Page 25 of Kept

Watchers. In another twist of irony, the mages’ ancient name was literal now. I couldn’t be alone because I couldn’t control my power. I wasn’t certain what I could or couldn’t do with it—or if I should try using it at all. I had no reason to escape to the Middling now. Even if I had a reason to farsee, I was too frightened to attempt it for fear of landing in Vai Seren. My one solace was that Midian couldn’t reach me in my dreams. According to Varick, the demons needed a conscious mind to weave illusions. And now I knew I’d never dreamed of Midian at all. I’d dreamed of Avenor and the tragedy that was his failure and my birthright.

But I could farsee in my dreams. I’d done it before, when I stayed in Aberwas and traveled briefly to Vai Seren as I slept. The memory of seeing Varick wrapped in vines was permanently etched in my mind. Midian had looked so pleased when I arrived.

The sky outside Laurent’s bedchamber windows was a deep purple. Dawn was another hour or so off. Servants were probably already stirring, lighting kitchen fires and clearing snow from the courtyards around the towers. Castles were a beehive of activity in the morning. They were busy all the time, really.

I jerked awake—which was my first sign that I’d fallen asleep. The second was that thick shafts of bright yellow sunlight slanted through the bedchamber.

And a thick layer of dust covered the floor, turning the carpets gray. Panic set my heart skipping beats. Trembling, I looked at Laurent and Varick sleeping beside me. My panic ebbed slightly. They were real. They were solid. I hadn’t gone anywhere. But as I looked up again, piles of broken furniture appeared in the room. In the corner, an upholstered sofa slowly materialized. It was the kind of elegant piece a highborn lady might keep in her chamber.

It was the same sofa I woke on when the elves dragged me to the castle in Vai Seren.

“You’ve been missed, Given,” Midian said in my mind.

My trembling increased. I wasn’t safe. Laurent and Varick weren’t safe.

“Well, that’s your fault.”

How?

In my head, the demon king made an impatient sound. “You’re not very bright, are you? Running from a destiny so much larger than you could ever be.” He chuckled. “Fate has such a delicious sense of humor.”

I blinked rapidly, trying to decide if the dust and furniture were real or illusion. Maybe this wasn’t like the night I visited Rolund’s camp. Maybe I wasn’t pulling Vai Seren into the room. Midian was a liar. He could be putting visions in my head. Making me see things. None of this was real.

Valen of Lar Keiren stepped around one of the posts at the foot of the bed. His handsome, brutal face twisted with disgust as he took in Varick sleeping with his arm around Laurent. Hard, golden eyes lifted to mine. “Do I look real to you, little doll?”

A harsh sob escaped me.

Varick and Laurent shot upright. At the same moment, Valen and the furniture winked out of sight.

“Given?” Varick grasped my shoulder and shook me a little. “What is it? What did you see?” His golden eyes were hard. Just like his father’s.

I recoiled, fear scrabbling down my spine. “Don’t touch me!”

Surprise flashed across his face.

Laurent stared at a shaft of sunlight slanting across the foot of the bed. “It’s too bright in here. Something is—”

A muffled scream drifted through the windows.

The three of us tensed. “You both heard that?” I asked the men.

“Yes,” Laurent said grimly. He flung the covers back and left the bed.

Another scream.

The scent of smoke hit my nose. Something in the palace was on fire.

Varick was a blur as he leapt from the bed. Before he could do anything else, pounding footsteps rang out, and three palace guards burst into the chamber. The one in front was badly burned, his skin red and bloodied. Sickening bubbles covered his cheek.

“Your Grace!” he gasped, his shoulders heaving. “The sky has opened up. The Deepnight above the city is gone.”

Varick paled. “Gone?”

The guard turned to him and spoke between harsh, panting breaths. “There are also reports of fighting in the streets, General. A merchant stumbled through the palace gate saying he saw soldiers with mirrors.”

Laurent and Varick were moving before the guard finished his sentence. Laurent blurred as he left the room. A second later, I heard him bellowing for servants.

Varick swung toward me with a forbidding expression. “You do not leave this room. Do you understand?”

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