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“Fantastic,” I said and turned to the window, looking out at the clear sky and the mortals below.
His footsteps receded, and I heard the door close a second later.
The power flickered, and I took a deep breath, steadying my nerves. Lights buzzed, and I took another breath, inhaling through my nose and slowly exhaling through my mouth.
“You have to expel some of that.” Vincent neared, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Another thunderstorm wouldn’t hurt,” he said, nodding toward the window.
I shook my head. “It’s been raining for days.”
“And it’s dried. Do it. You need it.”
My head lifted, feeling the familiar tingle beneath my skin as I summoned the energy. I felt every atom. They bounced off each other, building the storm. A tendril of power whipped out of me, and I took another breath. The sun disappeared, thick clouds rolling across the sky. Thunder rocked the world, the clouds broke open, and rain poured like someone had turned on a great faucet. I heard the curses of mortals down on the street as the wind howled.
“Feel better?’
“No.”
My reflection glared back at me from the rain-spattered window. The suits they draped me in were supposed to make the mortals see me as more approachable, but I knew it was actually to show them I was not falling apart. My face was clean-shaven, and my hair trimmed short. They wanted me seen as whole and not the broken king they knew so little about.
Fake a smile. Look presentable, as if your entire world is not in shambles.
Pretend. Pretend. Pretend.
That’s what Vincent said, what he preached. He wanted the mortals to feel secure and not as if the world was on the verge of yet another catastrophe.
Lightning streaked across the sky, and the door opened. My eyes searched the reflection in the window. I longed to see her burst through the door, carrying a plate of food for me, a smile blooming across her cheeks as she did at the Vanderkai’s mansion.
“See, it’s grumpy, just like you.”
I spun as the image of her faded, and Logan rushed in, carrying a smaller tablet than Greg’s.
“We found something.”
I pushed away from the window and was at Logan’s side in an instant.
Logan handed me the tablet, a graph displayed on the screen. Blue, yellow, and red lines all showed an upward trend. I scanned the screen, noticing the small numbers along the bottom. Time was labeled over thirty minutes, yet it still made no sense.
“What am I looking at?” I sighed, rubbing my brow.
Vincent retreated behind his desk, watching Logan and me.
“The waves you see show electromagnetic interference, pretty much what TV and radio give off during a broadcast. They spiked right here when Kaden started talking and stayed that way until he—” He stopped, and I knew a part of him hurt for Gabby’s death, even if he never spoke of it. “Anyway, it stopped shortly after.”
“And?”
Vincent cleared his throat. “Logan thinks it was broadcasting not just to us but beyond Onuna.”
Logan sneered at Vincent. “I’m not wrong. It spiked, and to a degree that made it accessible to not only every TV and radio in this realm but farther.”
Vincent rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say. I think there is no possible way it could reach past this realm. They are closed, and even if it could be done, who would Kaden be reaching out to? Everyone is dead. You really think some cosmic entity survived this long and wants a special broadcast on Dianna?”
“Why am I just now hearing of this?” I asked with a frown, looking between the two.
Logan cleared his throat. “Vincent thought it was a pointless lead on yet another dead end, but once I saw the graph, I knew I was on the right track.”
Vincent cleared his throat. “We need to focus on making sure the mortals are comfortable and not chasing our tails on hints and guesses. The spikes could be from the energy both of them expelled when she—”
“You do not answer to Vincent,” I snapped. I did not mean to talk to him like that, but I knew I had done so often over the last two weeks. Logan scowled at Vincent as I leaned forward and took the device. Ignoring their stare down, I studied the screen. “If, by chance, Logan is not wrong, who would he speak to? More importantly, why would they be interested in Dianna and her sister?”
