58. Tori

"W

herewere the fucking wards?!" I slammed my fist on the table, and the two queens staggered back.

"Tori, this isn't the place." Abraxas' voice was rough. His face was pale, but he tried to retain his composure.

"Like hell, it's not. They said they had wards in place against magical intrusion. He still got in here. He took Pallas, and Avlyn…" I tried to not cry; I really did. AllI could see was their arm wrapped in those blood-stained sheets as they'd run to find me.

"They won't be able to fight again, Abraxas. If we had the rest of their arm, maybe… but…" It had vanished along with Luxos and Pallas.

"PrincessTori, we understand your distress, truly," QueenXareni said. "OurXaman have done all they can to maintain our wards these last centuries, but none of us are still blessed with the gift of the earth as you are. Trust me, we have much to lose should EmperorHadeon's wrath come down upon us as well."

Ilooked down to see PrinceAapo still lingering amongst the adults of the room, and I saw the fear all mothers share.

"Where are your warding glyphs? I shall restore them." Jun was pale. He hadn't slept at all. He even tried to convince Abraxas to fly him to Koron before daybreak. I don't know what my lover had said to him, but it had calmed him enough so that he merely paced his room all night instead of running off into the jungle. "No one else will come to harm because of him."

Adistraction would be good for him. I gave his shoulder a tight squeeze before he walked off with the ancient Xaman fae, heading down the long stone hallway of the river kingdom palace before disappearing from sight.

"What of the cenote, KingAbraxas?" Itzayana asked. "Our guides are ready to take you."

Abraxaslooked at me, and I squeezed his hand. We had already discussed it during the night.

Therewasn't time. It had taken us weeks to enter and destroy the Torr. The cenote wasn't cursed, but who knew what we would find there? The choice was laid before us simply, destroy this site sacred to the RiverKingdom to weaken Hadeon's enchantment a fraction, or save Pallas.

Abraxashad let his feelings be known. "We do not know she is in danger. My love, for all we know, she has run to Hadeon with open arms, revealing all she knows to him."

"All the more reason. We cannot wait any longer!"

"Always in such a hurry, my love. You and your brother." He softened his gaze. "She may already be dead."

"She is not. I would know." The ball of magic I had given to her was still tied to me. The bond was nothing like my tie to Abraxas or even Jun, but I would know if it disappeared. She was alive, at least for now.

"There is something else. SomethingI saw at the Torr. The ley lines under Koron are weaker than we thought. The ambrosia has been pulling mana from the earth without respite for centuries. I talked with Oryx about it. He said he's seen something similar with farmers who don't rotate their crops. The earth below grows weak. This is on another level, centuries of mistreatment. We don't need to destroy the cenote here. It's time, Abraxas."

Hegave another long-suffering sigh, but then his roguish grin returned. "I figured as much. I have already sent word to the army. They will mobilize, and we will meet them in the field." His eyes sparkled.

Itackled him to the bed and did not let him get up for quite some time.

"We thank you for your willingness, QueenItzayana, QueenXareni. However, as soon as Jun returns, we shall depart these lands."

Bothof their eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're sure?" PrinceAapo called out from behind his mother, looking at me shyly.

Igave him my bravest smile. "Yes. Take good care of this place until we can visit again, little prince." He had given me the brightest smile I had seen in an age.

"I will!"