Leena
The library was quiet, thanks to the late hour. The clusters of bookshelves softened the creak and moan of the winter wind seeping through the walls. But at least it was warm. A rycrim heater hummed nearby, dumping heat into the space and eliminating the need for a fire. Something we never would’ve dared to light for fear of accidentally igniting the massive tree trunk that housed our library.
Kaori had a book open in her hands, but she flipped the pages absently, her eyes focused elsewhere. She tipped her head in greeting to Noc and me as we entered before returning it to a shelf. Reclining in the nearest chair, Calem quietly watched Kaori’s stiff movements. Oz and Kost sat next to him, and a low, inaudible conversation flowed between them. Raven bustled around lighting a handful of floating rycrim orbs, their somber glow basking the space in a soft light.
Sliding into one of the wooden chairs, I placed my parents’ bestiaries on the table.
Kaori’s eyes went impossibly wide. Raven froze as Kost and Oz’s conversation came to a screeching halt. Calem’s mouth fell open. Noc was quiet behind me, his hand heavy on my shoulder and fingers tense. Pulling strength from his touch, I swallowed once before meeting each of the Council members’ gazes.
“These belong to my parents.”
For an eternity, no one spoke. Only stared. Then, Kost cleared his throat. “You’re absolutely positive?”
“Yes.” The word soured my tongue, and I swallowed thickly. “Even if they weren’t, would it matter? Yazmin has clearly found the Charmers she said Wilheim has been hunting. My parents can’t be the only ones.”
Kaori blanched and gripped the chair before her for support. Calem subtly in shifted her direction, the beginnings of a crease forming along his forehead.
Raven bit out a curse. “Leena’s right. It’s not like Yazmin just found a pair of bestiaries to send us. They burn away soon after the Charmer dies.”
A memory of Gaige’s bestiary turning to ash sparked in my mind. It’d been such a horrifying moment, but only because he’d been there to witness it. Rebirth, apparently, wasn’t something we were ever supposed to experience.
“Which means they have to be alive,” Oz mumbled. He looked at me then with such sorrowful eyes that it was hard to maintain composure.
Calem dragged his gaze away from Kaori to glare at the pendants. “So, what do we do?”
“I’m not sure we can do anything.” Noc was barely audible. “Not yet.”
Something snapped in Kaori, and she pushed away from the chair to brace her hands on the table. “Are you out of your mind?” Her fingers turned bone white as she leaned forward more. Her outburst was everything I wanted to feel. Everything I wanted to express. But I was strangely numb. My limbs were lead, and everyone was speaking through cotton. I knew what they were saying. Knew how it was supposed to make me feel, but it just didn’t register. It was all dull compared to the all-consuming anguish inside me. I’d had parents all these years, and I never knew.
Noc’s words were measured. “We would love to free them immediately. But I think this is Yazmin’s way of trying to bait us into a compromising situation.”
Mercury veins—so like the hue of Calem’s eyes—crept down Kaori’s right hand and wrapped her fingers like rings. The wood beneath her grip gave a definitive groan. Calem immediately stood and moved closer to her. He placed his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. She blinked, then shook her head, and the veins receded.
“I’m with Kaori on this one,” Raven said, jaw ticking. Ire flashed through her eyes. Her desire for vengeance hadn’t subsided, and her words were edged. “I said I’d fight anywhere, under any circumstances. Now seems like a good time to me.”
Oz grimaced. “We can’t do that, Raven.”
“And why not?” she ground out.
“I want Yazmin to get what’s coming to her just like you do,” Oz said, giving her a long look, “but we need to think about this. She’s playing at something, we just don’t know what.”
Kost pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. “Did the note say anything else?”
“No,” I said. “Nothing.” No one spoke. This was a riddle we couldn’t possibly solve, and suddenly all I wanted to do was scream. Gone was my inability to process, to feel, and now I was hot all over and angry. Angry at the world for taking my parents. Angry for the Council exiling me when they did. For Yazmin turning against us. Years of injustice piled up and I just wanted to knock it all down. My hand formed a tight fist by my side, and power flooded to my emblem. Rosewood light exploded around me, and for a moment I just reveled in it.
“Leena.” Noc’s words were soft against my ear. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay.” My glow harshened. I stood up and paced, unable to sit still any longer. “None of this is okay. I don’t know what to do. How am I supposed to fix this? How do I know she won’t kill them like she did Eilan and Tristan?” Raven winced at the mention of her deceased lover, but didn’t interrupt my tirade. I turned to Noc then, tears lining my eyes. “Tell me what to do. Tell me.”
