42. Tezya
FORTY-TWO
TEZYA
This was it. I was going to get Rumor back. It was risky using Rainer’s lightning, but it would be our best bet at breaking through Arcane’s shield—our only chance. Both of my siblings were air users. But while Dovelyn was better at invisibility, Arcane thrived with protection shields. They were nearly impenetrable.
I knew Rainer’s lightning would work. It’d get through Arcane’s shield and keep him on the ground long enough for us to capture him. He wouldn’t risk conjuring his wings if there was a threat of losing them. Both my siblings loved flying—it was something I used to be envious of as a child—and Rainer’s lightning would fry my brother’s wings down to the bone, making it so he’d never be able to use them again.
But his powers could just as easily harm her .
There were too many things that could go wrong. I hated the plan, but I didn’t have a choice. With Sie’s compulsion, I wasn’t allowed to get Rumor myself and this was the only way everyone else had agreed to let me rescue her. This had to work.
Please don’t let her get hurt.
I knew Arcane was going to bring someone with him. Even though we both agreed to come alone, he wasn’t stupid enough to follow through without backup. He also knew me better to know I wouldn’t either. And he wasn’t going to waste his reserve on making them invisible—it would all be going into his shield to separate Rumor from me—so whoever he showed up with would be all he brought.
I just couldn’t wrap my head around who it would be. It was throwing me off. He didn’t have any friends in Lux, and I knew it was intentional. He didn’t want to risk having a weakness for his father to exploit. He only ever hung out in our friend group. It was how he met Wells. He was the only person who managed to get under my brother’s skin. Arcane’s emotional walls were just as strong as the physical shields he created.
And since I had no idea who he was going to show up with today, I had no way of preparing. Arcane knew all my friends. He knew all their powers and what they were capable of. He knew Rainer would be the only one who could get past his shields. It was why he agreed to this. He didn’t think I’d use him, not with Scottie involved, not when using his lightning was just as likely to harm her as it would save her. I still couldn’t believe we were using him…
Rainer spent the entire week training, trying to strike a target without creating a rippling effect, but it wasn’t enough.
This will work. Rumor won’t get hurt.
I couldn’t stand still.
Maybe love blinded you, caused you to act without thinking properly. Rationality was gone. Maybe that was exactly what I was doing now, except I was putting my friends in the crossfire and setting Scottie up for worse.
“If you keep fidgeting, you’re going to blow our cover,” Wells whispered. “And that’s coming from someone who compulsively can’t stop moving.”
“He’ll be here soon,” my sister’s voice sounded from my right even though I couldn’t see her .
Dovelyn, Sie, and Rainer were all nearby, hidden under her invisibility. But while Sie and Rainer were behind us, waiting in the cover of the clearing for his signal to teleport, Dovelyn was standing out in the open.
Wells and I were the only ones who weren’t under my sister’s invisibility.
Peter, Savannah, and Kallon were further back in the woods where Kal had a portal set up.
We were all ready, but I couldn’t calm down. My pulse was quickening. I kept opening and closing my fist, feeling my scar against my palm. I forced myself to take a breath and glance around. A dense fog was rolling down the hill, obstructing a lot of my view. Savannah was right to suggest the spot. The clearing in front of us was open enough that Arcane couldn’t have hidden anyone without coming here prior and knowing he was at the broadcast made me confident he didn’t have time for it. The forest behind us was just far enough for Sie’s teleportation to reach and thick enough that my brother wouldn’t sense Kallon’s portal through the wind. If needed, we could lose Arcane in the foliage. And with the dense fog lingering, he wouldn’t be able to track us by flying. It was as perfect as we could get it.
But retreating wasn’t an option, not for me. I wasn’t leaving without her. We never settled on something without a plan B or a means to escape if things went to shit. It was just a plan if things went wrong…
Things wouldn’t go wrong. I wasn’t leaving without her.
Don’t get hurt. Please Pylemo, let us pull this off.
“Do you think he’ll come alone?” Sie asked, his voice coming from the tree cover.
I shook my head, knowing he was able to see me just fine even if I couldn’t see him.
