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The problem was, we both knew that when he'd made that promise, he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep it. They'd all shut me out, sent me away, and I was shutting them out in turn.
I knew I shouldn't, that I should just be happy they were alive and with me, but the thought didn't ease the pain of the betrayal. Still, that wasn't something I was willing to share with the rest of the people of Agartha either.
There was only one thing I had to say to them after I was ready to go, the swirling green fabric swishing around my legs as I walked out into the room. I tried not to pay attention to how they all looked at me, even Kai, whose guard had seemed more relaxed since we arrived in Agartha. "When we go out for dinner tonight, it will be as a united front. Any rifts that are between any of us will be set aside for the evening. I am not asking. If we show our vulnerabilities here, I am sure they will be taken advantage of. This is the last stone. I've come too far and given too much to risk any dumb decisions, so just suck it up and act like you're all friends for the night. Clear?"
"Crystal," Kai muttered from across the room. He was in similar clothes to the first time they'd walked me to a gate. All browns and greens in natural fabrics that clung to him.
We stared at each other for a moment, and something shifted in his eyes that seemed to call to me in a way he never had before. I mean, I'd always wanted him, but this was different; this felt like there was another layer to it now. Like everything between us was inevitable whether we wanted it to be or not.
"We'll always do whatever we need to so we can support you, you know that siren," Finn's voice was quiet, and I wondered if he was the most hurt out of all of them by my reaction to their arrival.
I couldn't help that I wanted to kiss and stab them simultaneously. The fact that neither option was winning over the other was irritating. "Shall we?" I asked no one in particular before I walked out of the door to our rooms, not that I had any idea which way to go.
"This way," Kai's voice was quiet at my shoulder as he turned to the left and headed toward a dense grove of trees.
It was not an exaggeration to say it looked like something out of Star Wars, and I was waiting for an Ewok to pop out. The only difference was that the trees were even bigger—
both wider and taller—from what I could tell than in the movie.
We wove silently through the trees, following a path that I couldn't even really make out before the trees opened up, and a huge table was set on one side with dozens of smaller tables scattered around it. Leader Timmon sat at the big table, obviously, with his best robes on from the looks of things.
Rich golds and greens covered him, and a heavy gold belt hung from his waist, with not only the part that went around him but a thick v-shape that hung down to his knees, all covered in what looked like emeralds. He even had a matching necklace.
Gold stitching shimmered in the light as he moved around the table to greet us. It made him look opulent but also out of place, especially when everyone else wore more conservative clothes in muted tones.
Timmon waved us in with a fake smile plastered on his face, but instead of sitting at the head table with him, we were sitting at one of the smaller tables off to the side, which, to be honest, was what I would have preferred anyway. Anyone watching would think he was as happy as a pig in mud to see us, but that definitely wasn't the feeling I was picking up from him.
"Lady Tessa," he said, offering me a small bow. "Esteemed warriors." He dipped his head toward the guys, but that was it. "Please, have a seat. Food will be served soon."
"Thank you," I replied before doing exactly as he said.
It wasn't hard to feel that people were watching us, judging us, as we waited for whatever was about to happen with this so-called welcome dinner. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait long, but every second we did was in strained silence. We weren't doing a very good job convincing the onlookers that we were all friends; I knew that for sure.
"Welcome, kin. Tonight, we are celebrating the Key being brought to Agartha. Not only that, but she has brought her warriors with her. With their presence, we are sure to stabilize Agartha soon and reclaim what we've lost. Now—"
"How are we going to reclaim the lives that were lost?" someone shouted from the audience. Murmurs of agreement went up from the crowd.
A scowl flashed across Timmon's face before his expression became neutral, as though nothing they could say would phase him.
"How is an outcast going to do anything to help? He'll just bring bad luck. As if arriving on the Blood Moon wasn't bad enough," someone else called out.
My gaze flicked to Kai, whose face was completely and carefully blank.
"Friends," Timmon said as he raised his hands, his tone cold, all of the previous jovial notes disappearing. "Do you really want to embarrass us in front of warriors from the other realms? What will they tell their people when they go home? We are so close to our goal, do not ruin it now."
There was a threat in there somewhere. It seemed to float on the edges of his voice as though it would be too much if he even said it. The people of Agartha seemed to sense it as well because they quieted down.
For the most part.
"The forests are shrinking, habitats are disappearing, there are areas where we can no longer breathe, and you want us to celebrate? Surely we should be helping the Key do whatever it is that she needs to do instead of eating, especially given how low our food stores are right now," a woman in a similar outfit to Lady Murray said, clearly unwilling to be cowed by Timmon's words.
"A few hours aren't going to make a difference," a man called from further away as he pushed to his feet. "Or at least not anymore. That traitor sitting with them already delayed bringing her here long enough. If he'd cared about Agartha at all, he would have brought her here as soon as she was done in Atlantis. If he'd done that, how many lives would have been saved? He failed Agartha. If any of the other Agarthan-origin realm warriors had been on the team that found the key, I doubt we would have been the last realm they visited, but he's an outcast already, so he doesn't care what happens to us."
"That's enough," Timmon's voice was deathly quiet. "We're going to have a nice dinner and let the Key enjoy a meal with the people of Agartha before we put her to work."
My gaze kept moving from Timmon to Kai, and though his face was blank, I could feel the pain radiating from him—pain caused by these petty people. It didn't escape me that their leader kept referring to me as an object, and it was pissing me off, among many other things.
"Whether Kai is responsible for the delay in bringing the Key to Agartha is not something we have an answer to, but I'm sure it will soon become clear enough as we watch them work." Timmon's words sent a cold chill through me. Was he actually trying to blame Kai for this?
