CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Lotrennia burning. Charred elven bodies. A dying library. And a creature of nightmares.
—Hidden correspondence from Bayne to Khato. 13thof Summer, 071.3E.
The next few hours were blessedly uneventful, yet being aboard theCenturionsent me yearning for those days on theEvecta. Even the days that were shrouded in grief after my escape from Kayj. I’d done so much healing on that ship, with my friends, my family. And while some of my friends were here, I left so much of my heart back in Lotrennia.
I slumped between Ronan and Vienah as we settled into our cots and hammocks in one of the various crew cabins below deck. Nerissa was quiet since her loss of control. Ronan eyed her as she sat down nearby.
“You should get some water on that,” he said, nodding at the bruise forming beneath Nerissa’s eye.
Her eyes cut to Ronan. “You should learn to mind your own business,” she spat. “I don’t need you to defend me.”
Ronan’s lips formed a thin line as he glared right back at her. “You want to have this conversation now?” he asked, raising his light eyebrows.
Nerissa’s lashes shuddered. “It doesn’t change anything. You still left.”
Ronan gaped. “It changes everything!” he bellowed.
I blew out a breath, catching Vulcan’s eye as he gave me a nod. Vienah and I shuffled out as he moved to the door, leaving Ronan and Nerissa to whatever conversation they still hadn’t had.
I meanderedthrough the halls below deck, hands braced against the wall as the ship rocked, following the soft lights that illuminated the cramped space. A slew of curses came from a nearby room, and I paused, angling my head to peer into the dimly lit space. Carina was on all fours on the ground, gathering up various books and scrolls that had tumbled down from the bookshelves built into the side of the cabin.
Carina’s Ravindra eyes shot up as I stepped in and knelt next to her. She paused, wariness returning to her gaze as she scanned me. I offered her a soft smile and helped her gather the books and scrolls.
“They need to add a belt of sorts to that shelf now that the seas are so unruly after the Sending,” I murmured, feeling the stretching effects of the twin eclipse.
She blinked before returning to roll up the scrolls. “It should be temporary,” she murmured. “The seas. At the rate of change we’ve seen over the past couple months, they should return to normal by the end of the year.”
“That’s good,” I said, handing her the last book as I stood.
Carina’s cautious eyes narrowed, and I stilled, keenly aware of whose daughter I spoke with. She folded up the scroll and placed it neatly among several others. I glanced at the names of the books stacked next to them, and my stomach pitched as my eyes landed on one.
“Where did you get this?” I breathed, my brows furrowing as I reached for the first edition ofThe Horseman’s Duty. My eyes settled on my father’s name before they shot back to her. Myfather’sbook.
Carina’s lashes fluttered, and she swallowed before saying, “Vander Stryke. I asked Ronan if there was any literature regarding the agrippa. The herd. Where they came from, originally, and he said Vander knew your father and might know more…”
My hackles rose, the Obscura slithering down my arms in response. I blinked through golden embers in my eyes as I stared at Carina.
“Why do you want to know about the agrippa?” My voice sounded distant in my head, as the potential threat to Tiberius settled in my bones.
As if reading my thoughts, Carina’s small hands shot up, palms facing me, as she shook her head. “I meant no ill will, I swear it.” Her head continued to shake as her eyes flicked between my own. “The agrippa are renowned for their fearlessness, even in Lotrennia. And with the return of the Bellators, with yourownagrippa becoming your caeluma…”
My heart began a steady gallop in my chest. The queen was curious about Tiberius, too… I cast to him, allowing him access to my conversation with the queen’s daughter.
A gasp escaped my chest as my cast stretched into space, taking longer to reach him. My heart stuttered at the distance, a deep ache forming. A moment later, the connection formed, and Ti’s eyes opened behind my own.
“You’re misunderstanding me. I’m not looking for ways to bring Tiberius, or even other agrippa, under my control, or that of my mother’s.” Her last words curved with a pinch of distaste. “But should all Bellator powers be found and unlocked, where do they find their caeluma? Tiberius is the only one of his kind. Isn’t he lonely?”
A flicker of emotion drifted from Tiberius before he severed the connection, either by choice or because of the distance. The brief cast set me on edge, uneasy that it took so much effort to hold it in place. Bayne had coached us on how to cast to each other at great distances, but he’d had years of practice with Aquila.
I blinked, vaguely aware that Carina had said something else and now watched me for a response.
“What?”
She tilted her head, a keenness entering her eyes that reminded me too much of her mother.
“Any information about the Bellators has been lost for a very long time,” she said. “I found a scroll in the Living Library that spoke of an army. I was very young at the time. But once word got out about what you found, I went back to search for it, unable to find it. I can’t help but feel that the return of the Bellators has meaning that we don’t yet understand. And if the Living Library doesn’t want you to find something, you won’t.”
