has to go.”
Leo took Lucinda home and introduced her to his dad, who introduced her to Grandma. Grandma wasn’t impressed. “Tell her we’ll be there for dinner and that the kitty isn’t my problem. She’s Leo’s problem.”
I turn and kiss Kera again, but I feel Bodog’s eyes on us. Stopping, I ask again, “Anything else?”
Bodog looks at Kera. “Signe needs love advice.”
“Tell her I’ll stop by after dinner.”
He nods, and I again kiss Kera. Another sigh sounds, and it still isn’t coming from her. I rip my mouth from Kera’s and snap. “What? Why are you still here, Bodog?”
“Reece is leaving.”
“Yeah? And?”
“Halim will follow.”
“Not surprised. The kid worships him. Anything else?”
“Wyatt is in danger, and Bodog is bored.” He rocks back and forth, his floppy ears jiggling against his head.
We both stare at him openmouthed. Kera pushes to her elbows and looks hard at Bodog. “Did you say Wyatt is in danger?”
“He is with the seven sisters.”
Kera pushes me off and I let her. Our fun time is at an end. She sits up, shoving her hair out of her eyes. “He’s what?”