Wicked Rebellion (Darkwater Reformatory Book 3) Page 19

  Yes. I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to touch my Seeker power again. It still hid inside me.

  Rohnan held out his hands.

  Closing her eyes, Akimi scrunched her face, and a multitude of tiny branches sprouted from her arms until she hosted a dense mesh where her hands would be. She slid them under Rohnan’s tennas until she separated his skin from the magical metal.

  A ping, and they dropped to the ground. They smoldered, and smoke drifted off them before they sunk into the floor and disappeared, leaving only a black spot behind.

  “How do you feel?” I asked, clinging to his arm. I hadn’t been able to leave him. If he exploded, so would I.

  “Next,” Akimi said in a shaky voice. “Who wants to be next?”

  Jacey held up her arms. “Me.”

  “Sure.” Akimi’s branches wiggled underneath Jacey’s tennas and, like with Bronin, they popped off and fizzled into the floor.

  Jacey rubbed her wrists, and grim satisfaction filled her features. “Hurry up, everyone. It’s time to party.”

  “We’re leaving,” I said, moving closer to Akimi to take my turn after Rohnan.

  “I have a vengeance to settle with the fae king.” Jacey’s gaze met Rohnan’s. “But it will take planning. I’m not the person I was when I arrived here. I’ve learned caution. If I leap into the kingdom with a sword in my hand, I’ll be dead within minutes. No, this will take cunning.”

  “I’ll take you to your sister,” Brodin said to me. “You can protect her until after…”

  “You try to kill your father,” I said, my voice croaking. I didn’t want to remove my tennas if it meant I’d lose him.

  “You know I have to do this.”

  “Let me come with you.”

  “We’ve been through this. You know I can’t let you go with me.” He cupped my face. “Tria. I need to know you’re safe.”

  “What about me? I need to know you’re safe, too, and you won’t be if you go to the Seeker’s Headquarters.”

  “It’s something I need to do. Remember, I’m making a plan.”

  “Let’s make a deal,” I said. “First, help me protect my sister, and then I’ll go with you,” I held up my hand before he could interrupt, “I’ll hide outside. He won’t know I’m there. Then I can help you if things go…” I wouldn’t—couldn’t—say bad.

  He growled. “You know what happens if we follow this path.”

  “Yet here you are, following it yourself.”

  He tapped his temple. “Knowledge, remember? I know what to expect. I can avoid that outcome.”

  “We don’t have time,” Akimi said, looking toward the tunnel we traveled through already. “Something is heading this way.”

  A dull thud was followed but others, as if numerous creatures rushed toward us.

  My heart flipped, and my mouth went dry.

  While my skin peppered with goosebumps, I held out my hands to Akimi. I’d get the tennas off and then Brodin and I could talk. We’d be useless trying to fight off whatever was coming if we didn’t have power.

  It was time to change the trajectory of this challenge.

  Akimi took care of Rohnan and I at the same time, removing our right and then left tennas. When they released, I sucked in my first real breath in what felt like forever.

  I was free. Finally.

  Akimi opened her eyes and smiled, but her face had filled with creases. She staggered, and Brodin caught her, holding her upright.

  Before he could ease her onto the floor, the world spun.

  In a blink we stood in a circular room resembling a big, black globe with a shiny, clear floor.

  Bixby strode toward us, her skirts shoosh-shoosh-shooshing around her ankles. Her heels tapped on the floor. She shoved her dark hair past her shoulders and snarled. “I don’t need tennas to control you.”

  Duvoe leaned against a wall to her left, his arms crossed on his chest, and his fingers, like always, twitching.

  He tipped his head back and cackled.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Brodin lowered Akimi to the floor and moved around to stand in front of her. “It’s over, Bixby,” he said softly. “You want to set us free.”

  I felt it… Brodin’s magical skill was influencing others. Power surged around the room, making my skin quiver. He infused his words with his magic, but would it work on Bixby?

  “You think not?” A flick of her hand, and Brodin was lifted and flung against the wall. He hit hard and remained pinned in place.

