The cavern was warm and illuminated by crystals embedded in the rock. They lit those passing beneath with pulses of multicolored rays. The life energy absorbed and released by the crystals confused Nikolai’s ability to read it at all.
Which was the entire point. The best way to hide it, was to be immersed in it. No way the Watchers could sense what Galeran was up to, with him living here. But what was he up to?
They entered a huge central chamber. The ceiling soared fifty feet into the air, with enormous crystals hanging down like iridescent stalactites. A chair sat on a raised area in the center of the room.
Not a chair. Athrone.
As Galeran took his seat, a ripple of unease passed through Nikolai, and his mane lifted as though each hair had a sentience all its own. The old burn mark, now sitting beneath it, throbbed.
A woman emerged from a doorway along the back of the cave. Nikolai stiffened—he recognized her. It was the slender woman who had smiled at him as the Watchers bound him to his animal form.
Galeran noted Nikolai’s focused stare. “I believe you have met Isobel? She is one of the few Liberi females that have joined my cause. And the only Watcher.”
His cause? Nikolai snorted. The Bellatis formed a tight semicircle around both him and Galeran. He abandoned any thought of speaking aloud—what he had to say wasn’t meant for a committee.
If you are my father,why have you waited all this time to come forward?
I sent you away for a reason. And I needed you to be ready.
He’d sent him away? I was born in the human realm.
Yes. We decided it was the best place to hide you.
Nikolai’s mane was writhing like it was possessed by snakes.But my mother died.
It was necessary to bring you into the world.
None of this made any sense at all. Nikolai’s ears flattened tight to his neck.Are you saying she knew she would die?
No. But her death was required. The only way to create a Perditor, is for both parents to carry the lines of power, and for the mother to then die at birth. It is her release of energy that carries the child from a talented Bellati to a Perditor.Galeran smiled.It is not a fact well known, fortunately. She thought she was taking you someplace safe, but not that she would be sacrificed for you.
Nikolai’s mind spun. He remembered how Ngubi had protected him from the Liberi, as his dying mother had instructed.But why did I have to hide?
We hid your mother’s pregnancy, too. Once they determined the fetus was male, the Liberi Elders would have carefully monitored your birth. They would have ensured that you did not come into your power. Galeran’s lips twitched into a smile. Don’t worry, she felt little pain. My emissary was swift and thorough. She dispatched your mother and burned the rune into your neck that would permit me to live in your mind.
The rune? Nikolai tossed his head. The burn on his neck was Galeran’s link to his mind? His heart ached for his mother. The level of devious planning involved in this...
Considering what I can do, it would have been for the best if I were never born.
You are the harbinger of our future.
Nikolai stared at his father.Just what is that supposed to mean?
Galeran smiled. All his teeth showed, but the gleam in his eyes had nothing to do with humor.
You,he said,are destined to set the Bellatis free.
32
Aria followed Lucas across the Assiniboine River’s footbridge. When they reached the vehicular bridge that spanned the larger Red River, she recognized it as the one they’d used when they’d been with Nikolai.
She assessed the stiff set to Lucas’s broad shoulders and the fact he hadn’t spoken since they’d left the Forks. The Morph seemed increasingly tense. Was he regretting sticking with her in her quest to help Nikolai? There was no love lost between Lucas and the Liberi, yet the Morph had insisted that he owed the big guy. Enough to accompany her on this crazy venture? She hoped so.
Aria pondered their mission as her fingers scritched along Mai’s neck. What did she hope to accomplish by tracking down Cara? Nikolai had only been gone a day; it wasn’t likely that anything had been resolved in that time. And even if she didn’t agree with what the Watchers had decided to do with him, the Liberis weren’t about to listen to what she had to say.
But she couldn’t just sit around and worry about him. She needed to know what they’d done. Because if he was in a cage... If he was, what could they do about it?
Her frustration had her grinding her teeth as they approached a grassy area lined with trees. As a park, Coronation was pretty basic. The grass was mowed. That was about it.
