Chapter 27

It had been so longsince Kaine had worked on such a big operation that he had forgotten how long it took to process everyone. And he wasn’t even doing the processing. He was coordinating or on the phone or meeting with other high-level people.

And while he had spoken to Dalmon once, the rest of the time they had been exchanging voicemails as they both moved from meeting to meeting.

All he knew was that in Britain, the Shadow Board was falling. Several witches had been arrested, and Dalmon had played the shifter trafficking card, though to the human authorities, it was viewed as human trafficking. They had been piecing this together for so long that watching the Board unravel was more relief than anything else.

And even then, it was more of a reprieve than an end because of Everest.

It was dark, and he was starving by the time he left. He kept working in the car, checking the news as Frederick drove around to pick up Malcolm.

Gerrit had released a statement about the cyber-attack on Mont de Leucoy, saying that it could’ve been much worse and that it appeared to be a test run for a much larger operation. That they were working with the authorities. He didn’t specify which ones, but the people in the know would assume all the major security organizations were involved. None of them would be aware of the work of the Coven.

Kaine had no doubt that several countries were now shitting themselves. Including Britain, since that is where the attack had begun. It was not a good look for either country. He had no idea how the high-profile arrests were going to play out or how they would be described to the media. And he didn’t care.

What he did know was that they had been incredibly lucky.

The car stopped, and Malcolm got in. He leaned back and closed his eyes as if ready to take a nap.

But the day wasn’t over. Not for him anyway, because there was still the Everest problem to deal with. Every time he thought of his brother, the knife in his gut twisted.

“I’m assuming you need me tomorrow,” Malcolm said.

“I need everyone I can trust for the next couple of weeks.” That’s how long it was going to take to dig through some of this.

“Were you ever going to tell me about the attack?”

Kaine blinked, and it took him several seconds to realize what Malcolm was talking about. “Gerrit is at the castle. With so much going on, I…” He hadn’t given much thought to the attack once Gerrit was away and safe. “How did you hear about that?”

“He called me.”

Kaine’s grip on his phone tightened. Quentin hadn’t called or messaged. But neither had he. For a while, he had even forgotten about the bond, too distracted by other things. He reached for him but didn’t get a response.

By the time they reached the castle, his stomach was grumbling.

“When is the last time you ate?” Malcolm asked as he got out of the car.

“I can’t remember.” That should be the first thing he did, but he needed to be with Quentin.

He needed to speak with Gerrit.

And he hoped he could do all three at once.

As it turned out, he could. Gerrit was waiting for them in one of the larger private lounges with a spread of sandwiches. Quentin was asleep on the sofa, but as soon as Kaine walked in, he woke and blinked as if not sure where he was or what was going on.

“Hey.” Kaine knelt next to the sofa. He ran his palms over Quentin’s thighs, needing to touch him. “I’m sorry it’s so late.”

“What time is it?”

“After eleven.” They all needed to sleep, but none of them would sleep well with worries about Everest stalking them.

Quentin grimaced. “Gerrit said Dalmon should be here.”

“We’ll call him.” Kaine glanced over his shoulder at Gerrit, who was holding Malcolm close and whispering to him. They were both smiling. Something he hadn’t seen Gerrit do in a long time before Malcolm.

Malcolm was good for his brother and was working to prove he was trustworthy.

Had proven it.

He was the one who needed to let go of the grudge before it caused damage. Gerrit kissed Malcolm, then turned as if sensing his attention.

Kaine sighed. He’d give Malcom the medal himself just for making Gerrit happy.

“Shall I call Dalmon?” Gerrit asked, but he was looking at Quentin. In the time they had spent together, they seemed to have reached a level of familiarity that made Kaine almost envious.

“Yes…but don’t be mad at me.”

Kaine pulled him close and kissed his cheek. “You saw what you saw, and we need to know.”

Quentin nodded against him.

Kaine’s stomach gave another growl.

“Eat something. You’re making my stomach hurt.” Quentin pushed him away.

Kaine laughed. He sat next to his mate and helped himself to the sandwiches while Gerrit greeted Dalmon, gave him an update, and told him who was in the room before putting him on speaker.

Dalmon didn’t bother greeting them all. He launched straight in. “I have a few issues, such as sending your mate, an untrained mind reader, into someone else’s mind, but it’s done, and he’s not trapped, so let’s move on. Quentin, do not do that again. I will send a mind reader to train you once they have some availability.”

Quentin bit his lip, but the rebuke was for Kaine. The one he got in private would be much sharper, though perhaps Dalmon might skip the dressing down this time.

“Thank you. Do you want me to just tell you what happened?” Quentin looked at Kaine. “I’m not sure how these meetings work.”

“Yes, tell us what happened and what you sensed.”

