Page 9 of The Stone Survival
He smiled sadly. “She is…no more. At least not in any form that is tangible.”
“What does that mean?”
“She was never given a host. Her energy flowed free among us on the battlefield, and after that she weakened. She sleeps now, her essence locked in a relic we keep safe.”
There was so much sadness in his tone that I couldn’t help but ask. “Did you know her well? Were you close?”
He laughed, a soft breathless sound. “You could say that. She was my mother.”
His mother was a queen? He was royalty, which meant?—
“Yes, Cameron, you have royal heritage,” Ivor said. “You are a rare being indeed.”
Silence fell over us once more, and this time I felt the heat of everyone’s regard. I cleared my throat. “We can’t let them get their hands on Serath or another Halle sigma.”
“What we need to do is draw them out,” Serath added. “Make sure I’m their only option and have them come for me.”
I stared at his profile in horror. “You want to play bait?”
“It’s the quickest way to root them out.”
“But they’ll know what we’re doing,” Levi pointed out. “They’ll know we’re trying to bait them.”
“Yes,” Serath said. “But if they need me that badly, then they’ll risk it to get their hands on me.”
“He’s right,” Ivor said. “And for that, I have a plan.”
Adaline and Ignusjoined us before Ivor could lay out his plan. Levi made a spot for his mother on the sofa beside him, but Ignus remained by the door.
“There are tunnels a few miles from the area where my graynites found you,” Ivor said. “I propose we drop you all at the other end of those tunnels, where you will hopefully be picked up by the guardians sent to look for you by the academy.
“Your story will skate as close to the truth as possible. You’ll tell them that you were attacked by graynites, Serath being one of them. Describe the attack as it happened, but that’s where the story will change.” He looked at me. “You’ll tell them thatyour mate connection with Serath somehow allowed him to eject the entity that was inhabiting his body. And you”—he looked to Serath—“will tell them how your connection to Cameron allowed you to resist the entity’s efforts to eject you.” Ivor sighed. “This is where the lie will begin. You will say that more graynites appeared, intent on attacking the first batch.”
“Which is what happened at the cadet trials,” Curi said tightly.
“Yes, which will make it believable. You’ll tell them that you ran and took refuge in the tunnels. You were hurt and healing.”
“That’s all very well,” Curi said, “but what if they set the alchemist on us?”
“I might be able to help with that,” Adaline said. “You’ve recently undergone an elite trial, and the invasion to your mind is too fresh to risk another. They have no rights to dive into mine, so we should be able to dodge that issue.”
“It could work,” Levi said. “If the council doesn’t insist on taking Serath into custody to run tests.”
“No!” My spine straightened. “I won’t allow it.Wewon’t allow it.” I looked to the team for confirmation, from Curi, whose jaw was set in determination, to Shar, whose eyes flashed with fervor, and finally to Levi, who exhaled and dropped me a nod. “We’ll make it clear that we don’t trust anyone. That he belongs with us, where we can keep him safe. There are traitors in their midst. Someone who told the graynites the location of the elite trial. They can’t deny that. We have the upper hand.”
Ivor smiled, his eyes bright with pride. “Yes, Cameron. You do. I believe in you. I believe that you can do this. And?—”
A sharp crack filled the air, and Derek materialized by the door. His diamond eyes were tinged with crimson, and his chest heaved as if he’d been running. Wild energy pricked my skin as I leapt up and rushed toward him.
He flinched and stepped back, eyes narrowing in suspicion. I stopped, hands up in a placating gesture. “Hey, buddy…” He dipped his chin to meet my gaze, but I wasn’t sure he saw me, not properly. “Derek, it’s me. It’s Cameron.”
He shook his head. “It’s a lie. This is a lie.”
Sharniza joined us. “Derek, we’re here. You’re here. You’re back with us now.”
I stepped aside to make room for her as she reached up to cup his jaw. “You’re home.”
The crimson in his eyes dimmed, and the diamond hue bloomed bright. “Shar…” He lightly touched her cheek before turning his head to look at me. “My Cameron. I am back?”
