“I hesitate to offer this information. You are as a son to me, and the risk is weighty.” He adjusts his glasses. “Perhaps we should mull this over. Take some time to research other options besides the sole path of which I am currently aware.”
Unexpected agitation ramps my pulse, but I contain it. I’ve never been angry at Nathaniel and I am not about to begin now. “We don’t have that kind of luxury. We must act now.”
“You have never been one to act in haste, Joshua. I wonder if you might need to lie down—”
“No.” I pivot and pace the room’s length, scratching the scruff at my jaw. When I face my adoptive father once more, I exhale and say, “Please. Just tell me what you know.”
Nathaniel stares at me a long time. “Does the name Rafaj Niddala ring a bell?”
I shake my head.
“He was the Void’s vessel before Jasyn Crowe. An Ever same as you and your father.”
His suggestive tone ignites a spark. An Ever? “We’re related. Aren’t we?”
“Indeed. He is your paternal grandfather.”
“Is? That means he’s still alive.”
“Quite.” Nathaniel doesn’t miss a beat. “He holds valuable information pertinent to your dilemma.”
My feet itch to get out the door. “Where can I find him?”
“I’m surprised you don’t know more about your own castle.”
I cock my head, but it’s Wren who speaks up. “He’s a prisoner?”
“Smart girl,” Nathaniel says, twiddling his fingers. “He is, in fact.”
Before we take our leave I ask my final question. “Exactly what information does he hold?”
“He discovered something—an unbinding elixir. Potent stuff, its effects are nearly irreversible.” With a sniff, he eyes me. “Are you certain you want to do this? Once the bond is broken, it is difficult to repair. If Eliyana and Kyaphus share true feelings for one another, you may destroy any chance they have of a future together. Are you willing to pay that price?”
I don’t answer. Instead I ask one last question. “What do you know of the Fairy Queen?”
“No more than the stories let on. She is said to be an immortal soul jaded by heartbreak. A being with the power to grant any wish, except her own. That is a myth, of course. Though I never doubt anything absolutely. Not unless there is certain proof against it.”
His answer isn’t much to go on, but it’s still more than I arrived with. If the Fairy Queen exists, and she is indeed helping Isabeau, then our problems are grander than we first realized.
I nod and bid Nathaniel farewell. When I have one foot out the door, he adds, “Son?” I turn my head enough so I can view him through the corner of my vision. “Sometimes the quickest solution ends in the most treacherous outcome.”
I swallow, step outside, and close the door. He may be correct, but what other option lies before me? This isn’t about doing what is easy or fast. This is about so much more than me or Nathaniel or anyone. This is about everyone.
Wren has already made her way down the steps and into the snow. Once she’s a griffin again, I mount and we take flight. With the wind cold on my face, I consider Nathaniel’s question. I didn’t voice my response, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have one.
Whatever it takes to break El’s bond with my brother is what I’ll do. Because I love her. Even if my actions hurt her. Even if they cause her to hate me.
So be it.
SEVENTEEN
Made a Switch
Locked. Of course it is. And drat, he still has the master key set. But I’ve been in Joshua’s castle study before. Which means I can get in again.
Phantom pain sharpens my breath. Never have I dreaded mirror walking more. The shot of Illusoden I took before leaving my suite is starting to kick in, but I doubt its effects will extend to this sort of pain. Good for mortal wounds, yet it’s done nothing to abate the ache in my throat. Which probably means it doesn’t work on ailments related to the Verity and Callings.
A framed mirror hangs ten feet down the hall to my left. This time of night the walkways are deserted. Preacher hasn’t thought to look for me in the most obvious place yet. Or at least I haven’t seen him. My door was unguarded when I slipped out of my suite, and Ebony was long gone, surprise, surprise. With half the Guardians tending to the Threshold and the other half on the hunt for Gage and Isabeau, the castle is pretty empty. I may not have much time, but I have a little.
Here goes a body full of oh man this is going to sting.
The trip through the mirror is even more agonizing than my walk with Ebony. My voice is barely more than a whisper now, and my right arm has begun to go numb. I’ve heard that’s a sign a heart attack is on the horizon. Or is it the left arm? I can never remember. Either way, I’ve already established this must be more than a physical ailment. Each time I attempt to use my Calling, my symptoms grow worse.
When I land face-first on the rug before Joshua’s desk, it takes a full minute of controlled breaths—pants—before I’m able to move. I want to die so much right now. Like literally, I could just lie here and be content to never get up. But I won’t. Because Joshua has been hiding something. And I’m betting somewhere in this office is the answer I seek. Or at least something to lead me there.
Once on my feet I switch on Joshua’s desk lamp. It sheds just enough light to provide a good view of the floor-to-ceiling bookcases on the east wall. I cross to them, pressing a finger to my lips as I squint and scan the titles. Which one—?
Joshua’s desk chair moves, the legs scraping.
Frozen doesn’t even begin to define my statuesque demeanor. Breath on hold, I turn my head.
The chair tips, crashes to the floor. I glance between door and desk, desk and door. Slide sideways. Inch, inch, inching toward the door. Reach, reach, reaching for the knob . . .
Ebony pops her head up over the desktop.
I lower my arm. Roll eyes.
She glowers. “For the love of crowe, you scared the living Void out of me.”
“What are you doing in here, Ebony? How’d you get in?”
She waves her hand like a homecoming queen on parade, then stands and proceeds to pilfer through Joshua’s desk drawers. “Don’t tell me you don’t know how to pick a lock.” When I refuse to answer she stares at me, mouth agape. “Oh my word, you don’t. Wow. That’s lame, El. Not gonna lie.” She opens one drawer, slams the next. Once she’s done she starts on the filing cabinet beside the desk, taking out folders one by one and thumbing through them.
“What are you looking for?”
No response.
“And stop being so loud.” I snatch a folder from her hand. “Preacher’s probably alerted the entire castle we’re missing by now. He’ll have Guardians searching every nook and cranny faster than we can say Dewesti Province.” She’s wasting my time. This was supposed to be a quick in-and-out operation. Leave it to Ebony to fudge up everything.
With the fakest yawn I’ve ever seen, she removes another folder from the cabinet. “(A) What I’m looking for is none of your concern, and (B) if you’re so worried about getting caught, you can leave. You forget I can transform—”
The doorknob rattles.
Double crud.
Ebony and I exchange a glance. Despite her confidence in her Shield ability, there’s no mistaking the dread whitewashing her face. She doesn’t want to get caught any more than I do.