  “Do not…” Akimi’s breathing stuttered but when she tried to rise, she collapsed to the floor again. “Do not let her lock you up. Please. And do not let her force you to go after more dragons.”

  “Never,” I said. As I stood, Akimi’s hand brushed my hip.

  I moved around to place myself between her and Bixby, taking the spot Brodin had tried to use to defend our friend. My Seeker power wouldn’t do much for me here, but sketar mist floated around me, the colors particularly vibrant inside this giant bubble. I called it to me, and savored the thrill of it pouring into me, filling me up.

  “That paltry magic is useless here,” Bixby sneered. “You do not know what you play with. I am the one with the power here, Apprentice Seeker.”

  I thrust out my magic, shoving Bixby backward. She stumbled and gasped. Righting her footing, she snarled and rushed toward me, carrying with her a wave of power that would flatten me if it hit.

  Bracing myself, I called for more mist, refilling the well I’d depleted. I held up my hand, and when Bixby’s magic hit me, I used sketar power to tear it apart. It curled around me like heavy smoke, making my nose tingle, but it dissipated as it passed, sinking into the walls like putrid rot.

  With magic licking between her fingers, Jacey rushed across the room and flung herself at Bixby.

  I expected them to go down in a tangle of limbs but…

  Jacey passed through Bixby.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “No,” Duvoe yelled, his arms lifting.

  Akimi loomed behind him, the trowel my father had given me in her hand. She brought it down, impaling Duvoe through the back. He staggered, his hands clawing at the tip sticking out through his breastbone. When he lifted his gaze, it met mine. His lips trembled, and he groaned. Keeling forward, he slammed onto the floor on his side.

  Brodin dropped to the floor and climbed to his feet. He crossed the small room and took my hand. “What the hell just happened?”

  Duvoe gasped, drawing our attention.

  “I had to wait until he was distracted,” Akimi said.

  “Bixby…” I shuddered. “She disappeared.”

  “She was never here. Not really,” Akimi said. Her branch-hands fluttered at her sides. “Don’t you know who he is and what he was doing?”

  “Tell me,” I said, walking over to stand next to Duvoe. Dark blood gushed from the holes in his back and chest, pooling around him. Unless he found a Healer, he wouldn’t be with us for long, but I doubted Jacey would waste her precious healing magic on Duvoe.

  “He isn’t Duvoe. And she wasn’t Bixby. She was nothing but an illusion,” Akimi said.

  “How is this possible?” Jacey asked, leaning into Rohnan’s embrace. “We saw her. She did magic. She was a fiend.”

  “For a long time, I had suspected this,” Akimi said, her gaze never leaving Duvoe. “Today, it was confirmed.”

  “It doesn’t make sense,” I said. “I don’t understand.”

  “Duvoe crafted and maintained Bixby,” Akimi said. “I do not believe she ever existed. Do you not remember? Duvoe was always present while Bixby worked her magic, his arms crossed and his hands twitching. He watched and let her take the blame.”

  I dropped down onto one knee beside him. “Why?” I wasn’t sure who I asked, him or Akimi.

  His face…shifted.

  I gasped, falling back onto my butt. “Uncle Blaine?”

  “Couldn’t…” He coughed and blood spurted from his mouth. “Yo
u ruined it. Ruined…me.”

  His head slumped to the side, and he was gone before I could quiz him further.

  “He seized control from the original Warden,” Akimi said, her voice tight. “Then took that man’s face. And then he created Bixby.” She shrugged. “I assume to deflect attention away from him. As long as she was the one crafting evil, he could manipulate behind the scenes. And if he was ever accused or brought to trial for what went on here, she would take the blame.”

  “Are you sure Bixby doesn’t exist?” I asked. Peering around, I expected her to stomp through the door with her dress crackling around her calves. “She won’t return?”

  “No,” Akimi said. “He was a switch-witch, a being able to assume any identity.”

  “Ah, so he tried to divert attention from himself when he named the switch-witch during our visit in his cottage.”

  “He was wise,” Brodin said. “He kept his skill hidden. Then he could use it without anyone suspecting what was going on.”

