I pointed toward a safe in the living room, where I’d secured the drive I’d been given in the lower levels of Solis Court. “I’ll give it to Eleana tomorrow.”
“Don’t you want to know what’s on it?” Pierce questioned, shooting me a daring look.
“No shit,” I answered. “But I’m not going to decrypt it before Elion sees it. So, can we just watch the match in peace, or should I just leave now?”
“Fine.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Let’s watch how badly Solis Quarter plays.”
Sighing, I tilted my head back against the sofa, tipping my drink back as I let my mind clear.
“Rise and shine, sleeping beauties!”A voice rang out in too high a pitch for this time of the morning. “We’ve got things to do, places to be, people to discuss.”
I groaned, rubbing at my face as I sat up in bed, glancing toward the alarm clock that read 5:52 a.m.
For the love of the stars, could the female not let us sleep for a few more hours? I heard loud footsteps in the hall, followed by a loudthudand a string of curses.
“You know, maybe if you hadn’t stayed up so late—drinking what appears to be way too many drinks—you wouldn’t have walked into the door.” Eleana’s voice sounded from the hallway, and a chuckle fell from my lips.
With every muscle in my body protesting the action, I forced myself out of bed, tugging on the closest T-shirt before making my way into the main space. Eleana was already there, perched on the kitchen island with her legs crossed, studying her fingernails with far too much attention.
“You’re early,” I stated as I moved past her, heading straight for the coffee machine while internally cursing Axel for keeping me up so late last night. I’d lost far too much money betting with him against plays during the match.
“Hi, Eleana, it’s so nice to see you again after eight days apart. Glad to see you made it across The Rift safely,” she mocked from where she sat as she tilted her head and pinned me with a pointed look.
“Maybe we’d be a bit more concerned if we were more awake . . . you know, at a reasonable hour in the morning,” Axel grumbled as he flopped down on the barstool furthest from her.
“Oh,” she replied as she hopped off the counter. “My apologies. Next time, I’ll be sure to schedule my journey across The Rift to better suit your sleeping needs.”
I slid two mugs across the counter, then prayed to Aeternus that the coffee would put us all in better moods for the remainder of the day.
“So,” I began. “What was so urgent that Elion needed you here earlier than planned?”
“Elion has been frequenting the Temple of the Eternal every morning and night since the two of you began scouting Solis Quarter, waiting for a word—the next set of instructions from Aeternus.”
“And?” I prompted.
“And Aeternus has spoken.” Eleana’s tone was more somber at the statement.
“Well,” Axel grumbled as he drank his coffee. “Are you going to tell us what he said, or are we playing the guessing game here?”
“That depends,” she answered. “What am I reporting back to Elion?”
My eyes narrowed at her, wondering why she wanted our report before answering us. Eleana simply held my gaze, and after a moment or two, I stated, “I don’t know what Aeternus has conveyed to Elion at the Temple, but what we have found in the Quarter thus far is not promising in the slightest. We will continue to investigate to determine the extent of the corruption, but from what we’ve seen, the entire Quarter is shrouded in depravity and darkness, primarily stemming from the way those in power have controlled the narrative. We’ve noticed that the sacred rituals of worship have been altered; they have attempted to bury all knowledge of the creation of Aurelia and Aeternus. They have even gone so far as to corrupt the affinity markings. Not to mention, Lucanus appears to be attempting to harvest affinities for himself in some vain attempt to elevate himself to the status of a god.”
“Plus, the few remaining Remnant we have spotted throughout the Quarter still appear to be warning citizens to turn from their gods and the darkness and turn to Aeternus.”
“And has that worked?” Eleana asked as she glanced between us.
“No,” we answered in unison.
“The citizens left in Solis are too lost to their own corruption . . . too focused on elevating their own statuses in their false temples,” I answered.
Eleana was silent after my report, her eyes widening in shock before a single curse fell from her lips, and she shook her head.
“What was Aeternus’s instruction for Elion and the Aurelian Guild?” I questioned again when she didn’t answer.
Eleana audibly swallowed, her fingers tapping rhythmically against the island counter, her nails clicking against the surface before she finally spoke. “He instructed that he would be delivering Solis Quarter into the Guild’s hands. That if the two of you reported back that you find the Quarter to be filled with corruption, we will move forward with plans to take the Quarter.”
Axel and I both froze, staring at the female in our living room in shock. I could feel my heart racing in concern as a multitude of thoughts ran rampant around my head. The most prevalent being that I now understood why she wanted our report before voicing the answer to what Elion had been instructed.
