Cara finished pouring for all and sat back down. “Bear with me on that for a moment. Because of your association with Nikolai, I will tell you that which is not common knowledge.”
She fixed first Aria, and then Lucas, with a stern look before continuing. “The abilities of our Liberi males complement, but are not the same as, the female talents. Where we use life energy to preserve and bolster, males foster the death side of the equation, capable of psychically sucking the life away.”
Lucas’s eyes widened. “That sounds like a vampire.”
Cara tapped on the table. “The ability has led to several human myths,” she agreed. “The most powerful of our males become Bellatis. They use their skills to fight—all are capable of killing—but they have always been bound by a strict moral code.”
Warriors? Aria stared at her. “If they are warriors, why haven’t I heard of them?”
The Watcher’s mouth pulled into a straight line. “At one time, you would have. They used to patrol the realms, searching for those that transgressed against the cycle of life. Traditionally, when they found an imbalance, the Bellatis moved in to correct it. If it involved the dominant sentient species, they worked to provide alternative solutions. But if they needed to use force, they did so. Few could stand against the Bellatis when they were roused. And afterward, we would come in and heal the land to restore the balance.”
Aria pounced on the pertinent fact. “You said ‘at one time.’”
Cara poured more tea into her cup before she answered. “Yes. I am afraid the Bellatis no longer patrol the realms.”
When she seemed reluctant to continue. Lucas prompted, “Demeti said something about them being confined to their home realm since the war. What war?”
Cara sighed. “Yes. It is not often spoken of, but the Bellatis participated in the war with the Dragons against the Torshins.”
Aria stared at her in shock. She’d never heard about this. When she glanced at Lucas, he gave the slightest shake of his head.
Cara kept going. “The Bellatis used their ability against the Torshin Warlocks and Mages.” Her nimble fingers twirled her cup in circles. “But there was a powerful Bellati convinced he could do more.” She grimaced. “The Elders didn’t see the danger until it was too late. They had no idea that he wasn’t really a Bellati at all. He was a Perditor.”
Lucas sat up a little straighter. “That’s what you called Nikolai.”
“Yes,” the Watcher said quietly. “He is one, as well.”
Aria suddenly couldn’t breathe, and her stomach twisted into a painful knot. Another time, and another Perditor. “What happened?” She barely recognized her own voice.
The twirling fingers stopped moving. “The Perditor tapped into something deep and powerful that even those such as I cannot access.” Cara’s fingers knocked twice on the table and then stilled again. “This core energy is not something to be messed with. Unbalancing it can kill all the life in a realm.”
Aria traded a brief, uncomfortable look with Lucas. They’d both felt the power that Nikolai had released.
The Watcher sat back in her chair. “The Perditor used it to strike down three covens of Torshin Mages with a single blow.” Her mouth straightened. “He overestimated his abilities. The energy he unleashed blasted through, leaving him an empty shell. But it gave the Dragons a chance to win the day, and it may have been instrumental in winning the war.” She grimaced. “But the cost was high.”
Lucas’s gaze flashed to Aria, and she caught a glimpse of swirling emerald. She knew what he was going to say before he said it. “He killed off all the life to do it, didn’t he?”
Cara nodded. “Everything for two hundred miles in each direction. Afterward, even though the war was not over and the Perditor was dead, the Dragon Emperor asked the Liberi Elders to pull the Bellatis from the conflict. They didn’t trust that there wasn’t another monster lurking among them. And the Elders were so horrified by what he’d done that they not only pulled the Bellatis out, but confined them to Elandriel.” She swallowed. “And they have not set foot outside our home realm since.”
Aria absorbed that information. It seemed like a very extreme solution. Hadn’t the Bellatis also done a lot of good? She thought of the dead forests outside the city of Zakaron. Could that have been prevented, if they still roamed the realms? “Do the realms need the Bellatis? Or is it just too risky?”
Cara’s eyes flared almost sapphire. “The realms have been without their influence for over a thousand years. But they cannot go on like this. They need help.”
A potsticker dangled from Lucas’s fork, forgotten. “I know the human realm has its issues. But are you saying that more are in trouble?”
Cara’s lips pulled into a straight line. “Many realms are in trouble, as you put it. I, and a small group of my peers, have applied to the Elders to set the Bellatis free. So that they can police the realms, allowing the Watchers to step in and heal them.”
Heal the realms? That sounded like a monumental task. How powerful was Cara? Everything she knew about Watchers could be summed up in a few sentences. Energy manipulators. Keeper of the gateways. But she’d heard the rumors—that the Liberi were capable of shifting to an animal form
She’d seen Nikolai shift in her dreams. Only he hadn’t been a horse.
Lucas beat her to the question. He stared at Cara, and asked, “What do Liberis change into?”
Cara smiled at him. “I think you know.”
Aria swallowed. “Unicorns.”
She nodded. “We are keepers and protectors.”
