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Chapter Twenty
The world seemed to recede around me, and there was zero doubt that this would work. Evan was as much a queen as her mother, and Gladys approved of her blood.
The first time the queen and I had worked this magic, Gladys had shown us our history, flashing us images of when we had been warriors, Amazons on the banks of the Thermodon. Gold magic had flowed through me, and I’d been suffused with a sense of joy.
Not so this time. This time the horror at what Evan had done was shoved back as a silvery cloud rushed over my brain and time seemed to still. Evan and I were caught in whatever her blood had unleashed, and I felt icy fingers move over my brain.
Myrddin. He was here. A piece of him, some echo that lived in his blood, now existed inside Gladys.
“Can you see her?” Evan’s voice reached out through the fog we found ourselves in. She was here with me because she was connected to Gladys. Because Gladys was lodged in her chest.
At first I thought Evan was talking about Gladys, and then I realized I wasn’t where I’d been before. I was standing in the Council House, the way it had been before I’d fallen through the painting.
Evan stepped back and she was healthy and whole, though I suspected that was an illusion, too.
Gladys soaked up power. I’d known that, but now I realized she could soak up memories, too, and she wanted us to see this one.
I was fairly certain we hadn’t been transported anywhere, that this was all taking place in my head or somewhere safe Gladys could take us to. A place where Evan wasn’t impaled on her. Where she wasn’t dying, and I was safe. I could feel we were protected here.
But someone wasn’t. Screams filled the hallway and the floor beneath me shook.
“This is the floor Mia lived on.” In this place Evan stood beside me and she was whole and healthy. She looked up and down the hallway. “Did we go back in time?”
I shook my head. “We didn’t go anywhere at all. We’re still in the Under, but Gladys wants us to see something. When this happened with your mother, she sent visions to us, visions of our history going back to the beginnings of the companions. It wasn’t like this though. It was like a movie playing through my head. This feels real. I suspect she wants to show us more recent history this time.”
“This is the day, isn’t it?” Evan asked with a grim certainty.
I nodded, not needing her to clarify. There was only one day this could be. “Yes. You’re somewhere up in the penthouse. Or perhaps you’ve already left for Italy at this point. I’m not sure about the timing.” I could feel something was coming, what she wanted us to see, but I had to face the elephant in the room. “Evan, what you did… I’m not sure you can survive that. I think you hit your heart.”
My gut twisted at the thought of losing Evan. I had to find a way to save her.
Her eyes stayed on the hallway. “They were going to kill Fen.”
“I don’t think Liv would have let that happen.” Liv seemed determined to keep him alive. “She knows I’ll never forgive her if she takes my son’s life.”
“Well, the other witches don’t care. They weren’t listening to her,” she said quietly. “Fen is uniquely vulnerable to magic. He can’t get the same tattoos we can that fight the influence. He loses them every time he changes, and his body even clears the ones with silver in the ink. We’ve tried everything. Fen being surrounded by witches is one of my nightmares. And Fen can be fast. He can get to dad’s blood. I can hold on. I don’t think it’s fully in my heart, but I’m having a hard time breathing. It’s odd to be outside my body but to still feel it. And I meant what I said. There was no other way.”
I wasn’t sure about that, but the door at the end of the hallway opened and suddenly a familiar man ran toward us, a blonde child clinging to him as he held her.
Felix and Mia Day.
“Can they see us? How can Gladys know what happened this day?” Evan asked.
Another thing I wasn’t sure about, and then I was.
“Dr. Day,” a deep voice said.
I turned and Myrddin stepped from behind us, proving beyond all doubt that we were purely in memory now. He completely ignored us, stepping in front of the door to the Day’s apartment and blocking them from safety.
Felix stopped on a dime, his blue eyes going wide as his arms tightened around his daughter. He stopped and tried to turn, but there was another witch behind him. I didn’t recognize her but her hand sparked with electricity.
“Stay back,” Felix ordered, but I wasn’t sure what kind of power he could put behind his will. He’d given up all his power when he’d opted for a mortal life.
“I’d like to know where the children are.” Myrddin wore plain black slacks and a dark shirt. He looked to be in the prime of his life, and perhaps when you’re immortal you always are. “Something’s happened to King Daniel, and I need to ensure the children are protected. Why is your daughter crying? Mia, dear, this is a good day. This is the day our kind has waited for centuries to see.”
“I want Lee, Daddy. I want to see Lee.” Mia buried her face in her father’s neck. “And Mommy.”
“Stay away from her,” Felix ordered, and I could see the rush of panic on his face. He was feet away from safety. His home was right there, and I was absolutely certain Sarah Day had turned that place into a fortress. But he hadn’t quite made it.
