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“I know very well what will happen. I was here long before it existed.”
Railan bristles. Apparently he doesn’t like to be reminded that he knows barely a fraction of what life was like before the Shadow Realm. But I don’t have time to coddle his feelings. What he knows of Acaria when death roamed the land is nothing compared to my knowledge.
Acaria will survive. My brother will make sure of it. He’d never let a little thing like death best him. He was perfectly content to let it wreak havoc before. And in this case, with Elora’s life at stake, I’m content with the outcome as well.
As long as she is safe and far away from here, Acaria can burn for all I care.
“So you’re just going to waste time while the realm falls? I thought it was your top priority.”
My reply is silenced by a knock on the door, and I am grateful for the interruption. I’ve been awake far too long this morning, and my patience where Railan is concerned is waning.
“Come.”
Kaia pokes her head around the door, eyebrows winging up when she sees Railan seated in one of the chairs flanking my desk. Then they drop into a frown at the look on his face.
“What’s going on here?” she asks, taking the empty chair and smoothing her skirts.
“Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.”
I wave a dismissive hand at Railan, but I can tell by the look on Kaia’s face I’m not going to get out of this one so easily. Railan merely lifts a shoulder in a casual shrug when I glare at him.
“Why is everyone acting so odd today? First Elora, now you. What happened, Thieran?”
“What’s wrong with Elora?”
“Later. Don’t change the subject. Tell me what’s going on.”
She glances at Railan, who gestures at me with a broad sweep of his arm.
“The Shadow Realm is weakening again.”
“I know that.”
“You do?”
She huffs out a breath. “I can feel it as you can. And then you went to Fontoss yesterday looking for the ritual. I assumed it was more serious than even I understood.”
Kaia looks between us, her frown deepening.
“There’s more you’re not saying. What happened in Fontoss?”
I shove out of my chair and cross to the window, clasping my hands behind my back. There’s no avoiding it now.
“Nothing. The book with the ritual was missing.”
“Missing? How can it be missing? You can’t take rare books from the capital library.”
“Well,” I say, clenching and unclenching my jaw, “someone did.”
“All right.” I hear the rustle of fabric as Kaia shifts in her chair. “That’s not the end of the world. We just need to consider some other options. Surely there’s a solution here.”
“Tell her all of it,” Railan says, his tone flat.
“All of what?”
I open my mouth to reply, but I can’t bring myself to say it. Not again. I don’t like even thinking the words, let alone giving voice to them.