Noc’s expression broke, and he placed both hands on my cheeks. “I wish I knew.”
A hot tear slipped down my face, and my power receded. I wanted to get lost in his eyes, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t escape this awful truth. Before I could think of anything to say, Noc went rigid. He jerked his head toward the open entrance of the library. A moment later, a smooth, deep voice that was achingly familiar floated through the air.
“I might have an idea. If I’m still allowed to speak.”
Everyone turned then. There, standing a few feet away, was Gaige. With wild, unkempt hair and bags beneath his eyes, he was a little worse for wear, but otherwise sound. His tunic was torn, as if something had slashed through the sleeves. Shadows dripped from his frame, still far from being completely controlled. But he’d somehow masked his presence, at least from me. Noc had detected him, but only a moment before he appeared. Kost inhaled sharply as he took a hesitant step forward.
I don’t know where the urge came from, but one moment I was standing frozen in utter shock and the next I was bolting toward him. My arms clutched him so tightly he coughed in my ear. I burrowed my face into his cloak. At first, he didn’t respond. His hands wavered above my back before finally connecting, and he dipped his head to my shoulder.
Voice gruff, he spoke only to me. “I’m sorry I took so long.”
“I don’t care. I’m just glad you’re here.” Stepping back, I wiped away tears with the back of my hand and gestured to the group. “We all are.”
“You foul, horrible, terrible”—Raven’s feeble attempt at anger broke as she strode toward us—“insane idiot. I’m so fucking glad you’re back.” She forced a hug out of him, too, and then released her grip. “You don’t know… You don’t know what it was like without you. What it did to me…to the Charmers.” She recovered quickly, but there was no mistaking what she’d clearly meant to say. For someone who’d lost so much already, having Gaige essentially walk out on her was a blow she hadn’t prepared for.
“Gaige.” Kaori’s exclamation was near breathless. “Thank the gods.” She was much slower to come around the table, but eventually met us halfway and wrapped him in a quick hug.
“You’re certainly a sight for sore eyes,” Calem said with a slight smile.
“I didn’t mean to cause so much alarm. I just… Well, I found something, but it’s not as important as this. We can discuss it later.” His fingers absently grazed his jaw before he turned his steel-blue gaze on Kost. Aside from his initial shock, Kost hadn’t moved a muscle. Tension racked his frame, and unspoken emotions raged in his eyes.
Noc glanced between the two of them before joining us and offering Gaige a firm handshake. “The transition is tough. On all of us.”
He didn’t need to target Kost with his words for me to understand that last part was meant for his second-in-command.
Gaige seemed to catch on, too, and relief soothed some of the lines forming canyons across his forehead. “Thank you for understanding.”
“I think I pummeled a few innocent assassins for looking at me wrong when I was first raised,” Oz said with a shrug. “Calem was worse.”
“Hey now,” Calem exclaimed. “Let’s not go there.”
“The point is,” Noc said, regaining control of the conversation, “you’re back. And you’re certainly still a member of this Council in my book.”
“Absolutely.” I nodded and gripped Gaige’s forearm, dragging him toward the table. “And we need your insight now more than ever.”
Gaige’s eyes found the bestiaries. “I heard most of what you were discussing before I emerged from the shadows. I do think Noc is right. We can’t rush at this problem headfirst. Yazmin is trying to provoke us. She wants you to race to the castle in search of them so she can dispose of you before you interfere again.”
“You think we should leave them there, too?” Kaori asked, voice stiff.
A glimmer of understanding passed between them. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. My friendship with Kaori was fairly new, but Gaige had known her for years. He understood things about her past, about who she was beneath her calm exterior, that I couldn’t possibly guess at.
He let out a long sigh. “I wish it were different, but the truth of the matter is we don’t know what we’d be walking into. We don’t even know what state they’re in.”
“State?” Kost wielded the single word like a blade.
Gaige met his icy stare. “Yes. State. It’s very rare for a Charmer to willingly give up their bestiary. For example, I’ve only done it twice.” He gave me a knowing look, and I recalled the time he’d handed me his bestiary as we searched for ways to eradicate Cruor’s Oath from Noc’s wrist. “Did she harm them to get the bestiaries? Were they already harmed? Or did they give them up willingly? We simply can’t say. Attacking without that knowledge is dangerous.”
Kaori’s chin slumped to her chest. “I hate it when you’re right.”
