Verna turned her head toward the glowing mineral veins threading through the walls, the light catching along the silver braids running through her hair.
“The realms were never meant to stand entirely apart from one another,” she said.“There are places deep beneath existence where they remain connected, places where the foundations touch.”Her ancient eyes shifted toward Kara.“The Nushtonia damaged those connections long ago when Raja was first imprisoned.”
Kara frowned.“But Raja was trapped centuries ago.Why would this start now?”
“Because the prison opened,” the Troll King answered grimly.
The chamber quieted again.
“The Nushtonia was never merely a prison,” Verna continued softly.“It was also a seal.”
Oh.Oh, that felt aggressively important.
“Why the heck do we seem to learn things one piece at a time when it is obvious that we should have had all the facts a long, long, long freaking time ago?”Kara asked, her voice raising as she spoke.When she stopped, she realized just how loud she’d been because the quiet seemed sudden.
Verna looked at her with a wide smile.“You’ve got a wonderful ‘mom’ voice.You’re going to have all your kids marching in line like little warriors.”
“Umm,” Kara’s eyes widened.“There’s only one in there.”She pointed to her stomach.
Verna nodded but kept smiling.“Yep.But something tells me there are many more Kara Luisa’s to come, and not all of them female.”
Kara’s mouth dropped open.“How do you know that name?”
The elder female walked over and cupped Kara’s cheek.“You’re not the only one who knows people in high places.”
Nick’s body tightened beside Kara, every line of him going still in the way that meant his wolf was paying very close attention.
Verna reached over and patted his shoulder.“Easy, wolf.I mean only blessings to you, your mate, and your child.When we said we no longer believed her to be the cause of the rot, it wasn’t just because I’m intelligent.”Her eyes gleamed in amusement.“I made a promise to watch over Kara and her young for as long as I am called to do so.Of that you have my solemn vow.”
It felt like a profound moment, with everyone witnessing Verna’s words, and yet Kara didn’t know what to say.Thank you seemed too generic, and yet bowing like she’d just met the Queen of England seemed a tad too formal.So instead she blinked like a cartoon character because that was what her brain faculties were capable of.
“I will take you at your word, old one,” Nick said, his tone formal, “and if you turn on her, I will slit your throat.”
Kara gasped and turned to look at her mate.“Seriously?”
But Verna just patted his cheek and said, “The Great Luna chose well for these two.”Then she looked back at the others.“Now, that’s settled.Let’s move on.”
“When Raja escaped,” Gavril said slowly, working the pieces together in his head the way he always did, “the seal weakened.”
“Yes,” Verna agreed.
A cold weight settled low in Kara’s stomach.Not fear.Understanding.“The corruption beneath the mountain,” she said quietly.“It’s spreading through the places connecting the realms.”
The Troll King nodded once.
“And if it reaches the foundations completely,” Aphid asked carefully, “what happens?”
Nobody answered immediately, which was answer enough.
Finally, Verna spoke.“The barriers between realms collapse.”
Well.Fantastic.
Kara tilted her head back and stared up toward the carved stone ribs arching overhead for one long moment.“I would just like the universe to know that I officially preferred my life before interdimensional magical infrastructure became my problem.”
Nick brushed a kiss against the side of her head, slow and warm.
“You should have known it was always going to become your problem,” he murmured.“You’re sort of a disaster magnet.”
