told us to get out and warn our allies.
“You were with Coffman and Alric?”
“No. It was a couple named Dink and Emma. They flew me here so I could tell my father about a weapon the Nestorians have built. They left here to fly to Jekyll Rock and warn the Dunarians about it.”
The room was silent for a moment. “What about Nalani?”
“Like I said, I took off. Last I saw, she and the big guy were flying after Alric to try and help him. I have no idea if they made it out.”
Julian sighed loudly. Inga knew of their past relationship, so she knew what Julian was feeling. He was in a helpless position.
“Then getting the green medallion may be useless,” Julian said.
“Maybe not,” Daewyn answered. “The three of us would be heading in a different direction. Alric had the medallion with him, and the other two were on sarians. It’s very possible that they made it out safely.”
There was a long silence before Julian spoke. “Then I guess we’ll just have to hope we’ll have all the medallions when we get to Jekyll Rock.”
“And you’ll get me to Lorcan Zamire.”
“Ok,” Julian said. “But that doesn’t mean I can just hand him over to you.”
“Maybe not,” Daewyn said. “But you can help me capture him. I have no jurisdiction outside of Elysium.”
“I don’t have any jurisdiction in Jekyll Rock either,” Julian said.
“Yes, but that didn’t stop you from storming in there a few days ago did it?”
Inga couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“I’ll take you to the green medallion tonight,” Daewyn said. “But I want your word that you’ll help me get Lorcan Zamire.”
“Why does he matter to you so much?” Julian asked.
Another pause.
“He killed a friend of mine. He’s a fugitive. My father loved him as a son, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he set him free somehow. I can’t prove that it’s true, but regardless, if I can bring him back here, he will face swift justice.”
“Fine,” Julian said. “We’ll meet tonight. I’ll get you Lorcan as soon as we get to Jekyll Rock.”
No!
“Good,” Daewyn said. “Then I’ll meet you at sundown.”
Inga heard footsteps walking toward the door, and she almost forgot to move before it opened wide.
She had known Julian couldn’t be trusted anymore, but this was low even for him. He had just agreed to hand over one of her closest friends. She slipped past the guards and made her way to her quarters, and when she closed the door, she sat on her bed, releasing the magic that surrounded her.
Julian had gone off the deep end. She didn’t understand everything that had happened with the Dunarian Council, but she knew it hadn’t been good. Now it seemed Julian would sell out anyone as long as he got what he wanted. She didn’t doubt for one second that he believed what he was doing was right; but he was wrong.
She lay down on the bed and let out a deep breath. Everything had been going so smoothly until a little over a week before. Until the assassin showed up. It had been a marathon run since then. She had lost so much.
Her former teacher, Silandrin, who was the Gatekeeper, had died before her eyes. There had been no chance to say goodbye. It was the second time he had left her, but this time it was permanent. She almost wished that she had never found the old man. Discovering that he had kept so many secrets from her had hurt deeply. Knowing that Silandrin was the one responsible for humanity making its way to Marenon in the first place was baffling. All of it seemed too much.
Then there was Silas.
She didn’t even know if he was still alive. In one of his last revelations, Silandrin had told them that even though Silas was the prophesied Deliverer, that didn’t mean he couldn’t be killed. The prophecy only pointed to him as the possible deliverer of Marenon. There were no guarantees. To Inga, that meant Silas could be dead right now. In her heart she wanted to believe that the Gatekeeper was wrong, that he had been mistaken somehow. But she knew this wasn’t the case.
She thought about their last desperate moment, before Saul had attacked them. Silas had kissed her and told her that he loved her. She remembered feeling his kiss bringing her to life. She remembered that she had felt warm and safe, if even for just a second. Before she had a