Chapter 33
After Sam ended the call with Lauren, informing her where to meet him and Adila, he stepped into the courtyard of the Lux Palace, breathing in the night air.
He halted at the sight of Anastasia rushing across the grass toward the door.
Before entering, she glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes flared when they landed on Sam.
He could see her internal struggle with what to do, and without thinking, he closed the gap between them.
“Commander,” she said, bowing her head slightly, and her formal tone grated on him.
“Call me Sam, Anastasia,” he corrected her with what he hoped was a friendly smile.
Her nose wrinkled. “I will call you Sam if you call me Stassi. Only my parents call me Anastasia.”
He would do no such thing; her name was beautiful. “Why were you running? Are you late?” It was before dusk, and if the schedules were the same as the Umbra Palace, she was early.
Pursing her lips, she planted a hand on her hip. “Are you my keeper or something?”
“Yes,” he replied automatically and grimaced. Why did he say that?
She looked around and crept forward, lowering her voice. “Are you here to do more recon?”
“Not tonight,” he replied, attempting to keep the amusement off his face. “Have you heard anything of importance?”
She lightly shook her head. “No, but I work the night shift. Everyone is asleep, other than the staff.”
“I thank you for your willingness to help,” he told her, still in awe of her selflessness.
She regarded him, and he wanted to know her every thought. “Why do you speak like that?”
Any thought but that. “I do not speak like anything.” Did she consider his speech unpleasant? He never cared what others thought of him until her. The stress of everything must be getting to him.
“If you say so,” she muttered.
Her brown eyes turned to his, making her hair rustle with the movement, and he longed to touch it. It was thin but well cared for, and he thought it would be soft against his skin.
The slight lines next to her eyes told him she smiled a lot, and he wanted to see them crinkle with laughter. Did she have a husband who made her laugh often?
He scowled.
“Why are you staring at me?” she demanded, suddenly irritated.
“I find you to be pretty.” His answer caught her off guard, and he smirked.
“Thank you,” she replied, awarding him with a shy smile. “Are you always this blunt?”
The smile spreading across his face couldn’t be stopped. “I am honest.”
Looking away, she fought another smile.
The sun was almost gone, and he realized he was late for his meeting with Adila and Lauren. “I apologize, Anastasia, but I must leave.”
Turning, she started toward the palace and called over her shoulder, “Have a good night, Commander.”
He smiled the entire way to his destination.
When Sam approached the treehouse, Lauren stood at a window like a gargoyle statue. “It took you long enough.”
He ignored her and shifted into a bird to fly through the open hatch. If Lauren saw him get stuck, she would never let him live it down.
Adila looked around the treehouse, touching knickknacks left by the Raven sisters and Dume. “Someone comes here.” Her voice was quiet as she continued her perusal.
“Aurora Raven,” he replied, with no explanation.
Adila set down the figurine in her hand. “What are the odds?”
“I am not a mathematician,” he replied, making her frown. Did she expect him to calculate things when they had more important issues to discuss?
“Let’s get to the point,” Lauren said as she glared daggers at Adila. It occurred to Sam that he had never told her about his previous conversation with Adila. To her, the woman betrayed Caius. Lauren was loyal, and she would claw Adila’s eyes out if given a chance.
“It is not what you think,” Sam said, touching her shoulder. “Hear her out.”
Lauren pushed him off. “Then speak.”
Adila sighed. “I understand your anger, but I assure you, I have not intentionally harmed my brother.”
“Gedeon or Caius?” Lauren shot back.
Adila flinched. “Caius.” She took a calming breath and continued. “I knew Caius didn’t kill Atarah. He wouldn’t do that.”
“Why sentence him?” Sam asked. It was something he’d always wondered.
Holding her hands out, she shrugged helplessly. “He was accused of a crime, and therefore I had to give him a trial. Once a trial starts, I cannot override what the Scales of Justice decides, even if I don’t understand it.”
Lauren looked ready to pounce. “You are the Scales of Justice.”
Closing her eyes, Adila whispered to herself, likely asking for strength not to strangle Lauren.
