But then he remembered:I don’t have to prove myself. I just have tobe.
So he sat in silence and let that realization continue to seep through him, like the warmth from a fresh bath easing the weariness and pain from his body.
It was enough.
Hewas enough.
Maybe not for everyone, but for Luc. And his was the only voice that mattered to Rolan at that moment.
“Ahem.” Evaine cleared her throat. Rolan had nearly forgotten she was there. He glanced at her and saw she was wiping the corner of her apron over her eyes. But when she spoke, her voice was clearand strong. “I really do hate to interrupt, but can we focus on what just happened here? Rolan squished a glowing bug and somehow used that to bring you back from the brink ofdeath?”
“It’s Arcanist stuff,” said Rolan. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Apothecary.” The Arcanist’s voice suddenly sounded thick. He started to sit up, until Evaine stopped him with a firm press of her hand.
“Not so fast, big fellow. Let me see that wound. And the others I suspect you’re hiding truth knows where. I want to do a thorough examination.”
“Eugh.”Rolan grimaced. “Nottoothorough, I hope. I’ll wait outside.”
They paid him no attention. Luc was gazing at Evaine now with eyes so soft and doughy that it made Rolan groan aloud.
He went outside, Supper trailing after him. The rain had stopped falling, but the clouds still bubbled darkly across the sky like black fungus, bulbous and swollen.
With a heavy sigh, Rolan sank to the ground and rested his back against the house’s outer wall. He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers. They still tingled longingly, remembering the Arcana of the white Cryptic.
Such a small creature, born from Luc’s secret that very moment, and yet it had held somuchpower… He wondered what kind of magic that unicorn would have held.
In any case, Luc was alive. He was going to be all right. And what’s more… he loved Rolan. Like ason.Like they were proper family who properly belonged to each other.
That was a miracle of a magnitude no magic unicorn couldgrant, he was sure. It filled him with a warm glow that was entirely different from Arcana, yet, in a way, very much the same.
But despite his having made up with Luc, he couldn’t forget the events that had led them here. His father was still out there, and Cabbot and Hoff. What would they do when they learned their mission had failed? Would they strike again, and how?
“Rolan!”
Startled from his thoughts, he looked to the road.
Anaya was walking toward him, panting hard as if she’d run all the way from Crisanth. The front of her dress was smeared with blood.
Rolan jumped to his feet, his hands knotting into fists. “What happened? Are you hurt?”
“Not my blood.” She lifted a trembling hand, pointing toward the city. “It’s bad, Rolan! It’s very bad!”
“What’sbad, Anaya?”
She gasped in a breath and shook her head. Tears simmered in her eyes, making Rolan’s chest tighten.
“It’s a Cryptic,” she whispered. “The biggest anyone’s ever seen. It’s attacking the city. Rolan, weneedthe Arcanist!”
- CHAPTER 39 -CITY OF RUIN
They gathered in the house as the Arcanist strapped on his weapons. Anaya was still shaking, even with Evaine’s comforting arms around her. Rolan paced in front of the fireplace agitatedly.
“Where did it break in?” Luc asked Anaya.
“The south quarter, I think.”
“It didn’t trigger the warning system?”
