“I promise I’ll help you get the rest of your family back. I just… we just… we have to do this first.” Tezya met my gaze. “I promise, Sie.”
I wanted to save Scottie, despite my emotions with her being on that stage, despite the fact that she did nothing during that broadcast. It didn’t matter if she couldn’t control her feelings, it still fucking hurt to see. It still felt like she ripped my heart out of my chest and left me to bleed. But I didn’t want her to suffer either. And if Tezya was willing to help me get my family back after this, I would help him. I’d agree to anything.
I shrugged, not having the energy to muster a response.
FORTY-ONE
SCOTLIND
I was screamingbut no sounds were escaping my lips. No one could hear me. Arcane dragged me across the stage, and no matter how far away he led me from Moli and Sie’s father, I couldn’t stop seeing their dead bodies lying there.
Watching them drown brought back the same burning and constriction in my lungs from when Kole held me in the tub. I prayed Sie wasn’t watching somewhere, but I knew he was—everyone was—Tezya too.
After everyone filed out of their seats below the stage, the Lux King kept us there, kept the camera’s rolling… He addressed them directly, threatening to kill Sie’s brother and mother if they didn’t hand themselves over to him.
I couldn’t breathe, and not being able to speak, not having anyone hear me, made it feel like I was drowning too. I was dying slowly from the pain I was causing everyone around me. I couldn’t take any more deaths. I couldn’t, and now the King had not only Vallie, but Sie’s family too. All three of their lives were in danger, and it was all my fault.
Everythingwas my fault.
My chest was rising and falling a mile a minute, and myvision was starting to see spots from how frantically I was pulling in the air around me. Arcane was dragging me through an empty hallway, but I couldn’t focus, couldn’t breathe. I hadn’t even realized we had made it back into the castle.
Arcane whirled on me, throwing my back against a wall. “You need to calm down.” He eyed me for a moment, thinking something over. “I’d give you the antidote, but I don’t trust you not to scream, and I need you to be quiet.”
I looked around, not recognizing what part of the castle we were in. It was completely deserted, which meant it was nowhere near Vallie. I tried to speak over and over again. My mouth forming the words: “Where are you taking me? Where is Vallie? Please save Vallie. Vallie. Vallie. Vallie.” But nothing left my lips.
Footsteps sounded behind Arcane, and I had no idea what was happening.
“You called for me?”
I knew that voice.
Arcane didn’t move as he replied, his silver eyes wholly assessing me. I was still pressed against the wall, his tall frame blocking my view of who approached.
“Yes. I need your help.”
FORTY-TWO
TEZYA
This was it.I was going to get Rumor back. It was risky using Rainer’s lightning, but it would be our best bet at breaking through Arcane’s shield—our only chance. Both of my siblings were air users. But while Dovelyn was better at invisibility, Arcane thrived with protection shields. They were nearly impenetrable.
I knew Rainer’s lightning would work. It’d get through Arcane’s shield and keep him on the ground long enough for us to capture him. He wouldn’t risk conjuring his wings if there was a threat of losing them. Both my siblings loved flying—it was something I used to be envious of as a child—and Rainer’s lightning would fry my brother’s wings down to the bone, making it so he’d never be able to use them again.
But his powers could just as easily harmher.
There were too many things that could go wrong. I hated the plan, but I didn’t have a choice. With Sie’s compulsion, I wasn’t allowed to get Rumor myself and this was the only way everyone else had agreed to let me rescue her. This had to work.
Please don’t let her get hurt.
I knew Arcane was going to bring someone with him. Eventhough we both agreed to come alone, he wasn’t stupid enough to follow through without backup. He also knew me better to know I wouldn’t either. And he wasn’t going to waste his reserve on making them invisible—it would all be going into his shield to separate Rumor from me—so whoever he showed up with would be all he brought.
I just couldn’t wrap my head around who it would be. It was throwing me off. He didn’t have any friends in Lux, and I knew it was intentional. He didn’t want to risk having a weakness for his father to exploit. He only ever hung out in our friend group. It was how he met Wells. He was the only person who managed to get under my brother’s skin. Arcane’s emotional walls were just as strong as the physical shields he created.
And since I had no idea who he was going to show up with today, I had no way of preparing. Arcane knew all my friends. He knew all their powers and what they were capable of. He knew Rainer would be the only one who could get past his shields. It was why he agreed to this. He didn’t think I’d use him, not with Scottie involved, not when using his lightning was just as likely to harm her as it would save her. I still couldn’t believe we were using him…
Rainer spent the entire week training, trying to strike a target without creating a rippling effect, but it wasn’t enough.
This will work. Rumor won’t get hurt.
