Page 48 of Tangled Power
“When it gets to the bottom?” Rose asked, looking at the half-empty vial.
“Usually before then. But we have time before I panic about it. One problem at a time, Rose.”
She nodded. “Do you know where Zrak is?”
“The portal in Osten house takes me to caves on the eastern shore. They hold a wild magic. Zrak describes it as a thinning between planes. I can’t cross it, and neither can Zrak, as far as I can tell, but we can communicate briefly when he’s been strengthened.”
Rose opened her mouth and closed it. Another plane sounded like the afterlife—going beyond the veil. To her, that meant death. But Zrak clearly wasn’tdead.
Of course, this would connect to what she still didn’t understand about Carter’s magic.
Juliette continued before Rose could figure out what question to ask. “Aiden, well, in hindsight, it makes sense that it was Aterra—he knew what I was doing. More importantly, he knew where I went, and he threatened to destroy the caves.” Juliette looked away, unable to meet Rose’s gaze. “I’m ashamed to say I put my court’s magic before the continent’s health.”
She took a deep breath and let Juliette continue.
“I’m not sure how much you know about the initial fae courts. I know you’ve heard me make mention of it to Luc. They were power-hungry. The first Suden Point realized our situation and tried to destroy us—to claim Osten house as his own. Judging by Luc’s response to my accusation, I am unsure that Suden Point actually understood the nature of the Osten weakness.” Juliette sighed. “It is irrelevant, though. After that, the Osten Points have been tasked with never letting anyone learn of our situation. Everything I did was to preserve that legacy.”
“Juliette,” Rose said quietly, hoping to pull her gaze. Slowly, so slowly, Juliette’s head turned. Her face was set. A cool mask in place, ready for Rose’s judgment. “I’m familiar with doingwhat needs to be done to survive. I’d never judge you for it.” She chose her words carefully as she continued. “I don’t know much about the original fae courts, but my parents’ fear of reactions to a mixed lineage was real. It wasn’t something they questioned, only something they knew. I understand how that deep-rooted knowledge can lead one to make difficult decisions.”
“Touché,” Juliette said, wiping a tear from her eye. “I see I understand your parents more than I hoped to.”
Rose smirked. “We make tough decisions to protect those we love.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Every instinct told him to turn around. For once, he and his magic agreed. They both wanted to be with Rose as the mist swirled around their feet. One look at Carter made it clear that was not an option. Carter needed to get out of there—fast. He had no wind-born weapon to help protect him against Zrak’s agents. Luc’s concerns didn’t seem high on Carter’s priority list as he stood frozen next to him. Carter wasn’t looking at the ground where the mist started to build. Instead, his gaze was fixed to the treetops, darting from branch to branch.
“Why are they gathering?” Carter mumbled to himself.
“What—” Luc started but changed his mind. They had already taken too long. Luc couldn’t wait for Carter to pull it together. He grabbed for his earth magic. Its response was immediate, even though both he and his magic would rather be elsewhere. A burst of power swept Carter off his feet and floated him above the ground, similar to how Luc usually played with his nephews. He tugged on his magic until it moved Carter away from the mist.
“What the—” Carter shouted. Now that he was floating above the ground, Carter regained focus. He thrashed like a cat inwater as he tried to right himself to stand on two feet. His gaze, though, still lingered on the treetops as he struggled. Luc decided he was still too unfocused to be trusted. The thousand-yard stare, aimed at whatever he saw up there, distracted him from saving himself.
“Don’t fight it,” Luc said. “I’ll let you down when we’re clear of the mist.”
“I. Am. The. Vesten. Point.” Carter continued to struggle. “You will treat me with respect.”
“I respect you enough to save your life. You wouldn’t have made it away from the mist alone.” He glanced back at the Vesten Point as he jogged ahead. “What were you staring at? You mumbled something about gathering?”
Carter’s gaze met Luc’s and widened as panic set in again. “What did you see?”
“Now you sound like Rose,” Luc murmured as he wiped his hand down his face. Before sharing with him the nature of her dual magic lines, Rose had always been worried he saw something about her magic that would give her away. It made him wonder what magic Carter was hiding. Rose had better be okay. He knew she could take care of herself, but who knew if her weapons were a guaranteed solution against the mist. They’d worked so far to fight against the Nebulus, but what if one got around her blade? Depending on how many of Zrak’s agents came with this particular mist attack, Rose and Juliette could be outnumbered.
He couldn’t think of that now. “I didn’t see anything other than you staring upward.” He’d get Carter far enough away to be safe and then return to Rose. “What were you looking at?” he tried again. He might as well attempt to learn something from this unexpected one-on-one time with the Vesten Point.
“Nothing.” Carter’s eyes darted around even more than usual.
Luc laughed. “No one is buying that answer. I need to get you outside the mist radius. You have time to explain why you froze.”
“I didn’t freeze.” Carter crossed his arms petulantly over his chest as he lay horizontally in the air, Luc continuing to tug him along.
“You’re not fooling anyone. But I suppose you can keep your secret if it helps you.” He looked back at Carter as he jogged through the trees.
“Thank you, Luc.”
Thank you for what? Leaving him alone? For not bugging him about whatever he was hiding? It was no problem for him. He was used to the fae courts keeping secrets from each other. It was Rose who was the idealist. It was a unique feeling to realize that he had begun to embody the energy she was trying to spread among them. Her ideas were contagious like that. They spoke of a world he wanted to be a part of—with her.
Now, he worried that his power’s similarity to Aterra’s might take that future from him. Would Rose’s support of him dampen her ability to align with the others? He saw the way Juliette looked at him. No matter the strides they made sitting around the campfire in the evenings, he knew she didn’t trust him, and she wondered why Rose did. He would keep trying as long as it took, though. He was thankful for every damn day with Rose—even in the middle of this mess.
