“Leena.” Noc’s words were soft against my ear. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay.” My glow harshened. I stood up and paced, unable to sit still any longer. “None of this isokay. I don’t know what to do. How am I supposed to fixthis? How do I know she won’t kill them like she did Eilan and Tristan?” Raven winced at the mention of her deceased lover, but didn’t interrupt my tirade. I turned to Noc then, tears lining my eyes. “Tell me what to do. Tell me.”
Noc’s expression broke, and he placed both hands on my cheeks. “I wish I knew.”
A hot tear slipped down my face, and my power receded. I wanted to get lost in his eyes, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t escape this awful truth. Before I could think of anything to say, Noc went rigid. He jerked his head toward the open entrance of the library. A moment later, a smooth, deep voice that was achingly familiar floated through the air.
“I might have an idea. If I’m still allowed to speak.”
Everyone turned then. There, standing a few feet away, was Gaige. With wild, unkempt hair and bags beneath his eyes, he was a little worse for wear, but otherwise sound. His tunic was torn, as if something had slashed through the sleeves. Shadows dripped from his frame, still far from being completely controlled. But he’d somehow masked his presence, at least from me. Noc had detected him, but only a moment before he appeared. Kost inhaled sharply as he took a hesitant step forward.
I don’t know where the urge came from, but one moment I was standing frozen in utter shock and the next I was bolting toward him. My arms clutched him so tightly he coughed in my ear. I burrowed my face into his cloak. At first, he didn’t respond. His hands wavered above my back before finally connecting, and he dipped his head to my shoulder.
Voice gruff, he spoke only to me. “I’m sorry I took so long.”
“I don’t care. I’m just glad you’re here.” Stepping back, I wiped away tears with the back of my hand and gestured to the group. “We all are.”
“You foul, horrible, terrible”—Raven’s feeble attempt at anger broke as she strode toward us—“insane idiot. I’m so fucking glad you’re back.” She forced a hug out of him, too, and then released her grip. “You don’t know… You don’t know what it was like without you. What it did to me…to the Charmers.” She recovered quickly, but there was no mistaking what she’d clearly meant to say. For someone who’d lost so much already, having Gaige essentially walk out on her was a blow she hadn’t prepared for.
“Gaige.” Kaori’s exclamation was near breathless. “Thank the gods.” She was much slower to come around the table, but eventually met us halfway and wrapped him in a quick hug.
“You’re certainly a sight for sore eyes,” Calem said with a slight smile.
“I didn’t mean to cause so much alarm. I just… Well, I found something, but it’s not as important as this. We can discuss it later.” His fingers absently grazed his jaw before he turned his steel-blue gaze on Kost. Aside from his initial shock, Kost hadn’t moved a muscle. Tension racked his frame, and unspoken emotions raged in his eyes.
Noc glanced between the two of them before joining us and offering Gaige a firm handshake. “The transition is tough. Onallof us.”
He didn’t need to target Kost with his words for me to understand that last part was meant for his second-in-command.
Gaige seemed to catch on, too, and relief soothed some of the lines forming canyons across his forehead. “Thank you for understanding.”
“I think I pummeled a few innocent assassins for looking at me wrong when I was first raised,” Oz said with a shrug. “Calem was worse.”
“Hey now,” Calem exclaimed. “Let’s not go there.”
“The point is,” Noc said, regaining control of the conversation, “you’re back. And you’re certainly still a member of this Council in my book.”
“Absolutely.” I nodded and gripped Gaige’s forearm, dragging him toward the table. “And we need your insight now more than ever.”
Gaige’s eyes found the bestiaries. “I heard most of what you were discussing before I emerged from the shadows. I do think Noc is right. We can’t rush at this problem headfirst. Yazmin is trying to provoke us. She wants you to race to the castle in search of them so she can dispose of you before you interfere again.”
“You think we should leave them there, too?” Kaori asked, voice stiff.
A glimmer of understanding passed between them. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. My friendship with Kaori was fairly new, but Gaige had known her for years. He understood things about her past, about who she was beneath her calm exterior, that I couldn’t possibly guess at.
He let out a long sigh. “I wish it were different, but the truth of the matter is we don’t know what we’d be walking into. We don’t even know what state they’re in.”
“State?” Kost wielded the single word like a blade.
Gaige met his icy stare. “Yes. State. It’s very rare for a Charmer to willingly give up their bestiary. For example, I’ve only done it twice.” He gave me a knowing look, and I recalled the time he’d handed me his bestiary as we searched for ways to eradicate Cruor’s Oath from Noc’s wrist. “Did she harm them to get the bestiaries? Were they already harmed? Or did they give them up willingly? We simply can’t say. Attacking without that knowledge is dangerous.”
Kaori’s chin slumped to her chest. “I hate it when you’re right.”
“But there might be another way to use this to our advantage.” Gingerly, he picked up the closest bestiary. My father’s. “I’m not sure Yazmin realizes the gift she’s unintentionally given us.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“The beast realm.” He glanced at all of us, waiting for us to catch on. When we didn’t, he set the bestiary down and began to pace. “There are a few things we know to be true about the realm. One, when a Charmer visits the beast realm, they will exit at the exact same point where they entered. In other words, we can’t magically travel across this world by doing so in the realm. Two, the realm is massive. It’s rare to spot another Charmer—unless that Charmer is one’sanam-caraor related by blood.”
