Page 60 of Tangled Power
“Have you been to Sandrin before, Rose?” Gabriel asked as he passed her a platter of meat.
“Yes, Luc and I visited before the Summer Solstice Ceremony, though, I admit, that was my first time here. I’d always wanted to come.”
“Well, I hope you get to explore a little.” He smiled cheerfully. “How about you, Juliette? Do you get to Sandrin often?”
Rose glanced at the others. They each seemed confused in their own way. Carter’s confusion was most certainly rooted inembarrassment. He clearly hadn’t told his father what they were doing here or the urgency of their journey. Juliette, on the other hand, wore a bemused expression. Rose suspected it had been a while since anyone had tried quite so hard and so genuinely to draw her into a conversation.
“I do not,” she replied. “My duties keep me at Compass Lake.”
Even Luc, who had been in a mood since they practiced merging powers, could barely hold back a smile as he watched Gabriel energetically interrogate each of them.
“Carter, you don’t come home enough.” He waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. “Though I suppose I tell you that all the time.”
Rose wasn’t sure she had ever seen Carter flush so deeply. She lifted her napkin to hide her smile.
“The Suden Point.” Gabriel turned next to Luc. Here was the only indication that Gabriel might be more nervous than he appeared. He bowed his head and shoulders slightly as he addressed Luc and couldn’t bring himself to address him by name. “You, of course, need no introduction to the city. How are you finding your stay? You visit quite often, do you not?”
“I do.” Luc dipped his head back. “We appreciate the meal,” he offered. “We’ve had nothing but stew on our travels.”
“And where have you been?” Gabriel asked as he passed the roasted vegetables to Rose.
Everyone turned to Carter. “I told you, Dad, we can’t talk too much about it. We’ve been traveling in an effort to stop the mist plague.”
“Oh yes, of course,” Gabriel said as he drank his wine. “I expect the four of you together will be able to stop it.”
Rose would swear that he was goading them, but his enthusiasm was genuine. The pride he held in his eyes for hisson wasn’t that which could be faked. “We’re certainly working on it,” she chimed in.
“Actually, Dad, maybe you can help us,” Carter said. He glanced around the table briefly to see if anyone would stop his questioning. No one did. “Are you aware of any texts we have about the relationship between Compass Point and their patron god?”
While Arie had said he wouldn’t join them, Rose was unsurprised to feel what could only be a cat brush against her legs under the table. “What is he asking about?”Arie asked her.
Rose shook her head. There was no way she could respond without alerting everyone he was here. She gently kicked him, trying to usher him out from under the table to make his presence known. “No,”he said, holding his ground. “This is much more interesting. Do you think the patron god’s power is tied to their Compass Point? Tap your foot once for yes and twice for no.”
Rose tapped her foot once.
Gabriel looked up. Rose got the impression he was going through a mental index of all the reference books in his archive to see if he could give his son any pointers. He looked disheartened when his gaze returned to the table. “Have you tried Kenna’s journals?”
“And you think this because Juliette can boost Zrak’s power?”
Rose tapped her foot once. She heard but didn’t track Carter’s reply to his father.
“But…”Rose felt Arie mentally hesitate.“She only boosts his power when she feels the Osten fae magic waning…is that it? And then with the boost, Zrak can strengthen the Osten…”
He’d gotten there all on his own. Rose tapped her foot once. At least this answered whether Arie knew about it.
“I know you’ll call me an idiot, but I hadn’t put that together. I knew Zrak’s artifact was a vial, but I assure you, it didn’t have his blood in it when he gifted it to the first Osten Point. He always had too many plans going for his own good.”
“Rose?” Luc nudged her with his elbow, bringing her back to the conversation at the table.
“I’m sorry, what was the question?” The others all stared at her. Her diverted attention hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“Just if there was anything in Kenna’s first journal about the shared power.” Carter eyed her suspiciously. He couldn’t possibly know she was secretly talking to the Vesten god, could he?
“Oh, well, there was what we discussed about Compass Lake being where we are strongest and the gods knowing if we left—presumably, that means they’d know if our power weakened.” She gestured vaguely. “It could be a simple threat to get the firsts to do what they wanted.”
“Or it could have meant we would weaken if you did.”Arie paused. “Kenna never tested me on that. Neither did Nicholas. They stayed at the lake… Juliette’s ritual requires a mixture of her and Zrak’s blood?”
Rose tapped her foot once, desperately trying to keep both conversations straight.
