I nod. “That I couldn’t remember any details or how it happened.”
“Ach,” he spits. “Never. I was worried about how ye were holding up.”
I squeeze him tighter again. “I’m okay.”
We stand wrapped in each other for a long moment. I close my eyes, delighting in the feel of my body held by him. Peace settles over me, sharpening my mind.
Toraigh.
I went to Toraigh and saw…Julius.
Flinching out of Lachlan’s arms, my entire body tense with the information I uncovered.
“Julius was there.”
Lachlan’s arms are still outstretched from our embrace. His face slips into a mask of fury.
“You saw Julius in Toraigh?”
“Yes! Right before I came back. I was standing at the wall, and I heard a scream. Then the ground started shaking, but it was you shaking me. I heard your voice, and I turned around and that’s when I saw him. It was only a glimpse, but it was definitely him.”
Lachlan’s chin juts down in one swift motion. “You’re sure?”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I nod. “I’m positive it was him.”
Lachlan rubs his jaw, his mind working just as fast as mine.
“So if Julius is in Toraigh, that’s all the confirmation we needed for Odessa and Odin’s whereabouts! We have to go getthem!” I spin on my heel, heading for the door. A hand wraps around my wrist, tugging me to a halt.
“We canna just burst into Toraigh, Key. We need a plan.”
This feels like our rebellion all over again. And that thought makes me pause. I jumped headfirst into our last battle and it cost us—cost me. “You’re right. Let’s call for a meeting and start planning.”
Battle plans and strategies whiz through my mind. We know where they are. A missing piece of the puzzle finally slides into place.
But now Julius knows I know.
Would he move them quickly? Is that even possible?
“Lach—he saw me.”
“We need to call a meeting now. I’ll get the others and meet ye in the council room.”
My fingers drum across the wooden tabletop.
1, 2, 3, 4. I inhale.
I drum and hold my breath. 1,2,3,4.
They drum, and I exhale.
Again and again as the table in the council room slowly fills up. I remember the first time I sat at this table, the first time I was in this room, really. The painting of the Wild Hunt caught my eye and my mother’s story filled my ears. But then I sat through the meeting, feeling wildly out of my depth, and not deserving of this place or its people. And now I lead the meetings in here. Now I’m the one in charge, but yet I still feel undeserving,unworthy.
Mina, Mathilda, and Tane. Evander and Luna. And finally, Freya, Odr, Harald, and Piominko.
“What has happened?” Freya asks, sitting opposite of me. She scans me for injuries, relief settling into her features when she finds none.
“I saw Julius when I went to Toraigh. It was right before I slipped back here. But I saw him. So now we know he must be keeping them in Toraigh.”
