Chapter 32

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

“ S o he says,” Cassandra replied as her gaze slid to Zrak.

Rose still didn’t understand how, but the meaning was clear. Zrak had come to Cassandra with more than the offer to shepherd spirits beyond the veil. He’d come with knowledge of another veil cat shifter that would find his way into her realm.

What interested Rose now was that Cassandra, for all her intensity towards Carter, spoke as if she didn’t believe he was…whatever was promised.

“You don’t believe it?” Rose couldn’t help but ask. She assumed Cassandra meant that Carter was a veil cat shifter, but as the words came out, she realized she had no idea what ‘it’ was. Maybe it wasn’t just the shifted form he took, but something else about him that had been promised to the Lady of the Veil. Rose held her breath as she waited for a reply.

“I’ve not had the best luck dealing with those from the continent,” she replied slowly.

Rose could only imagine the pain she buried in that statement. Those from the continent who betrayed her were her own blood—her twin.

“Why don’t you tell me what you were promised then,” Carter said calmly. “We can clear this up now.”

Cassandra’s eyes flashed in surprise. She must be too used to dealing with Zrak and his half-answers. Rose had barely dealt with him and was already fed up with his secrets. She could imagine that hundreds of years of his behavior would be grating. Hopefully, Carter’s directness would be a reprieve.

“If you have to ask, you aren’t the solution,” she said with a dismissive wave.

Heat filled the room. It took Rose a moment to realize it was Carter. His flame must have flared with his discomfort. His face didn’t change, and the temperature eased as he leashed his power.

“ Glad I’m not the only one who has that issue,” Luc said through the bond. The situation in Cassandra’s study was too tense to laugh. She’d never seen Carter lose control before. She barely saw him emote.

“For being the one in need, you’re not doing yourself any favors,” Carter said when he finally collected himself. “I’m saying I want to help. Regardless of what you were promised.” He shot a glare at Zrak. “Tell me what you need.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened, surprise and hesitation warring across her features. It was a shame that kind of offer appeared so foreign to Cassandra. It had to be lonely ruling this realm on her own. The gods of the continent, for all their faults, at least had partners in their existence. Cassandra was alone. Given the circumstances of her origin, she’d had little choice in taking ownership of the realm. Yet one mistake, one misstep, could cost her realm and those she protected.

A chill ran up Rose’s spine at the lingering standoff between Carter and Cassandra. “I feel like we shouldn’t be watching this,” Rose couldn’t help but send through the bond.

“I’d be happy to entertain you while they sort it out,” Luc purred.

Heat rushed through her body at his tone. Cassandra couldn’t hold off Carter’s persistence forever. They had to be close to knowing if Cassandra would free Luc.

“What makes you think I need something?” Cassandra finally said, breaking the standoff. She also took a moment to glare at Zrak before continuing.

“We’ve read your journals,” Carter said. “We know what your sister took. We don’t know what you did to prevent the catastrophe her actions set off, but I know it made you what you are today.”

“Well, they have you there,” Zrak said, sitting up from the lounge chair, like the conversation was finally getting interesting. He dipped his chin in Cassandra’s direction.

Rose would not want to be on the receiving end of the look Cassandra returned. It was clear from all the interactions she’d seen that Zrak and Cassandra weren’t friendly, but it was becoming more apparent by the moment that whatever grace he’d been granted was wearing thin.

“Why I let you stay will always be a mystery,” Cassandra said through clenched teeth.

“My information has proved to be exactly as valuable as I said it would.” Zrak was the most composed of all of them. He seemed uninvested in the conversation even though he was clearly the orchestrator behind it.

Rose wracked her brain to put the pieces together. Both Zrak and Cassandra intimated that Zrak had known Carter would come. As much as Rose wanted to focus on how that was possible, she knew they still hadn’t covered what exactly Cassandra needed Carter for.

“Fine,” Cassandra said, her hand moving to her hip. “If you’ve read the journals, you know the spirits could benefit from a shepherd.”

Carter nodded. “Isn’t that what he is doing for you now?” The Vesten Point gestured to Zrak.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Allegedly, though I question the use of his Nebulus daily.” She looked like she meant it as she tilted her head, considering.

“Then why use them? Tell me what exactly he promised you,” Carter urged. He took a step toward her. Rose had never seen him enter someone’s space before. His frame wasn’t bulky, but he positioned himself to ensure he was all she saw.