“At first, he blocked me. Then it was almost easy to enter. I expected more resistance. Once in, I was in a corridor with hundreds…thousands…of doors. Some of them were open. None were locked. He didn’t say it, but I knew that each of those doors was a life.” He glanced at Kaine. “He remembers all his lives. And he knows that I know.”

“Are you sure? Another person’s mind can be a strange place.” Dalmon asked.

Gerrit was silent, his hand wrapped around Malcolm’s.

“I saw the doors via the bond and had the urge to protect Quentin. I pulled him out. If I hadn’t seen it, I would also have doubts,” Kaine said.

There were a few seconds of silence as if everyone were digesting the information.

“That first year of shifting and then after he learned about Olier was difficult. He was different. I thought I had him back.” Gerrit stared at the carpet, unable to hide the hurt.

“He does love you. I felt that. But he knows everything. Every life. All your history.” He could have become lost because while getting in was easy, he’d never considered how to get out. “It’s a lot.”

“And it will kill him,” Dalmon said. “The brain isn’t made to hold millennia of memories. I believe it’s why we forget each time.”

“It’s why he’s so smart,” Kaine added. Why Everest was able to jump so far ahead. “And why he thought he could take what he wanted from the Shadow Board.”

“He wants Olier,” Quentin said. “That’s all. He calls the loss a festering wound.”

“Because he hasn’t let it go,” Kaine snapped. “He blames himself.”

Quentin put his hand on Kaine’s knee.

“Not all of us can let go as easily as you,” Dalmon said with a sigh. “But that is not the problem now. He conspired with the Shadow Board, to damage the kingdom and every other country, to save Olier. And in the process, unlocked more history than he can handle.”

“Too cocky and too reckless,” Gerrit murmured. “He always was.”

And probably always would be.

“The question is, what do we do now—privately and publicly—when at the moment, we can’t trust him?”

No one spoke. Kaine ate another sandwich as he chewed through the problem. “There are only a few options. None of which are great. We let him go and offer assistance, which he may reject if he no longer trusts us. We find someone to seal up the past before it breaks him. Or we egg him.”

Gerrit inhaled sharply.

“Sorry, but it is an option.” And not one Kaine wanted to take because, in public, Everest was the prince.

“I think we should find out how he unlocked the past because if I were him, I’d have written that down so I could do it next time,” Quentin said.

“The Shadow Board is breaking up…he could step in as the savior and offer them refuge,” Dalmon said.

“Walking them into our hands.” Kaine nodded.

“Correct. Assuming he will work with us. And so far, he has been more interested in using us.”

“Then use that. Give him enough rope.” There was a bitter edge in Gerrit’s voice.

“We have lost one brother; we don’t want to lose another.” No matter how much Everest strayed, he was one of them, and they didn’t know how long he had until his mind collapsed under the weight of the past. “Do we have any idea about the damage the memories will cause?”

Quentin shook his head. “I didn’t sense any, but I wasn’t there long, and I didn’t know what I was looking for.”

“No one is blaming you,” Dalmon said. “No one is blaming anyone.” The words did nothing to remove the stricken expression from Gerrit’s face. “It’s late; we need to think. And I know this will be unpopular, but Olier has been gone for a couple of centuries…we should read his books. Maybe there is something that can help us.”

Gerrit grunted as though hit. “We must all agree.”

“I do not think Everest gets a vote,” Kaine said, half expecting Dalmon to disagree on principle even though it was his idea. “We are all here. I vote in favor.”

“I suggested it,” Dalmon said. “Gerrit?”

“It pains me, but yes. Our history is becoming a problem. There are too many secrets. We need to plan our coming out.”

Malcolm gave a hard-edged laugh. “The world might be ready for a bisexual king, but shifters are going to be much harder to swallow.”

“Then we need to prepare, in our spare time, between saving the world and saving Everest.” Kaine didn’t know if the latter could be done. But they had to try. “Someone should speak to him.”

“I do not know what to say…” Gerrit stared at his hands, the fingers of one laced with Malcolm’s. “How did I miss this?”

“No one could’ve seen it,” Dalmon said. “It’s late. Leave him for tonight. Kaine, can you talk to him tomorrow?”

“Yes, but we need to come up with a plan soon. A couple of days at most. People are used to seeing him.” If he disappeared from view, then there would be too many questions. It was all becoming too complicated.

Quentin leaned his head on Kaine’s shoulder. They were all exhausted and shocked. And if Kaine were being honest, he was scared. Scared for Everest and all of them. Everything they thought they knew about each other and the world was coming undone, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“Go to bed, everyone. We can reconvene tomorrow after dinner,” Gerrit said as he stood, dismissing everyone.

No one disagreed.