Page 76 of Compass Points
He nodded.“I’m sure you realize I have more to lose in this game than I let on. And if I told you who I was…”He paused, his tail flicking as he thought about his next words.“If I told you what was at stake and what I needed you to do, it would have changed everything. I didn’t want that.”
Rose let a soft smile cross her lips. “I like our relationship too, Arie.”
“Destiny was always going to come for you. Whether in the form of the dangerous Suden Point or something else. I knew someday we’d have to face that I was Arctos and you were the rightful Norden Point. I just found myself not wanting to be the one to force that upon us.”If a cat could shrug, he did.
“I can’t pretend to understand what you’re up to, but I love you, Arie, and I am happy for our time together. I’m here if you need me, no matter what kind of godly games you play.”
The cat straightened, as if realizing he’d been acting far too human.“Glad to hear it, because we’ve got some work to do.”
“Let’s go get Luc. He’s probably going to need to hear this.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Luc waited down by the water. Though they’d started first thing in the morning, the day had slipped away. He’d briefly spoken to those gathered on the beach before he sat on the shore. Even while speaking to Arie, Rose caught his gaze intermittently falling to various Norden elders as they seemed to get enough courage to confront her. Even with his shoes off, pants rolled up, and toes dipping in the lake, a glare from the Suden Point held anyone who tried to interrupt her in their place. Luc’s shirt sleeves were rolled back. He was trying too hard to look relaxed. He’d placed himself far enough away that he couldn’t see or hear Arie and Rose’s conversation.
While it was thoughtful of him to give them their time alone, Rose knew she needed Luc for whatever was next. Whatever Arie, or Arctos, would unveil about how to fix their world, she knew Luc would face it with her. She suspected they’d need all the Compass Points.
She padded down to the beach and plopped down next to him, her shoeless feet splashing into the water. Arie’s cat form followed.
“So I’m assuming you can talk to both of us simultaneously, Arie. Don’t make me play your translator for Luc just because you’re lazy.”
Luc choked on a laugh next to her. “Doesn’t the Lord of Fire demand your respect?” he joked as he gently knocked Rose’s shoulder with his own.
“You two are going to be a problem, aren’t you?”came Arie’s voice, clearly into both of their minds. Luc looked at her and then back at the cat.
“That is unnerving. You like it when he does that?” Luc said, looking at Rose pointedly.
“I never said it was pleasant, but it’s better than me having to repeat everything for you.” She shrugged.
“So let’s start with how much you could hear, Luc.”
“Not much. The dust storm kept us away, and the conversation isolated to those in the cyclone.”
“In summary, Aiden is Aterra, Aterra is holding Aurora hostage, and…” She let the sentence hang, unfinished. “Well, I think Arie’s going to need to fill in the last part. How is this connected to the plague of mist?”
“This can’t be headed anywhere good,” Luc muttered as he pulled his feet out of the water and half-turned himself to look back at Arie, who refused to get closer to the water in his cat form.
“Well. That part is interesting. You were definitely on to something with the mist’s connection to the Lost God. I’m still unsure how Zrak is doing it, but he does control the mist.”
“So put Zrak on the enemy list. Check,” Rose noted.
“I wouldn’t be so sure,”Arie replied.“His methods certainly call forth questions, but I think he used the plague of mists to expose Aterra’s interference with the Compass Points. After the creation of the fae and the Compass Points, part of the Covenant was that the gods vowed not to interfere with them. They were to hold us in check, keep us in balance. Manipulating one of them inherently disregards that promise.”
“You’re saying Zrak was trying to make Aterra’s control over Aiden known?” Luc questioned.
“I think so. I did try to speak with him at multiple locations where the plague spread, but he was either silent or too vague with his words. I can feel his power clearly, though. It’s unmistakable. I assume that’s how you could guess it was his as well, Rose. Your Osten line couldn’t help but recognize its creator even if you didn’t understand it.”
Rose pursed her lips, thinking over what Arie was saying. “But the attacks. Why leave the Suden people alone when it was the Norden Point that was rotten? And why were Luc and I unaffected by the mist?”
“Aterra is the god of the Suden people,” Luc reminded. “It may have been a backward attempt to try and point to the problem, but the mist left Aterra’s villages alone.”
“Zrak needs to work on his pointers. That is murky at best.”
Luc chuckled. “Make sure you tell him that.”
“If you two are done…”Arie cut back in.“I agree. Not Zrak’s most obvious sign, but he is a god. He would point to the god he wanted to be exposed first; the fae Aterra took hold of would be secondary.”
“Why didn’t he tell you that when you tried speaking to the mist?”