Dovelyn answered. “He’ll have to fly here. Scotlind’s tiny, but my brother isn’t known for his strength. He won’t be able to carry more than two people.”
“And he’s going to make it on time?” I could hear the doubt in Sie’s voice.
“Yes,” I answered, the conversation distracting me enough to calm my nerves. At least it was something to focus on. “He uses the wind below and behind him. It helps keep him up and allows him to fly faster at the same time.”
We were silent after that. The wait for Arcane to show up with Scottie felt like an eternity.
Then, when I couldn’t wait any longer, my heart stopped. Arcane landed before me, his large slate-feathered wings flapped the swirling mist around him. But he was alone. Scotlind wasn’t with him.
Arcane eyed me before his gaze traveled longingly to Wells. I sent a silent prayer to Pylemo that he’d be too distracted to pick up on Rainer and Sie. He let his gaze linger there for a moment too long before he spoke, “I don’t know why you bother to hide, sister. The wind is telling me you’re here.”
Dovelyn materialized with a sly grin, but she kept Rainer and Sie hidden in their spots. “I’ve missed you, Ar.”
I didn’t give him time to respond. “Where is she?”
Arcane folded his arms across his chest at the same time he dispersed his feathery wings. “You would have to think I’m a fool to bring her right away.”
I half growled. “What do you mean?” I could feel her. The only times I couldn’t was when she was wearing Alluse, and I was certain she wasn’t wearing any now. I didn’t say anything to anyone, but I felt our connection growing stronger and stronger the closer Arcane got. It was adding to my paranoia because all I was getting from her was terror and confusion. I thought it’d give her peace of mind to feel me, but instead it was doing the opposite. The further she got from Lux, the worse her feelings became, and I couldn’t understand why .
I kept trying to telepathically reach out to her. I swore it was working, but I never got a response back, like something was stopping her from speaking, even in her mind, and that had my gut wrenching.
“I mean, I know you, Tez, and I know Wells. As tempting as your offer was, and,” he looked at Wells again, “even though I know you love the Luxian city, I didn’t for a second believe you’d willingly come back with me.”
“Then why did you come?” Dovelyn asked.
“Call it curiosity.” He shrugged. “I wanted to see what you’re playing at, besides getting Scotlind back, why did you reach out to me? And,” he added a tad softer, “I wanted to see him.”
“You know, you could have come back to the camp at any time,” Wells said, his tone icy. “I don’t understand why you stay with him.”
Hearing Wells speak for the first time had Arcane looking up. I knew their last fight was about the same thing. It was the fight that ended their relationship and caused Arcane to avoid the camp for the past three years. They fought over the Lux King, about not agreeing on what next steps to take, and what was right. Wells never spoke about it. He acted like their relationship never happened afterward. I only knew the entirety of their conversation because of my heightened hearing.
“You know why I’m doing this.”
Wells took a step forward. “Ar, if there’s any good left in you, please just stop working for him and come back to the camp.”
The smoke and fog swirled around my brother. “Any good left in me, Wells? Do you even know why I’m doing this? Do you know what I’m sacrificing by staying in Lux?” Arcane shifted, and I noticed his wince, how he stood rigid with his back straight. Athler must have brought him down to the dungeons recently. But for what? Arcane rarely acted out. He was the angel child between the three of us and tried to avoid displeasing the King for the sole purpose of avoiding the punishments that followed.
“Can’t you see I’m doing this for us ? They,” Arcane gestured toward Dovelyn and me, “want to someday go back to Allium or to whatever new planet they can claim as their own. They want to leave Earth. Do you know what that means, Wells? It means I would never get to see you again. Our kind needs to stay here, we can’t leave. But in order for that to happen, for us to be together, we need to make our presence known. We need to—”
“I know what your father is planning,” Wells interrupted. “He plans to overthrow my kind. It doesn’t matter how much I love you, nothing is worth that . Nothing is worth the lives of millions of humans.” Tears slid down Wells’ chestnut cheeks at the same time Dovelyn shifted from foot to foot. This conversation felt too personal to be having while everyone listened. I could feel the palpitating emotions coursing through my brother and Wells. They both had pent-up feelings that had been building and building over the last three years.
