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Conlan hopped in place like an excited kitten.
“Mom! Can I come?” His eyes were like two headlights coming at you on a dark road.
My father took his hands from his face and stared at his grandson.
“No, you may not! Have you heard nothing I have said?”
Conlan looked at me, his face desperate. “Ice Age animals!”
Power swirled around my father.
“I FORBID IT.”
The palace shook from the impact.
To me, this was ancient history coming to life after lying dormant for eons and killing people. To Curran and Conlan, it was much more. My father was right about one thing: every one of us had roots.
“DAUGHTER! DO YOU NOT CARE FOR YOUR CHILD?”
The full power of his magic reverberated through me. Ouch.
“It’s the origin of his bloodline.”
“I AM THE ORIGIN OF HIS BLOODLINE!”
The palace trembled again.
“One of the origins. He isn’t a clone of you, Father. He is a prince of Shinar, but he is also a First, and his animal counterpart hasn’t walked the planet for over ten thousand years. This may be his only chance to experience the world as it had been.”
Roland glared at me.
Nobody knew what we would find in the forest. Whatever it was could vanish once we took down the power ruling over it. Conlan would likely never again see it in his lifetime. Ice Age mammals didn’t exactly pop out of nowhere every day like daisies.
Penderton was dangerous. But I had made up my mind. Conlan was a child, but he was a child of two trained killers. He would be fine.
“You may come.”
Conlan grinned ear to ear and vanished.
My father’s face was terrible.
A mountain rose in the distance, split in half with a thunderous crack, and spewed molten lava. Roland strode to the rail and gazed at it. I came to stand next to him. We watched the eruption for a while, with a stream of glowing lava flowing to the sea and very considerately avoiding the gardens. Minutes ticked by.
The eruption seemed to ebb.
“Feel better?” I asked carefully.
“Not appreciably, no. This is a terrible idea. You are putting the boy in real danger. You and that savage you call your spouse blundered into something you cannot comprehend and now you will allow my grandson to join you on this idiotic quest. Can you at least understand that?”
“What would you do in my place?”
He faced me. “I would face the threat that dared to challenge me. I would erase them from the face of the planet. They do not belong here. Their time has passed, and they have no claim to the land or the lives of the people who inhabit it. They didn’t come bearing gifts. They came demanding tribute. But I am not you. I do not willfully shackle myself, denying the power my family sacrificed so much to obtain.”
Again with the shackles. Him and Jushur, two peas in a pod.
“Have you ever offered a servant a drink?”
He glanced at me. “Why would I do that?”
Jushur was right. My father was the king atop his mountain. He never forgot who he was or where he came from… Oh.
“Sometimes I think we’ve reached an understanding,” I said. “And then you manipulate me like this.”
He didn’t say anything.
“You focused my attention on our ancestry, trying to guilt-trip me, and then, when Conlan told us about the Ice Age, you saw an opportunity, so you dramatically forbade me from letting him join us in Penderton, knowing that if you gave me an ultimatum, I would be inclined to do the exact opposite.”
“Your point?”
“You gambled with your grandson’s safety for a chance to push me into doing something I don’t want to do.”
“No, I bet on your maternal love. Even without my nudge, you wouldn’t deny him this chance to see the source of his power. It would be cruel, and you were never that, Blossom. One way or another, you would’ve allowed him to join you, and once he’s there, you will use everything in your arsenal to protect him, including the powers of your bloodline that you are trying so hard and pointlessly to reject.”
“Why are you so hung up on it?”
“Because you insist on hobbling yourself. Your fear of following in my footsteps cripples you. You don’t have to be me, Blossom. You don’t have to be your aunt. Our bloodline has produced many great rulers, benevolent, just, enlightened. Shinar was the beacon of progress and safety long before any of us were born. You must keep your chosen people safe. It is your duty, and your sword has limits.”
The volcano smoothed itself out into verdant mountains, as if it were never there.
“We both know what you have to do to save that town. Your son’s presence there is just the excuse you need to justify it to yourself. I gave you that excuse. Knowing you and the boy were safe would make me sleep better at night.”