  “Why did he give us the stones?” Rohnan asked. “With them, he gave us the ability to complete the test.”

  “I assume because too many others failed? I really do not know.” Akimi yanked the trowel from Duvoe—Uncle Blaine’s back—and held it out to me.

  How could I take it? It had killed someone connected to me, even if he wasn’t anyone I’d ever claim as family. I kept my hands clenched at my sides even when she nudged it closer.

  “Take it,” she said. “It is yours. I stole it when you knelt beside me.” Her head dipped forward. “I apologize for my action.”

  “Oh, okay. Umm…yeah.” Unable to suppress my shudder, I took it, and it shrunk back to the tiny form that would fit inside my pocket. I was relieved when I could tuck it out of sight. Never out of mind, however. I’d always remember how she’d used it.

  Was this what my father intended when he gave it to me?

  My father. Did he know his brother had taken control of Darkwater? How would he feel when he learned his twin was dead?

  “I can speak now. With his death, the blood bond is broken,” Akimi said. “I am finally free. I can find my sister and fuse her back together. The Sheera you met at the prison will be no more.”

  With Duvoe dead, Akimi’s possible future had changed. She wouldn’t die from Titan’s hand, and she wouldn’t end up rooted in front of the prison, bound to one spot forever. After helping her sister, she could seek her true one with a clear heart.

  If she could change her path—her future—so could I. But first, I’d arrange things with Brodin.

  When I turned, he was gone.

  “Brodin,” I cried, covering my face with my hands. Pain arced through me, stabbing through my heart. “Come back. Please.”

  Only silence and a stark look of horror on Jacey’s face was my reply.

  He left, driving himself toward the fate he accepted.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  If I followed Brodin, and I could do so easily with my Seeker skill, I’d doom my sister. But if I remained with my sister to protect her…

  “There must be a way to save them both,” I growled. How could I decide? Losing either of them would shred me to pieces.

  Jacey helped me up off the floor and gave me a quick hug before stepping backward. “I think there’s a way.” She held out her hand. “It might take a quad, but we still have one.”

  “Yes!” Rohnan linked his hand on her wrist. Akimi’s branch connected to him, leaving only me to finish the square.

  I flipped my hand over. The symbol had four sides, no longer five.

  Brodin…

  “Where would we go first?” I asked. “If I rush to help Brodin, my sister could die. But if I go to my sister, Brodin might die.”

  “If we eliminate the creator of the blood bond, that will stop the other person from carrying through their promise to kill your sister,” Akimi said. “This is the only way.”

  Torn, I shook my head, but each second I spent undecided was one less I had to help either of them. “I can’t leave my sister unguarded.”

  “Take me to her.” Akimi’s gaze met mine, and the bark on her face creased with strain. “I will protect her.”

  Sometimes in life, you had to trust someone you doubted. You had to take a chance or risk losing everything.

  I sucked in a breath and, as I released it, I locked my hand onto Akimi’s wrist, completing the quad. “Thank you, Akimi. I’ll take you to Fleur.”

  “You’re saying a tree nymph is going to be my bodyguard?” my sister Fleur said. Her smile quirked up, lighting up her face. We sat together in her Coven room at Crystal Wing Academy, her pacing in front of me while the rest of our group stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. I finished explaining, giving her the short version due to time constraints. My heart urged me to get to Brodin now, before it was too late.

  “There’s a joke here somewhere, right?” Fleur narrowed her gaze on my face. “Spill, Tria. Tell. Me. All.”

  “I don’t have time. You’ll have to trust me when I say it’s the truth.”

  I couldn’t stop hugging her, reassuring myself she was still alive. It had been easier than I could imagine using my Seeker skill to find Fleur. Magic worked best when it was being used to protect a person you loved.

  Akimi bowed, her upper branches brushing across the ceiling. A few leaves drifted onto the floor. “I am honored to serve as your protector.”

  “I still can’t believe all of this,” Fleur said, flopping back onto her bed. “Are you sure someone is going to try to kill me?”