He understood Cassandra in a way she couldn’t grasp. Rose didn’t know if it had to do with the pull of magic he felt in this realm, but her gaze tracked his movement. Solely focused on Carter, she began to speak.

“I needed something to prevent the ruin you assumed was imminent after Cee—Celeste’s actions.” Cassandra looked down at her hands clasped before her and Rose wondered how long it’d been since she’d thought of her sister fondly or called her by her childhood nickname. “Keep in mind, I don’t blame her. I blame him.” She gestured at Zrak, that fire still evident in her gaze. “And the other gods of your continent.”

Rose wasn’t sure she believed that entirely, but she was sure that’s what Cassandra wanted to believe, so she let it go.

“Understood,” Carter whispered.

“Zrak’s Nebulus did what they could for the spirits. They help them beyond the veil but can’t help them cross the river like the veil cats could before”—she paused—“before they stopped.”

“But you needed to refill the lake anyway, right?” Carter pressed.

“I needed the realm’s balance to return,” she replied. Rose didn’t miss that she didn’t answer his question. Carter appeared to catch it as well.

“I will happily shepherd spirits beyond the veil,” Carter said. “I will help them cross the river into your realm.”

Cassandra met his eyes. More surprisingly, the Vesten Point held her stare as she asked, “Why?” Her eyebrow raised at his offer.

“The pull of this land is strong. Its magic calls to me. Whether I have a reason to be here or not, I know I’ll be back. You know that—you know what I am.” He held her gaze again, and her chin dipped in the barest motion of acknowledgment. “I want to help.”

Cassandra’s mouth opened and closed. For the first time, she seemed unsure what to say. Carter pressed his advantage. He shifted into his veil cat form. A growl rumbled through his lean frame as he fell to all fours.

Rose noted the tilt of his head as he circled the Lady of the Veil. His tail flicked, getting dangerously close to Cassandra’s leg. Whatever Carter was doing, he was still speaking to her. The way her eyes widened, and the knuckles of her fists whitened as her grip intensified told Rose all she needed to know. Cassandra sucked in a breath as Carter’s tail swept across her leggings. Even this brief touch was more than Rose had seen him offer anyone.

“I guess we’re not the only ones with a connection,” she said through the bond.

“ Our connection defies reason, Rose. It’s outside of anything that’s ever been known. Clearly, Cassandra can communicate with all her veil cats. Whatever they have isn’t unique.” She wanted to laugh at how offended Luc seemed by the comparison; she hadn’t had a chance to tell him about the mind connection the pack of cats was capable of.

She wasn’t willing to say whatever was happening with Cassandra and Carter wasn’t unique. Carter still barely made eye contact with Rose, even with the trust they’d built. Every one of the Vesten Point’s secrets had been pulled from him through circumstance. He had fought it most of the way. Yet he seemed intent on prying Cassandra’s secrets free. His determination to do so appeared to overtake the Lady’s insistence that she didn’t need anything.

“Fine,” Cassandra said, pushing her hair back again. “You can shepherd spirits. That’s all I require.”

“For now,” Carter said.

Rose turned to see Carter had shifted back into his fae form. Once again, he held Cassandra’s gaze as he responded.

“Wonderful,” Zrak said. The sound of his hands clapping together before him broke the standoff in the room, pulling all eyes to him. “If that’s settled.” He looked at Carter. “I could use a ride back to the continent.”

“Excuse me?” Carter turned to the Lost God.

“You want to bring me back to the continent, do you not? If I’m not mistaken, the balance requires three gods in place. You currently only have two.” The god’s voice was so even. Rose couldn’t begin to imagine what was going through his mind. “I need you, a veil cat shifter, to help me cross back over.”

Carter shook his head in confusion. “Can’t your Nebulus take you?”

Zrak rolled his eyes. “I can only call on them when the Osten Point has strengthened me. As you might have guessed, she’s not speaking to me at the moment.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Rose said, straightening as she realized the words had slipped out.

“Oops,” she said to Luc.

“He deserves it,” Luc replied. “ Did he leave this conversation without explaining how he knew Carter would come?”