“You would risk millions of innocent lives just to stay here with me?” Wells’ tears turned to anger. “For what, Arcane? A blink in your own very, very long lifespan? You know you’ll outlive me. I’ll be gone. Dead. And you and your father would have destroyed our Earth in the process. You would have him control and enslave humans, murdering anyone who wouldn’t submit? This would carry on for centuries, maybe forever, long after I’d be six feet under.”
“Stop—”
“If you still think I’d want to be with you after all of that, after what you plan to do to my kind, you’re a fool, and you already lost me.”
“I said STOP!” Arcane screamed. The fog rose and shot into the sky as the wind swirled around us. I planted my feet, so I wouldn’t fall over. I couldn’t risk him sensing Rainer. Dovelyn only stayed put using her own abilities. But Wells staggered. His hands flew up to his face to prevent his glasses from falling off. When the mist cleared, Arcane collected himself. “I wouldn’t let it get that far. I’m going to stop him before he tries to enslave the humans. I’m on your side.”
“No, you aren’t,” Wells snapped, and I’d never seen him so riled, so firm about something. “If you’re still working for your father, you aren’t on our side.”
“I’m not working for him. It’s just easier, for now, to pretend I am. I have a plan. A plan that will allow both of our kinds to live in peace. We wouldn’t have to flee. We wouldn’t have to search for another planet. We could live together and be happy.”
“Humans would never be okay with this,” Well said. “They won’t react well to meeting your kind. They fear the unknown. A war would be inevitable. I don’t want to spend my life having to fight against you. And it’s safer for your kind too… The humans have weapons that could kill an Advenian, regardless of your prolonged lifespan. We possess machinery that could take you all out in seconds, and anyone they don’t kill, they’d study and research. You’d be no better than one of the vials in our lab. Either side winning would be detrimental to the other. Can’t you see that?”
“It won’t be like that. I’m working on something, on a serum. It’ll allow for mass compulsion. When we come out to the public, I’d use the serum alongside a compulsion user. I’d get them to listen, to stand down. I’d make them realize we can live together, that we mean no harm. They’d welcome us with open arms. We could have real peace.”
I shifted. I knew Arcane was working on a mass compulsion serum by the King’s orders. I just had no idea why he had agreed to it. Not that Arcane could refuse orders, but he could have told him it wasn’t possible. When the King asked about it at one of our mandatory family dinners, Arcane perked up. I had no idea why at the time, but now it made sense. It was all for Wells, even if it was delusional thinking .
Wells looked just as taken aback. “At what cost?” he breathed. “You think it’s better to take away our own ability to think? That’s called brainwashing. Tell me, Ar, would you use compulsion on me too?” Arcane flinched at Wells’ words. “I don’t agree with you, so you’d have to compel me. According to you, there’s no harm in that, right?”
When Arcane didn’t answer, Wells continued, “Don’t lie to me. You know your father won’t be happy with ruling alongside the humans. Besides the fact that he regards us as nothing, it’s not just about him wanting more land for his people. He wants control. He wants to rule, and he wants power. He wants to overthrow everything.”
“I know,” Arcane said desperately, his voice rising. “We’d stop him before it gets to that point.”
“Why did you let us go, Arcane?” Dovelyn asked, drawing the conversation away before Wells could respond. “Because you did let us go. Athler had Scotlind when you came after us, and then you just stopped.”
Arcane sighed, forcing his gaze away from Wells to look at our sister. “Dove, if Father ever gets his hands on you or Tez again, you’ll wish you were dead. I don’t want that for either of you. You don’t understand how livid he was when he realized what you both had done. He already has Athler preparing for your return—” He didn’t need to finish for Dove and I to understand what he meant. If we were captured, we’d both be locked up for decades, maybe longer, and he wouldn’t go easy on our punishment.
“Where’s Scottie?” I asked again, not able to take it any longer. I knew she was nearby, I could feel it, feel her, and I had to see her. “Is she hurt?” The question was burning on my tongue. I couldn’t make out her emotions.
“She’s fine. More mentally abused than physically.”
“If you hurt her—” I started to growl, not believing his words, but he cut me off .
