“I’m not sure. We didn’t get to talk about it before Niethal interrupted us. Last I spoke with her, she was overwhelmed by everything, and who can blame her?”
I’ve replayed our last conversation over and over again, and I can’t help but pick it apart. It’s torture not knowing how she feels.
“I’ve never heard of anything like this,” Mikal says, shifting forward to sit on the edge of the bed with his feet on the floor. “If I didn’t know you, I’d think you’d lost your mind. Well, you’ve never been quite right in the head, but still.”
“Any ideas, brothers?” I glance at the others, but no one speaks.
After a moment, Liam leans on the arm of his chair and rubs his chin. “What if you’re mates?”
Thom blanches at him. “Mates? You can’t be serious. Do you believe every bedtime story you’ve ever been told?”
Liam rubs the back of his neck and presses his lips tight. “Those stories came from somewhere.”
“Oh?” Thom lifts a blond brow. “How many mated pairs have you met?”
Liam sinks back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest and frowns. “None.”
“How about the rest of you? Have any of you met a mated couple?” Thom asks as he scans the room.
Corren rubs his jaw, looking thoughtful. “I can’t say that I have.”
Thom looks at Mikal next, but he shakes his head, and when Thom turns toward me, I do the same.
No, I have never met or heard of mated pairs in my family or others. Mates are a children’s bedtime story or elder’s grand tale—so extremely rare, they are all but myths. That, and none of what’s described in those stories matches what is between me and Grace.
Thom runs a hand back through his hair and lets out a heavy sigh. “There is a rational explanation for what is between you and Grace. We just need to find it.”
He’s right. There must be a logical answerfor what this connection is. Mates, that would be too… perfect.
Damn it.
I need to talk to her and figure out what this is between us. But what if she wants nothing to do with me? My chest tightens at the thought.
“Any word on when the first meeting with Niethal and the other kings is?” I ask as I roll my neck from side to side, loosening the tension.
“Not yet, but I’m sure it will be early tomorrow. Niethal can’twaitto hear himself talk,” Corren says. The others chuckle, but I’m in no such mood. While telling them about the connection with Grace was necessary, it only brought more questions than answers.
Tired of standing, I slump into the last empty chair and stare at the lit fireplace, but the raging reds and oranges remind me of Grace, of her flames and agony. I turn from the fire to face the others. “Now, on to the other pressing issues. What terrible information did you find?”
Thom’s smile from moments ago fades, and a bleak mood envelops the room. “After finishing our first rounds on the main level, we split off to search the upper floors. I found stacks of history texts in an office on the second-upper level. Some of the books were old, Isiah.Ancient, even. One book of interest was about Anaeris and how Gabriel and Alessandra took the relics from noble families during the war and stored them in a vault beneath the city. They promised to return them once the fighting was over, but we know how that went.”
I lean on the arm of the chair, resting my chin in my hand, and squint. “My father has mentioned our family’s relic was among those destroyed with the city. But he made it sound as if it held no actual power, only sentimental value.”
Thom nods. “The book didn’t say which relics were in the vault or what power they held, but it did claim Anaeris was not destroyed.”
My mouth slackens as I stare at him. “What do you mean, notdestroyed? That’s what history says to be true. None can find it, and if it were there, we could sense it.”
Thom shrugs. “Well, the book says the city wasnotdestroyed, that Gabriel and Alessandra created the borders, then sealed Anaeris in blood magic that magically wiped it off the map. They had to stab themselves in the hearts to create it, and when they died, they took the only method for removing both barriers to their graves.”
Liam and Corren stare off at nothing, at a loss for words, but Mikal tilts his head and questions, “But why go to the trouble of hiding the city? You know what? Maybe they wanted to hide the relics to prevent the rebels from getting their hands on them.”
Liam stirs from his daze. “Mikal is right. The relics could fit. Maybe they are powerful enough to warrant hiding.”
Mikal’s mouth falls open, and he touches his chest before letting out a bark of laughter. “Please tell me everyone heard him say I was right.”
Liam glares at Mikal. “Don’t let it go to your head. Even idiots get the answer right occasionally. It wasn’t difficult to piece together.”
Mikal’s voice rises with giddiness. “I will never forget this. And I’ll make sure you don’t, either.”