  “Sadly, yes,” Jacey said. Her attention shot to me. “We can’t stay and explain further, I’m afraid. We need to go before…”

  Fear ground through me. Before we arrived too late.

  “Let Akimi stay with you all the time, okay?” I asked.

  Sitting up, one of Fleur’s eyebrows lifted. “Always? Not when I’m with Donovan.”

  “Her boyfriend,” I said to the others. “The king is his older brother.”

  “I see.” Rohnan’s hands twitched on his thighs.

  “The king of this realm,” I said. “He’s not my favorite person, but he’s not as bad as the fae king.”

  “He’s changed,” Fleur said with a grin. “Something about needing an Unraveler.”

  “My sister is the only Unraveler,” I said with pride shining in my voice.

  Rohnan’s concern turned to awe. “She can undo any Bespeller’s magic.” He dipped forward in a formal bow. “Again, I am honored to meet you.”

  “But we’ve got to go,” Jacey said again.

  “Okay,” Fleur said, sliding off her bed. “I’ll hang out with Akimi while you take care of…” She frowned. “What did you say you have to take care of?”

  We hadn’t said. We couldn’t. “It’s a simple project. We’ll be back before you miss me.” I didn’t want to worry her, and she didn’t need to know all the details until it was over.

  “I’m not stupid,” Fleur said. “If you’ve gotten yourself into more trouble, tell me now. I can help. You could say I’ve got an in with a king.”

  Who hadn’t stepped up to help me when I was accused of murdering Brodin’s mother. But, as my grandfather said, that was magic under the bridge, washed away with the tide. Maybe things had changed while I’d been at Darkwater.

  Once we took care of the Master Seeker, we could ask the king’s help in clearing my name.

  “Gotta go,” I said, hugging my sister again. I made it last as long as I could, until she leaned back with a laugh.

  “Love you, too, sis.” Her arms tightened around me, and she whispered. “Something’s wrong. Say the word, and I’ll call in the forces. I won’t let them hurt you.”

  “Really,” I said, stepping away from her. “They’re my friends. You can trust they’ll watch out for me. And Akimi will protect you with her own life.”

  Akimi’s branch landed on my shoulder, and she made no effort to hide the shake.

  “Thank yo
u for trusting me with this,” she said. “I will not fail you.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Now that I knew where to find him, it only took two seconds to reach the Seeker’s Headquarters hidden high in the mountains. To think, I spent days climbing through the hills to reach this location, I could now magically flit to it with a blink of my eyes.

  Please. Let us be on time.

  “I’m going in,” I said, rushing toward the door. Nothing would keep me from storming the building.

  “Hold on, there,” Rohnan said, grabbing my arm as I swept past him. “I get it. If it was Jacey or you inside, I’d do the same thing, but don’t you think we need a strategy? From what I’ve heard, entering any magical headquarters without permission could mean instant death.”

  As much as I hated it, Rohnan was right. Roaring into the building would be reckless, but sweat razored down my spine, and my heart had turned to lead.

  “Let’s do this rationally,” Jacey said, nudging Rohnan to the side. “We’ll pull our weapons and our sketar magic, and then storm the building. Disarm the Master Seeker and rescue Brodin.”

  Rohnan grinned. “Love your style, Jace.”

  She leaned into his side. “Same.” Her humor faded, and she nodded at me. “We’re a team. We do this together.” She turned to Rohnan. “I assume you found some weapons?”

  He pulled three fillinettes from a sleeve on his side.

  “Where did you find those?” I asked, lifting one while Jacey took another. It was rare to find one magical fillinette, but three? And he somehow found them while I floundered around rehashing what to do.

  I had to admit, I was grateful. All I brought was a simple trowel. Although, it had been anything but simple when used on my uncle.

  Rohnan swiped his fillinette through the air. “You ladies aren’t the only ones with power.”

  “Now can we storm the Headquarters?” I couldn’t wait any longer. Lifting the fillinette, I pointed it toward the building. “Watch out, Ramseff,” I whispered. “I’m coming, and you won’t control me any longer. Our blood bond is finished. I will finish it when I eliminate you.”