“I didn’t. I said she’s fine, and I mean it. I only sampled her blood. Beyond some daily needle pokes, she’s unharmed.” He paused for a moment, seeming to question if he wanted to tell me more.
“Spit it out.”
He sighed. “I know you’re bonded and so does the King, but it’s better if he doesn’t understand to what extent.”
“What do you mean by that?” I snapped.
“You don’t know?” He looked genuinely shocked, then a smirk formed on his lips. “Interesting. I don’t think she knows either.”
“Where the fuck is she, Arcane?”
My brother met my gaze for a long moment before he arched his back, calling back his wings. “I’m here to make peace, Tez. If you try anything, you’ll regret it.” Then he lifted off the ground and flew away.
I waited, holding my breath, until he came back.
Please don’t let her get hurt.
Three minutes passed and then—
Arcane flew overhead. I saw him carrying two people beneath his wings, but I couldn’t make out who the second person was yet. I didn’t care. All I could focus on was her as he landed on the grassy patch before us.
She was here, right in front of me. It felt like my soul was being put back together, like I could finally breathe for the first time in weeks. It took everything in me not to rush to her. Until I saw him , saw who was holding her. Everything clicked. Her fear, her emotions…
“I thought you agreed to come alone.” My voice was a lethal calm, but inside I was fuming. I knew he wouldn’t. I knew my brother would have backup, but seeing who he brought woke something feral in me. Maybe it was the bond. Maybe it was from being away from her for too long or that I knew she was hurting and I couldn’t do anything about it .
“I know my limits, Tez. In battle, you beat me every time. I needed a way to talk to you, and a means of getting out of here too.”
“And you think he’d stop me?” I glared at the compulsion user who was holding Scottie hostage. She was in the same gown from the broadcast. I remembered every single detail of her from the screen. I kept replaying the image over and over again in my mind. Her blue eyes met mine as I scanned her from head to toe, checking for any injuries even though Arcane told me she was okay.
She was shaking, her chest moving rapidly sucking in air, but I couldn’t hear her breathe. I couldn’t hear anything.
“No, I don’t think he’d stop you. I brought Kole here because if you do anything stupid, he has orders you won’t like, things he’ll do to Scotlind.” On command, his grip tightened around her. Her mouth flew open like she was screaming, but no sounds were coming out.
“What did you do to her?” It took every ounce of self control I had to not go running toward her and rip her from his hands. But if I wanted to get her back, I had to let Rainer and Sie do the work. I just had to keep distracting him, keep him talking. It was the only reason I let Wells and Arcane go so long in the beginning. Rainer had to get ready, and by how much I was fuming, I didn’t even register that it started—
Kole and Arcane revolted, lightning twisted under their skin, leaving cauterizing marks. Scottie’s agony hit me a second later, the electricity consuming her. I could feel it inside me, running through my own veins, shocking me to my core, and even though I was left unharmed, her pain was destroying me.
The next second, Scottie was gone. I felt Rainer’s power fade as she was ripped from Kole, leaving him writhing in agony alone on the snow-covered grass.
It would be harder with Kole here, but the thought of holding him captive at the end of this had me fleeing into action. The lingering effects of Rainer’s power felt more electric now, jolting me awake. Sie reappeared without Dove’s invisibility, and I sighed in relief as he nodded. The single gesture let me know she was safe. The first half of our plan worked. The half that mattered most to me, and I was really going to enjoy the second half.
Sie tossed me a set of Alluse shackles, the metal felt wrong in my hands, and I thanked the Goddess Kallon thought of bringing an extra pair. Sie lunged toward my brother, while I went for Kole, neither of us saying a word. Rainer kept his ability focused on both of them, leaving them defenseless on the ground.
I knew it was taxing for him. Rainer struggled with maintaining his power, and the fact that this entire clearing wasn’t crashing with lightning was enough to tell me he’d been practicing and getting better at his control. Rainer didn’t stop until Sie and I had Arcane and Kole locked under the Alluse chains.
We both grinned madly at each other, probably looking half-crazed as Rainer’s powers started to subside.
And it might have been the first genuine smile I ever shared with the Dark Prince.