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“Penellaphe?” Surprise filled Nyktos’ tone.
“Hello, Nyktos.” She straightened, stepping forward. She glanced briefly in my direction. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”
“Too long,” he confirmed. “I hope all is well?”
“I am.” Penellaphe’s smile was brief, fading as she looked at me again.
Nyktos followed her gaze. “This is—”
“I know who she is,” Penellaphe cut in, and my brows lifted. “She is why I’m here.”
“I am?”
She nodded, looking back to Nyktos. “You summoned the Arae.”
“I did, but…”
“But I am not the Arae. You’ll understand why I’ve come,” she said, stepping back. Her hands clasped together. “One of the Arae waits inside for you. For both of you.”
Curiosity marked Nyktos’ face as he looked over at me. I nodded and Penellaphe turned to the male. “Wait for us here?” she asked.
“Of course,” he answered.
She inclined her head. “Thank you, Ward.”
I peeked over at him as we passed. I couldn’t tell if he was a godling or a mortal, but I didn’t see any aura in his eyes. Rhahar and Ector moved aside as Penellaphe drifted past them. I picked up my pace as Nyktos glanced over his shoulder, his steps slowing. I caught up with him, entering the now-candlelit chamber.
Nektas approached us, his long hair tied back, and Reaver at his side.
“Thank you.” Nyktos paused to clasp the draken’s shoulder.
“We will wait for you in the hall,” Nektas answered, nodding in my direction as he put a hand on the back of Reaver’s head, ushering the young boy forward. “We will wait for both of you.”
A knot formed in my throat. I didn’t know why. Maybe it was because Nektas had acknowledged me. I swallowed hard, looking toward the thrones and the dais. Maybe I just needed more sleep or—
Everything in me stopped. My legs refused to move. My head emptied because what I was seeing—who I saw standing before the dais, cast in the soft light of the candles and the stars—brought me up short. It made no sense. None at all. My eyes had to be playing tricks on me.
Because it couldn’t be Sir Holland.
Chapter 45
“I don’t understand,” I whispered, moving once more and then stopping a few feet from Sir Holland.
“You know him?” Nyktos had shifted closer as he stared down at the man before us.
“She does,” Sir Holland confirmed, his dark eyes searching mine. “I’ve known her for most of her life.”
“He trained me,” I whispered. I wanted to touch him to see if he was real, to hug him. but I couldn’t move. “It’s Sir Holland. I don’t understand how this is possible.”
“You can just call me Holland,” he told me. “That is my name.”
“But you’re…why are you here?” Confusion pounded through me as Penellaphe glided past him, entering the airy chamber. “Are you a viktor?”
“No. That honor is not mine,” he said.
“He’s here because he’s a Spirit of Fate,” Nyktos stated coldly. “He’s an Arae. One who’s apparently been masquerading as a mortal.” He eyed Holland. “Now I understand how you had knowledge of a certain potion.”
“He’s not a spirit.” To confirm this mostly for myself, I reached out and pressed a finger against the rich brown skin of his arm.
“Spirits of Fate—the Arae—are like gods.” Nyktos reached over, pulling my hand away from Holland. “They are not like the spirits near your lake.”
Holland’s gaze followed Nyktos’ hand, one side of his lips curving up.
Stunned, all I could do was stare. That pragmatic part of my mind kicked in. Out of everyone, Holland had always believed…he had always believed in me. His unwavering faith now made sense. It was still a shock, but after learning the truth about Kolis, I knew I could process this. I could understand. And the knowledge that he was okay helped. Tavius hadn’t done something terrible to him. So many questions rose. Mainly, I wanted to ask if he’d always known that I could never fulfill my duty, but I recognized that now was so not the time for that. “So, you weren’t sent to the Vodina Isles?”
“I was, but I didn’t go,” he answered. “I knew my time in the mortal realm had come to an end. I came here to wait.”
“Because you knew we…we would come to speak to you?”
He nodded.
That was…well, unnerving. How much did Holland know? More than I probably wanted him to. I swallowed.
A thought occurred to me. “This is why you never seemed to age.”
“It wasn’t the liquor,” he said.
“No shit,” I murmured.
Penellaphe laughed as she came to stand beside Holland, the gown settling around her feet in a puddle of silk. “Is that what he said?”
I nodded, staring at the man I’d considered the closest thing to a friend. A man I’d trusted. Someone who wasn’t mortal. I didn’t know yet if I should feel betrayed or not. “There is…there has been a lot I haven’t understood, but this, I really don’t get.”
