still busy with her seal removal, but I bet she might be able to tell us how Reaper magic made its way to the Aeternae, right?”
Derek shrugged, crossing his arms. “It depends. Without Thieron, Death has been out of touch with the Reaper society. That being said, it wouldn’t hurt to ask. She could at least make some inquiries with the Reapers assigned to Visio.”
“I’ve spoken to Taeral about this already,” Sofia said. “He will seek out Death and discuss this with her. Maybe then we’ll get some answers.”
My heart solidified into a stone for the briefest of moments, the ache impossible to ignore. This was a familiar feeling, something I had not experienced with such intensity since I was a little girl. Back then, the potential monster under the bed had made me jumpy for nights on end. I felt the same way now, only on a much more amplified scale. It was fear, the kind of fear that made it difficult to even breathe, sometimes.
The thought of Reaper magic in the hands of evil, fanatic Aeternae such as the Darklings terrified me. And in moments such as this, I found myself longing for Kalon. I hadn’t seen him since I’d first awakened from my injuries. Tristan had passed on his kind regards, but those did nothing for me. After everything we’d been through, I was at least hoping I’d see him around more. Kalon had been so caring, so kind. I wanted that side of him, now more than ever.
“Have you seen Kalon today?” I asked my brother.
He nodded briefly. “At breakfast. But he wasn’t in the best of moods. I suppose this whole Darkling thing is really getting to him, especially after what happened in the dungeons with you and Trev Blayne and Zoltan.”
“I suppose he hasn’t heard from Trev, either,” I mumbled, a knot tightening in the back of my throat. It wasn’t in my nature to seek comfort from other people, especially people who weren’t my brother or my parents, and yet Kalon had become a beacon of sorts for me.
I also hoped he might be able to fill in some of the blanks after my blackout. I’d been blurry upon waking up, as well, and I wasn’t sure I even remembered everything he’d said to me that morning. There were more unanswered questions than before, but at least we’d managed to put a face to one of our enemies here. I took it as a minor win—which was better than nothing.
I also knew that Zoltan had killed Nethissis. That, to me, was extremely important because I could now focus on the hunt and the punishment side of things. There was no way Zoltan was walking away from this. No way.
Despite my healing body and general sluggishness, I was more determined than ever to prove to the Aeternae that we were not to be played with. Zoltan and the Darklings had caused enough damage already. He had to be stopped.
Esme
A few hours later, I could see the reddish sky glimmering through the study room’s bamboo-like blinds—each about a millimeter thin. Flames flickered in the overhead ceiling light and on the wall-mounted sconces. It felt empty and lonely here, especially after spending so many hours in this bed.
Amal and Amane were in the quarantine area with Petra, checking on the patients and looking to organize another series of blood tests. Entry points around the palace had been secured, and a tally of cleared personnel and visitors was adhered to in a bid to stop the Black Fever from spreading. Even so, the Aeternae seemed to be in quite the pinch.
Though slow, the disease was clearly determined to make a devastating comeback. My only hope was that the Faulty twins were able to at least hamper the Black Fever until they could develop a cure, thus putting an end to millions of years of heartbreak and senseless death.
Sofia and Derek were spending the day with Acheron and Danika, like they’d said—yet another avenue which I hoped would pay off soon. On one hand, I wanted to believe that the Lord and Lady Supreme had nothing to do with any of this Darkling malarkey. On the other hand, I couldn’t stop myself from being suspicious. If they were involved, it would prove to be a devastating development… but what were the odds that the Lord and Lady Supreme of Visio knew of and were even in cahoots with the Darklings, without Kalon or Valaine or anyone else associated