“Yes, and no. I am called the Scales of Justice, but when someone is on trial, I am no longer myself. The power takes over, and the Scales of Justice judges the accused. I could not change the sentencing if I tried, and trust me, I tried.”
“But why?” Sam asked again. “He is innocent. Does your power give you a reason?”
“In a way.” She paused for a moment. “It’s hard to explain. I just know, and at my brother’s trial, I saw Caius’ beautiful golden soul darken before my very eyes.”
“You can’t see the souls of Royals,” Lauren interjected.
“You’re correct,” the Royal agreed. “But Caius was on trial. I have to see their souls when they’re on trial.
” She smiled sadly. “Caius would have tried to kill Gedeon. He was angry and hurt, whereas Gedeon was ruthless and cunning. Our brother would have anticipated Caius’ retaliation, and he would have killed him.
” She looked off, almost in a daze. “Why it was five-hundred years, I’m not sure. All I knew was he needed something.”
Leaning against the wall, Lauren crossed her arms. “Needed something?” Her voice lost its edge.
“I didn’t know.” Adila gave them a meaningful look. “Until three months ago.”
Sam and Lauren both stood at attention. “Rory,” Lauren concluded.
“Aurora? Yes. I don’t know why or how he needs her, just that he does.”
“Even pissed off, Caius would have won against Gedeon,” Sam argued, unable to push the thought from his mind. “Gedeon could not have known Atarah’s power would pass to him. Caius had years to learn to control his power.”
“He killed Atarah.” Adila and Sam looked at Lauren, who stared back at them like they were idiots. “He killed her with only a dagger, and she could have turned him to ash. Do not underestimate him. Ever.”
The three stared at each other. Sam didn’t understand why the Seraphim waited five-hundred years to send Rory to Caius, or why Adila’s power didn’t think he could kill Gedeon. Why not send his Aeternum immediately, and why did they give Gedeon the Lux power, anyway?
Nothing the creators did made sense to him.
“Rory wants to speak with you,” Lauren told Adila. “Her memories are back, and she wants you to send her back to Vincula.”
“Her memories are back? When?” Sam barked before Adila could reply. Lauren glared at him.
Did Caius know? If so, why did he not inform him? Sam wondered. The king was distracted earlier, but something as crucial as Rory regaining her memories shouldn’t have slipped his mind. He’d not been the same since Rory left, and Sam was afraid he was headed to a place where he could not be saved.
“Yesterday,” Lauren answered. “We went to Max, and I gave him a little boost. It worked.”
Sam stared at her incredulously. “A boost? You could have killed them both.” An Angel’s power was beyond anything in the realms, and if too much was used, it would destroy everything.
Using it on a mystic was a risk. Sam had considered helping Caius, but the amount needed to complete his task would kill him.
Lauren faced him and matched his imposing stance. “I am not an idiot, Sam. It was a small push. Small enough that I didn’t think it would work.”
“I cannot send her back,” Adila cut in.
Lauren whirled on her. “Why? You said yourself Caius needs her.”
Adila looked stricken. “I can only send someone to Vincula if they are on trial. I have already explained the Scales of Justice to you. If she commits a crime, there is no guarantee she will be sent to Vincula.”
She could be sent to hell.
Lauren swore under her breath. “Can you break her contract Caius took over?”
Adila’s sadness turned quickly to annoyance. The quick change almost made Sam laugh. Almost. “If I could, don’t you think I would have already?”
“We need to discuss Gedeon,” Sam reminded them. “A maid told me anyone who questions the reason for the non-Aatxe guards is fired.”
Adila looked surprised. “What maid? She’s a brave woman, speaking with a stranger about something that could get her fired or worse.”
Sam shifted slightly. “You are dwelling on the wrong thing. You said his guards are spying on you, but why would they need to if your room is compromised?”
“I don’t sit in my room all day like an old maid,” she replied hotly. “But anywhere I go within the palace, a spy is always nearby. When I noticed what was happening, I hired an undercover guard, a woman named Heather. As far as everyone else knows, we’re best friends.”
