Chapter 61
KALLIE
Kallie yawned and shifted on the bed. She pressed her hands into the sheets—
Her eyes flew open as her fingers dug into the sand.
Above, a cloudless blue sky greeted her.
She pressed her palms against the soft ground, the grains of sand shifting from her weight.
With her head spinning, she sat up. This time, she ignored the pile of rocks and turned toward the trees lining the springs, already knowing who waited for her.
Terin strolled toward her, his jaw set and steps heavy. The bags under his eyes were impossibly heavier than the last time she saw him, and his tanned skin was slightly green.
Something was wrong.
"Is Da—"
"We’re on our way," Terin interrupted, words clipped.
"What?" Kallie sputtered as she stood. "On your way where? What happened?"
"The Royal Seer had a vision."
"A vision? About what?" Kallie pressed, meeting him.
Terin clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides. "We know very little. All we know is that a battle is going to break out in Frenzia’s capital."
"Are you sure?" Kallie asked, her knees growing weak. Immediately, she thought about the hoard of drakonises she and Graeson had seen when he was trying to shift. The group had been heading south. Were they heading to Frenzia? Was it possible that Sebastian was already calling for his troops’ return?
Graeson’s father was right. The war was not over, not even close.
"Yelsania’s visions haven’t always been the clearest or most reliable in the past, but this one was different. This one she was adamant about what she saw. She showed Mother it, and…" Terin swallowed, his eyes wet. "It’s not good, Kals."
"Does…do…" Kallie struggled to string her words together. There were too many questions to ask, too many people she needed to stay alive. She dug her hands into her hair. Her nails scraped her skull as she tried to keep the worries and fears from taking over.
This couldn’t be happening. They had won. She had ended the war.
"We don’t know who, but many people will die. Domitius and Sebastian will unleash their army, and death will reign."
Kallie snapped her gaze up. "Domitius is dead." The words felt sticky in her throat, but she pushed past the feeling. She would not grieve the man who ruined not only her life, but so many others.
Terin blinked at her as if she had slapped him. "Are you positive?"
"Yes, he—" She swallowed, recalling the fire that consumed the Borganian forest, the guard’s wings bursting into flames, his body tumbling into the trees, Domitius along with him. She cleared her throat. "Graeson burned him."
"What do you mean he burned him?" Terin asked, narrowing his eyes. "Graeson doesn’t set people on fire. That’s not—that’s not who he is, what he does."
Kallie pinched the bridge of her nose. She shouldn’t have said anything. This was not her secret to tell. Graeson was terrified that the others would not accept him for who he was. He deserved to be the one to tell them.
"Kallie, if Graeson has lost control, if you all are in danger—"
"Graeson is not dangerous!" she blurted.
Terin jerked back. His lips parted and closed as his eyebrows drew together. "What happened, Kalisandre?"
Kallie chewed on her nails and began pacing. "A lot has happened since we parted ways in Tetria. Graeson…he’s different. He’s a demi-god."
"That is not news, sister."
"It’s more complicated than you thought—than anyone thought. He’s…" Kallie took a deep breath.
"We do not have the time for this. Tell me," Terin demanded.
"Domitius was getting away. As we were flying, Graeson—"
"What do you mean you were flying? You’re not making any sense."
"Graeson’s a dragon!" The words tumbled from her mouth.
Terin’s jaw grew slack, his entire posture curling inward. "A dragon?"
"Yes," Kallie said, rubbing her hand over her chest where her heart thumped loudly.
Terin squinted at her in disbelief. "Like a fire-breathing dragon with wings and scales?"
"Yes!" she repeated. "I would not lie about this. As you said, we don’t really have the time, now do we?"
"Shit," Terin hissed, spinning around as he pressed his hands against his temples. "That’s insane. That’s—" He shook his head, struggling to comprehend it. But Kallie knew he would not truly understand it until he witnessed it himself. "Is he all right?"
Kallie wrapped her arms around her torso and hugged herself tightly. "He’s dealing with it."
He nodded, his head shaking on a constant loop.
Kallie glanced around her. The sky was still bright, the shade of blue vibrant and bordering on unnatural. The space between worlds was still intact. But how long would Terin be able to keep them here? She needed to know more about the vision.
"When is it happening, Terin?" she pressed.
Terin blinked as if he had just recalled the reason for infiltrating her dreams. "W-we don’t know.
It could be in a couple days, right now, or in a week.
We’ve sent word to Tetria, and we should be in Frenzia soon.
I tried to reach you sooner but couldn’t.
Even now, the connection is shaky. It’s as if—" Terin paused and gaped at her. "Where’s Graeson?"
Kallie’s cheeks flamed red. "He’s sleeping, like the rest of us."
"Where?"