“We will absolutely be finishing that conversation,” Rose replied. She wondered if Cassandra had told Carter anything about Zrak in their weird, private conversation. Carter would tell them what they needed to know when they left the realm.

“You can’t leave before deciding what to do about Aterra,” Cassandra said. She looked at Rose. “The veil isn’t your dumping ground. I won’t have another god of the continent holed up here for hundreds of years. I regretted having this one”—she gestured to Zrak—“no matter what he promis?—”

She didn’t finish her sentence, her words cut off as the ground shook beneath the castle. The items on Cassandra’s desk shook and slipped to the floor. Rose felt the movement for what it was: earth magic.

“What is happening?” she asked, pushing her fear through the bond to Luc. No one but him and Aterra could cause this kind of disturbance.

“I need a moment,” was Luc’s strangled reply.

Rose couldn’t handle that. She tore from the study to the shouts of those around her. Rose made it down the stairs and back to the main level. She heard Carter calling but didn’t stop. It was clear Zrak and Cassandra were with him, too. She couldn’t be bothered to slow down for them. She headed for the staircase that led to the cells where Luc and Aterra were being kept. Rose charged past all number of guards.

No one stopped her.

The disturbance must have shaken loose more than she realized this low within the castle for them to be so distracted. Or possibly, Cassandra, in trailing after her, waved off her guards and let Rose charge through. She wouldn’t push the bond again. If Luc needed a moment, she would give it to him. Even if Aterra wasn’t at his full strength in this realm, he was still the Suden god. If he’d found a way to use some of his power, Luc would need to remain focused to challenge him.

Rose ran down the hall until the way was blocked. She stopped at the path she’d taken initially to get to Luc in their escape attempt. It was caved in.

She could use her elements to try to blast through the rock. Cassandra, Zrak, and Carter finally caught up with her as she decided how to navigate this.

“Do you know what is happening?” Rose asked Cassandra.

“I can feel that Aterra tested my cells. He must have decided they were weak enough to try.”

“ About that,” Luc’s voice broke through. “She’s right.” He sounded exhausted.

“Luc says you’re correct. What would have happened?” Rose asked.

“ I collapsed the tunnel to stop his escape,” Luc replied. “That should hold him for the time being. He used all of his energy to fight the roots and get out of the cell. He doesn’t have his full power here. Something about the realm doesn’t agree with him.”

Rose repeated the words to the group.

“He no longer has the wild magic supporting him,” Zrak said coolly, as if he’d been offended by its participation the entire time.

“It’s more than that,” Carter replied, looking at Cassandra. The Lady of the Veil didn’t meet his gaze as she stared into the pile of rubble.

“I have regained a hold on him,” Cassandra said.

Rose could only picture the roots reaching from the ground to wrap around him. She was too worried to pry into whatever was happening between the goddess and the shifter. She repeated Cassandra’s words to Luc.

“I knocked him out with the cave-in. Her roots are moving him back to where he was previously held.” He sighed, and Rose could hear his exhaustion in the sound. “Even if Cassandra let me leave right now, I can’t return with you.” He let his desire and anguish flow through their bond. He wanted to be back on the continent as much as she wanted him there, but this wasn’t over. “She may have him again now—but it’s temporary. She was right before: We need a long-term solution for Aterra.”

Rose knew he was correct. It just broke her heart again to know they were so close to returning with him, only to have this physical divide between them.

“ How long can you both hold him?” Rose asked.

“Her cell leashed him for days—if I’m vigilant in helping, we should be able to last a bit longer.”

“Any ideas on what to do with him?” she asked.

“We need somewhere more permanent to put him—somewhere he can’t continue to cause harm,” Luc said.

The gods were the ones to decide the solution to the balance, which was to hold three gods on the continent and banish one. Where else could they banish a god?

Rose met Cassandra’s gaze. “Luc will remain here and help hold Aterra while we return to the continent and finalize a plan. You know what he is to me. Know that is your insurance policy. We will be back as fast as we can.”

Cassandra nodded, and Carter led her and Zrak out of the castle. They were a somber group. Rose was unwilling to celebrate that they had accomplished part of their goal. Even though Zrak returned, they still had to figure out what to do with Aterra.

They traveled through the void between realms, back to the continent. Rose looked around at the nothing in every direction. She let the darkness close in, her feelings mirroring the space as she, once again, left Luc in the realm beyond the veil.