“Anything you need, Jovie. You tell me.” Eluni says, staying beside me the whole way. Her body shimmers with symbols as we climb.
“I’m fine.”
Eluni grumbles. “I would not have taken you with me into that battle if I had known.”
I gently elbow her. “Stop.Ididn’t know. But I guess when Allele did her thing, she must’ve detected it.”
That’s correct.
“She just confirmed it,” I add, motioning to my head. “Still weird hearing her like that.”
“So it’s Allele’s fault?” Eluni growls. “Risking a Torchbearer’s mate and offspring is a big offense!”
“Easy. Let’s just focus on the future. Allele got us all here. She saved all of us. I’m not about to get upset over something in the past.”
“As long as she doesn’t do it again,” Eluni growls, her symbols brightening.
A bolt of electricity pours down on Eluni from the sky, turning so bright and hot that I have to turn away. “Eluni!”
The light vanishes, and I hesitantly peek back at where she stood.
Eluni’s body is covered in electric spiders. Her gear and clothes steam. “Oh, fuck. That wasawesome!”
She throws her fists in the air and belts out a triumphant yell that riles up the crowd on the trail behind us.
Tal rushes up to Eluni, eyes on her like she’s an angel sent from Heaven, then seems to think otherwise of touching her.
“You’re insane,” I laugh. “How the hell—”
“We were born here, Jovie,” Ephinium says with calm words. “We adapted to this place, to feed on what it offers just as you do on Earth. Our methods may be different, but our needs are the same: fuel, rest, love, hope.”
Eluni dips her head, so I do as she does.
Ephinium and Aura continue up the trail as others behind us get lovezaps from the sky.
I worry what a strike might do to me and to Aura’s child.
“Do not fear, Jovie. Your power is still much lower than most here,” Ephinium adds. “The strikes will follow the easiest paths to ground. That is not you. Not here. But someday, maybe. If you live here long enough with us, Amphir will change you, too.”
The castle is a massive structure of metal and stone, clearly meant to house thousands. It’s difficult to define in the darkness until a flash of lightning exposes a wall, a doorway, a tower, or a symbol of Viestria.
Aura pushes on the doors, but years of rain and lack of use have rusted metal hinges and latches. He backs up, winks at me, lights up his Storm, and body-slams his way through.
Stars, I love that muscled hunk.
Inside, Ephinium lights the torches with a wave of her hand. Arcs ripple through the metal veins in the stone walls, igniting fireplaces and pedestals with technology still more advanced than I’ve encountered on Earth.
“Come on. Let’s pick out a room.” Aura scoops me up in his arms. “My beautiful bride.”
As we walk the halls, I ask, “What did your mother tell you that made you suddenly so bright?”
“I didn’t want to walk with her. Didn’t think I’d earned it.” Aura leans into another room and backs out. “She said Torchbearers are chosen by some force we do not understand, but they are always deserving of the light they carry because it is in our blood to protect and guide. It is who I am. Torchbearer genes always dominate the others. So I cannot be like my father was, even if I was his son. It is the same with Keepers.”
“But Eluni—”
He kisses my cheek. “It is kind that you worry. But I think Allele can help. Allele requested extra serum from Elix when he came to visit. We can’t let the Keepers die off. They protect our history like we stand guard and guide our people.”
“What is my purpose as a Lightbringer? I’m not Amphiran.”
