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Lymsrana looked at Cornaith. “Perhaps you should reconsider stopping her education, Brother?”
“Very well. But how are we to prove she isn’t who Quinfina says she is?”
The entire argument was absurd.
If Quinfina wanted to overthrow the council, she didn’t need Rae.
“Perhaps proving she isn’t Shyrlivi is the wrong approach,” Caendra said. “We need to prove she is.”
Lymsrana frowned. “How would we do that?”
“We force a transformation into her alternate form.”
“Do we even know if she has one?” Rhistel looked at Zeke. “Has she shifted in front of you?”
“No.” Zeke shifted from foot to foot. “But she did partially in Cholian.”
“As we’ve discussed,” Ezra said, “it is clear she isn’t human. Must we push for more now? In the event that she is not Shyrlivi, would it not be advantageous to avoid triggering a transformation we’ve yet to understand?”
“What if her true form is comparable to a Void?” Caendra looked at Ezra, then to the others on the thrones, ignoring us entirely. “What if it’s greater than that?”
Rhistel tapped his fingers on the arm of his throne. “We’ve documented most every subspecies of lesser infernal and outer beast there is, but none of them surpasses the council’s power. Yet you all felt the magnitude of her energy in Cholian.”
“I’ve never felt anything like it,” Lymsrana conceded.
“I don’t think enough time has passed.” Ardvaen looked at Cyn. “She hasn’t sealed her tether with my son or the others. If she manages to do that, will we not see more evolution in her Shyrlivi side?”
Cornaith stroked his goatee. “So you propose we sit back and wait for her to potentially destroy us?”
Not that he could be destroyed, so I didn’t see what he was worried about. Unless he thought having the rest of us annihilated made him look bad.
“I think you need to have more trust in Quinfina.”
Lymsrana nodded. “I’m sorry, Brother. I think reflection is necessary before action. Perhaps a meeting with Quinfina might prove beneficial. Maybe there is more she can share with us to quell your doubts.”
“Perhaps.”
I wasn’t sure what they’d get from Quinfina, but with Cornaith and Zeke’s parents casting so much doubt on both her and Rae, we needed to be hypervigilant.
It seemed kidnappers weren’t the only threat to Rae’s safety in Elyrdin.
41
NOT ENOUGH
CYN
Ipushed open my bedroom door and stalked inside, yanking my shirt off and throwing it on the floor. Then I shucked my tactical pants in favor of sweats.
I needed a cold shower to calm down before I did something I’d regret.
Listening to Cornaith and Zeke’s parents sit there and question Raelynn’s species and connection to us set my blood on fire. Not being able to speak up and tell them where they could shove their theories made me itch to break something.
At least my parents weren’t on board their delusion train.
I braced my hands on the dresser and heaved a sigh.
Crazy how I’d believed the same things about her not long ago.
