“Of that I don’t know. But the arch remained open. I’m sure they’ll return.” Vander shook his head and offered me a sympathetic look.
My eyes fell to my hands.They all leave…
Ronan let out a low curse, his voice hoarse. “Olienna warned us about the Embodied. That they’d be back for the powers of the Bellators.” He ran a hand over his face before crossing his arms and pacing the length of the table.
“So Dark King Daimos wasn’t creating a weapon on Kayj, he was opening a gate,” Ronan continued, moving to the corner of the room where several unrolled scrolls lounged in a messy pile. The ancient papers swished as he riffled through them. I stood and moved across the room to help.
Ronan swiftly rolled up several scrolls, placing them in my arms as Vander appeared at our sides.
“Where have I seen the wordgate…” Ronan muttered, his brows narrowed as he continued rummaging.
Vander’s arm brushed against mine as he reached across the desk and tugged an unmarked, tightly wound scroll from the overflowing shelf against the wall.
“Where are these from?” I asked as Vander handed me the scroll.
Ronan looked up and helped me gently unroll the ancient text.
“Yes, this is it,” he said hurriedly, nodding his thanks. “These were from King Saros’s private library.”
A single line of messy, cursive handwriting scribbled across the center of the scroll.
“‘The gates will remain closed, unlocked only upon the gathering of the eight,’” I recited as my brows narrowed.
Ronan’s hand dropped to the desk as he straightened, and his gaze cut to the oval window across the room.
“Eight,” he stressed, shaking his head softly. “Eight Bellator powers. There were eight powers on Kayj when the gate was opened.”
My lips parted, and my head shook slightly. “How is that possible?” I asked.
“Lyvia was there with theTranscindielandObscura. Bayne and Nerissa were there with theSoleia. Olienna had stolen theAeternaBone, and her power wasPalaega. Selvina had harnessed theRamadiel. Drystan showed up with theAdvetis…” Ronan trailed off, his fingers rising as he ticked off each Bellator power.
“That still leaves one,” I continued, shaking my head. “Celestyn.”
“Right,” Ronan murmured as he nodded. “Olienna said her little army of creatures… the… What did you call them again?”
Vander’s gaze followed Ronan’s as he turned to me, and a blush tingled up my neck.
“Ganels… ‘Angels’ in Old Votruvian,” I answered, tucking my hands in the pockets of my leathers.
“Olienna said she’d left the Celestyn Bone with theganels,” Ronan continued. “But you’d never seen them with it, right?”
My braids swayed as my head shook, and I replayed my months spent with the little pig-nosed, winged creatures that lived in the tunnels of the Lumerians. I’d never seen Olienna, or rather, the Stone Witch, their previous master. And while Gork and I had our own weird way of communicating—mostly through facial expressions, though I tried teaching him to read and write—we didn’t converse about Bellator powers…of which I knew nothing at the time…
“No,” I answered. “I don’t think so. Drystan let me examine the Advetis Bone plenty of times after he’d opened it. And Lyvia’s description of the other bones of power…”
Ronan nodded. “Round or oval, smooth and…”
“‘Subtle striations and even tiny canals’,” I recited in my best Lyvia voice, pretending to shove invisible glasses up my nose.
The corner of Ronan’s eyes crinkled as if he might chuckle, but his face fell. My stomach sank, remembering her unknown fate.
Ronan ran a hand over his face. “So, you didn’t see any bones of power while you were in the Lumerians with theganels.”
“Maybe Olienna just said that to throw you off?” I asked, tilting my head. “She betrayed everyone in the end. She stole the Aeterna Bone and turned on Lyvia and the others on Kayj. Maybe she had the Celestyn Bone with her the entire time?”
“I don’t think so,” Vander muttered. “At least, the others didn’t think so.”
I inhaled a deep puff of mint as he spoke, and I realized I’d drifted closer to the soldier. My arms crossed in front of my chest, and I turned back to the scroll. My brows pinched as I reread the line.
