in the ranks.” The way Tyler talked, I could almost imagine a family trip to Target for diapers, formula, and wipes.
“I’ve just come from seeing Michael, and it appears that Remi and Jenny are on the run after being attacked. As for the unborn child, it would be better not to make assumptions. It could just as easily not be Fallen. I will not sit idly by while my brother’s attackers are out there.” I was surprisingly confident, not at all sure where that last bit had come from. I hadn’t even been thinking it.
Tyler’s eyes hardened. “I will look into it, Grace. I’m certain it was a simple mishap with Remi traveling with the human pregnant girl and all. Their scents are probably exaggerated with her being with child. Not everything is personal. Some things just are.”
“I don’t have time to debate it. Find the beings that attacked my brother before I do.”
I turned my back to him and addressed Cerin. Emeria huffed, and the two of them left. LJ burst into a fit of laughter. Cerin allowed herself one giggle as Caius and Arcturus joined in.
“Thanks for everything, Cerin. From now on, you will be free. No more serving me or anyone else. You are free now. You should only do what you want to from here on out.” Hugging Cerin was like hugging a cloud. Next, I turned to the boys.
“Arcturus, meet us at Nod. Find the safest route and leave us a trail. Caius, go with him, but keep your mind open and report on any intelligence you pick up. I give you permission to jailbreak minds and eavesdrop on the wind, trees, and wild animals.
Cerin, Caius, and Arcturus left me alone with LJ. We prepared our weapons in silence. “Before we go, can we talk?” LJ looked straight ahead at a pretend target, closed one eye, then shot an arrow straight across the room. It landed with a boing in the middle of a wall board.
“Sure.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but Emeria isn’t all that bad.” LJ flew to retrieve the arrow and was back next to me before I could respond. When I didn’t speak, she rolled her eyes and continued. “She’s meanspirited, extremely jealous of you, and rude at times. But, Grace—” Her voice begged me to look at her as she shot another arrow, this one hitting a field mouse between the eyes as he tried scurrying out of the barn. The shrieking of the mouse made me shiver. “She wants to be you. To her, you have everything she wants, for no good reason. She doesn’t want to take what you have; she just wants for the two of you to be equals, for her to have an equal shot. In her mind, she could just have easily been you. Isn’t that what being a twin is all about?”
“What?” I turned sharply in disbelief.
“What, what?” LJ looked at me like I was unnatural and bizarre.
I had heard the “who is Emeria” story from Emeria, Vivienne, and LJ. Until then, everyone had pretty much told the same tale. It made me wonder just how much of Emeria’s story was just someone else’s version of her story.
Emeria and I were given as gifts to my mother. We were equal expressions of love from The Divine One, and it was my mother who chose me over Emeria. That is the exact moment we ceased to be equals.
I grabbed LJ just as she was about to shoot another arrow and declared, “You’re a flipping genius!” This caused her to shoot the arrow into a ceiling beam.
And just like that, I knew exactly what I had to do to make things right for Emeria. The excitement threatened to bowl me over, but the plan wasn’t foolproof. If I screwed up even a little, well, I didn’t even want to think about what could happen.
I decided I would try one last time to convince Tyler to call off the Seekers and leave Jenny and her baby alone. A glutton for punishment, perhaps, but I had to try. From the stables, I made my way into the house, to his office, and knocked. He knew it was me.
“Come in, Grace.” Tyler greeted me with a smile and held my hand as he escorted me to his private sitting area.
One oversized black velvet couch faced a cobblestone fireplace with a roaring fire inside that seemed to grow fiercer upon our arrival. An enormous fish tank lined the entire