Kallie rolled her eyes. She didn’t see why it mattered, but she relented, mumbling, "Beside me."
"His proximity to you must be shielding you from me. I could never infiltrate his mind unless he granted me access. But that would mean…" Terin trailed off, and a knowing smile graced his lips. "You did it, didn’t you?"
Crossing her arms, Kallie lifted her chin. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."
He raised a brow.
Kallie expelled an annoyed breath. "Fine. Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, I accepted the bond."
A wide smile spread across her brother’s face. "I’m happy for you, sister."
Kallie offered him a small smile in return, but it quickly faded. "I’ll tell Graeson and the others. We’re at Menz’ house now, so Frenzia isn’t terribly far. We can assess the situation."
"What about Lysanthia? How is she doing?" Terin asked, frowning.
Kallie’s heartbeat stuttered. How much more information could Terin handle? It already seemed like he was fraying at the edges, ready to combust at any moment. Rubbing the discomfort from her chest, she forced the truth out. "She didn’t make it."
"Did Domitius…?"
Kallie’s vision blurred, but she blinked the tears away. "He made Graeson do it."
Terin’s mouth fell open, at a loss for words. He stammered, struggling to process what she said. "But Graeson would never do that."
"He didn’t have a choice. Domitius found a way to replicate my ability and commanded him. He made Graeson do it," Kallie said quietly.
Graeson had barely talked about his mother’s death since she had found him after the attack.
It had been one event after another, with very little time to process any of it.
But when he thought no one was looking, Kallie could see the grief in his distant gaze. The underlying pain he tried to squash.
"I—I don’t even know what to say," Terin mumbled. "If Domitius wasn’t dead already, I would kill him myself."
Kallie held herself tighter.
Then, with his brows bunched together, Terin said, "You said the others. If not Lysanthia, then who is with you other than Ellie?"
"Moris," Kallie said immediately. Then she scrunched her nose, forgetting one small thing.
"Moris is alive?"
Apparently, she was revealing everyone’s truths tonight.
"Alive but different. Domitius forced him to take the serum. He’s…"
"One of them?" Terin breathed out. "A drakonis?"
"He’s still him," Kallie reassured. "But his emotions are out of whack. He’s quick to anger, he’s stronger, and…"
"And what?"
"He has wings now," she confessed.
"By the gods. This is…"
"A lot?"
Terin huffed. "And then some."
Fear rose in Kallie’s throat by the hesitant expression coloring her brother’s face. "How is Dani doing?"
"She and the baby are both fine. Despite our best efforts, Dani demanded she come with us, even if only to oversee things from afar. But she’s healthy."
"Good, that’s…good," Kallie murmured. It, of course, wasn’t good that Dani was going to be returning to the mainland when a bloodbath was about to wash through the streets of Frenzia, but at least she was healthy.
Suddenly, Terin straightened as if remembering something else. "There’s one other thing," he said, voice grave. "We received word from Tetria that Rian, Myra, and the captain ran off. They believe they went to Frenzia to take back Rian’s throne."
Kallie groaned and flung out her hands. "Are they daft? Do they truly think they can take back the throne with only the three of them?" Kallie gasped, connecting the dots. "Do you think…do you think they’re the reason for the battle?"
Terin shrugged. "I don’t know, but we can only assume that they play a part in it. It only makes sense."
The surrounding scenery wobbled, the colors dulling as if Terin’s grasp on the dream was fading.
Terin looked around them, tracking the distortion. "I know things between you two are still tense, to say the least, but…"
Kallie nodded, remorse filling her stomach. While they hadn’t resolved things yet, Kallie still cared about Myra. She had been her best friend at one point, and those feelings, despite the betrayal, had not gone away overnight.
"I’ll tell the others," Kallie confirmed.
The world around them shattered. The ground shook, and the waterfall crumbled as the dream ripped apart.
Terin reached out, and Kallie grabbed his hand before he was pulled away. He squeezed her hand tightly. "We’re coming, Kals. We’ll be there as soon as we can."
Kallie jerked awake, tossing the sheet from her hot skin.
"Another nightmare?" Graeson asked, already reaching out, concern dripping from his gaze.
Her hands tightened around the blankets. It was moments like these that she was thankful they had changed their sleeping arrangements. "Not a nightmare. Although it might as well have been. Terin made a visit."
Graeson sat up. "Did something happen? Is Dani all right? Is there something wrong with the baby?"
"Dani and the baby are both healthy," she said. She inhaled and expelled a shaky breath. "Your father was right. This war isn’t over. The Royal Seer had a vision."
Graeson scoffed and glared at the ceiling. "Yelsania’s visions are mediocre at best. They rarely amount to anything."
Kallie grabbed Graeson’s hand, forcing his attention back to her. "This time is different, Gray."