“But there might be another way to use this to our advantage.” Gingerly, he picked up the closest bestiary. My father’s. “I’m not sure Yazmin realizes the gift she’s unintentionally given us.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“The beast realm.” He glanced at all of us, waiting for us to catch on. When we didn’t, he set the bestiary down and began to pace. “There are a few things we know to be true about the realm. One, when a Charmer visits the beast realm, they will exit at the exact same point where they entered. In other words, we can’t magically travel across this world by doing so in the realm. Two, the realm is massive. It’s rare to spot another Charmer—unless that Charmer is one’s anam-cara or related by blood.”
He came to a full stop before me and waited. Thoughts clicked into place in my mind like cogs in a wheel, one by one. Adrenaline crawled slowly up my limbs, and my lips parted in disbelief. “I can reach my parents through the beast realm. But how, if they’re not there?”
“It’s a theory that’s never been tested, but you have their bestiaries. You can travel to the realm and try to connect with their beasts. And one of them—”
“Can force their way out,” I said, words tumbling out in excitement. I thought of all the times Dominus had opened the door on his own, how young Charmers just learning to hone their skills often lost control of their beasts entering and exiting the realm. How it happened with Calem and Effie, Oz and Jax.
“More than that, there’s a chance you can follow them through the door when it opens,” Gaige said.
“This”—Kaori struggled to find words—“is unheard of.”
“Is it really possible?” Raven echoed, her words no more than a whisper.
“We won’t know until we try,” Gaige said. “I’ve never been able to verify the theory because Charmers so rarely remove their bestiaries, and only family members even have a chance of encountering each other or their beasts in the realm.”
“How is this the first time we’re hearing of this? As Council members?” Kaori asked.
Gaige lifted a shoulder and offered a weak smile. “Because I never told the Council? It’s a family secret. Supposedly one of my ancestors performed the act to get back to their loved ones. It’s an old story we were all told when we came of age and were sworn to protect it. Again, I haven’t proven it, as the only ‘family’ I have left is you all here.”
Power once again surged through me, and I channeled everything I had into my symbol. Rosewood light fractured around me as the sound of the beast realm door opening washed over us. “I’ll test it right now. We can save my parents. We can save all the Charmers in Wilheim. They can even join us in our fight, assuming—”
“Wait.” Noc gripped my arm and begged me to meet his pleading gaze. “We need to think this through.”
Slowly, Gaige nodded. “He’s right. I’m not saying we don’t give this a shot. Otherwise I wouldn’t have mentioned it. But we don’t even know exactly where your parents are. What if you suddenly appear in the very throne room of Wilheim?”
My gaze flicked between them.
“I’m not saying don’t go, don’t try…” Noc let his hand fall away. “I would never rob you of that. But I’m asking you to take some time before you rush into this. Please.”
Taking a deep breath, I considered his words. I wasn’t just a Charmer anymore—I was the Crown of the Council and soon-to-be queen of Lendria. My responsibility was first and foremost to my people. All of my people. If I raced off to rescue my parents, I would be putting myself in danger. All Noc was doing was looking out for my safety so I could continue to guide and protect others. We needed a plan, and then we could act. Calling back my power, I wrapped an arm around his waist and nodded.
“Okay, Noc.”
He held me tight and placed a featherlight kiss on the crown of my head. “Thank you.”
“Yazmin won’t do anything rash right away—that would be counterproductive. She’s baiting you, Leena.” With that, Gaige let out a sigh that suggested he hadn’t slept in days. “For now, I’d like to clean up and get some much-needed sleep. I suggest you do the same in case we do move forward with this tomorrow. Let’s regroup in the morning.”
“Works for me,” Calem said through a stifling yawn.
“We’ll need to meet with Isla, too, at some point about our joint strategy with Rhyne’s forces.” Noc rubbed the back of his neck, attempting to chase away the tightness that had gathered there. “There are a lot of moving parts.”
“Sounds like we all need to be well rested, then.” Kost abruptly made his way toward the exit. “See you in the morning.” He walked out without another word.
If Gaige was flustered by Kost’s sudden departure, he didn’t show it. In fact, he already appeared half-asleep as he too mumbled a good night and left the library, Kaori, Raven, Calem, and Oz close behind him.
Pulling me tight against his chest, Noc wrapped me in another hug. There was nothing but love in his embrace, and I never wanted to jeopardize that. Nuzzling against him, I breathed in his honeyed scent and the last of my rattled nerves settled. I wasn’t sure how much sleep I’d actually get, knowing my parents were out there, but at least he was by my side. We’d come up with a plan. We’d use my parents’ bestiaries to sneak into Wilheim and rescue not only them, but all the captive Charmers.