Page 61 of Tangled Power
“We should leave soon,”Arie said to her. “If this is true, I think Aterra’s plans are worse than I realized.”
“When do you leave?” Gabriel asked Carter. The conversation must have moved on, though she missed any conclusion from her point.
“Have you and Luc talked about what this could mean?”
Rose froze. A feeling like a pit opening in her stomach overtook her. What part of this would she have talked to Luc about specifically? She tapped her foot twice and glanced at Luc. She was worried about many things for Luc, but nothing tiedto the power of the gods. If Arie was worried about him, they needed to get going, and she needed to find out why.
“I think we should leave tomorrow,” Rose said, interrupting whatever response Carter would give.
“Rose?” Juliette said her name like a question. Luc, it appeared, had glanced under the table and made some assumptions about why she was acting so scattered.
“I think we need to continue our journey,” she said.
“But we haven’t really begun to practice with everyone,” Carter said. “We don’t know if this will work…”
“I know,” Rose looked at Juliette. “I think some of the things we learned today add urgency to our journey. We’ll have to continue to practice as we travel.” Pieces of information were sliding together in Rose’s mind. If the gods knew when the Compass Points weakened, it would stand to reason they knew when they strengthened. That was what Luc had been getting at—how Aterra would strengthen himself.
Juliette’s hand went to her necklace as she took a final bite of her meal. “If that’s the case, I think I should excuse myself to get some rest.” With a last glance at Rose, she added, “We leave early?”
Rose nodded. “We should get going too, Luc.” She looked at Gabriel. “Thank you so much for the hospitality. I apologize that we weren’t able to be more enjoyable company.”
Gabriel demurred. “You were wonderful. Come back any time.”
It would damage the trust they had built with Carter to leave so abruptly, but if Arie was worried about Luc, Rose would risk Carter’s anger.
Luc had been thinking a lot about his magic since their confrontation with Aterra. She just hadn’t fully realized the conclusions he had come to.
“Tell me everything,”Arie said, including Luc in the conversation, as Rose closed the door to his quarters behind them.
“I don’t know what else to tell you,” she said.
“Were you making her tap yes or no responses through dinner?” Luc asked, his eyes dancing with mirth.
Rose glared at him.
“Of course. It seems you all omitted some details about Juliette’s secret this afternoon.”
“How so?” Luc asked.
“You didn’t indicate your suspicions that the power sharing could apply to all Compass Points and their patrons. Given what he had planned to do, I assumed it was something Zrak set up for himself.”
“I mean…we don’t know for sure. It’s a question.” Luc considered. “The fact that you know nothing about it lends itself to being Zrak-specific.”
“Why don’t you tell us why you think it applies to other gods,”Arie said, jumping up on the bed so that his yellow-green eyes could stare unblinkingly at Luc more easily.
Luc glanced at Rose, then back at Arie.
This was going to be it. Whatever Luc had concluded about his magic—about Aterra—Arie had also. Rose was anxious to hear it. It felt like a weight settling over them.
“What if Aterra plans to use me in the same way?” Luc said.
Rose tilted her head. Use Luc in the same way that Zrak was using Juliette? Why would that matter? Luc would never be a willing participant. And Aterra wasn’t in a position where hismagic needed to be strengthened for the Suden fae. She said as much aloud.
“It requires a mixing of blood, Luc. Yours and his. And Rose has a point… It would be hard to get you to complete that ritual without your knowledge.”
“What if our blood is already mixed? What if I’m Aterra’s son?” Luc asked.
This was what he’d been brooding over for days? She considered what they’d read the day prior—Aterra’s too-close relations with the Suden.