Lauren wrinkled her nose. “What kind of name is Heather?”
Sam shot Lauren a ‘Not now’ look.
Ignoring her jab, Adila kept talking. “She is a Fey and very strong.”
It was a relief she was smart enough to hire protection, but it made him weary. “And if she turns on you?”
Adila stood taller. “Gedeon is not the only one who pays handsomely, nor is he the only one with the loyalty of the staff.”
“What did you mean when you said her room was compromised?” Lauren asked Sam.
“Gedeon bugged her room.”
Adila tucked a strand of hair behind her slightly pointed ear. “He’s paranoid—always has been since we were kids. I don’t know when he had time to plant a listening device in my room after Atarah’s death or how he got into my room in the first place.”
“Your doors are not magic,” Sam returned. “It is easy to pick a lock.”
Lauren walked to the window and stared outside, thinking. “If he planned Atarah’s death far enough in advance, he could have done it before.” She stopped and looked at Adila. “You and Caius were close, weren’t you?”
Adila nodded. “He had to have thought Caius wouldn’t be sentenced because he was innocent. Why spy on me?”
A realization struck him. “What if he spied on all three of you?”
Adila looked at him like he was stupid. “Gedeon never went to Vincula.”
Sam pressed his lips together and prayed for patience. Explaining things was not his forte. “Caius stayed in Erdikoa often.”
Still staring outside, Lauren addressed Adila. “Let me make sure I’m understanding. Gedeon has somehow been spying on you for five-hundred years.”
“Yes.”
“You realized it not long after Caius was sentenced.”
“Yes.”
Lauren pivoted on her heel, incredulous. “Why the fuck wouldn’t you take the device out of your room?”
“I couldn’t find it,” Adila snapped and pointed at Sam. “He used his Angel power and discovered it in my safe.”
Lauren’s eyes turned to slits. “I don’t believe you.”
Sam stepped between the two women when Adila took a menacing step forward.
“I don’t care if you believe me or not. It’s the truth.
I am no match for either of my brothers, and you will have to forgive me if I didn’t play hero against my psychotic brother while the other was locked safely away in another realm.
” Her eyes blazed as she glared around Sam at Lauren.
“I wasn’t even thirty years old when everything happened.
I was scared shitless, and I had no one to talk to.
Our parents had their memories wiped and were sent to Erdikoa.
Atarah was gone, and Gedeon was a murderer, spying on me, preventing me from speaking to Caius. What would you have had me do?”
Sam stayed quiet because Adila was right. There was nothing she could do because rocking the boat with Gedeon would have gotten her killed. They couldn’t presume there was a method to Gedeon’s madness other than hatred and a thirst for power.
When one longed for power, logic was pushed aside for instinct, and a greedy mind instinctually did whatever it took to get what it wanted.
Lauren smirked at Adila. “I didn’t know you had it in you, little golden girl.”
Adila scoffed. The fastest way to earn Lauren’s respect was to stand up for yourself, and Lauren’s response meant she believed Adila. Sam released a sigh of relief. They’d get nothing done if those two were at each other’s throats.
Sighing, Lauren waved an exasperated hand in the air.
“Let’s look at the facts. Gedeon has spies everywhere.
Rory can’t go to Adila because Adila’s power is rogue.
” Adila scowled at her. “Adila can’t do anything within The Capital without Gedeon monitoring her.
Rory will die, and Gedeon will continue to rule forever unless Caius can break through the Seraphim’s magic locking him in prison. ”
When she said it like that, their situation sounded even worse.
“Where does that leave us?” she asked the other two.
The three fell silent. Their only hope was Caius breaking free, as impossible as it seemed, because there was no way to send Rory to Vincula without risking sending her to hell.
Reuniting the Umbra King and his mate was their priority because Gedeon could not be defeated until that happened.
Caius would destroy himself without Rory, and Gedeon was too smart to let anyone close enough to decapitate him or stab him in the heart.
Only someone with a power strong enough to rival his own could kill him.
That someone was Caius.