The very thing they were attempting to remove.
He leaned against the wall, his trembling fingers sifting through the long golden locks and fastening on a large bead woven into it. If he went ahead with this, was he unleashing a monster? If that rage erupted, it could take this entire realm down with it.
This plan could all go so terribly wrong. But the answer came not from his head, but from his heart—and it shocked him. At some point in all of this, while linking to Nikolai and glimpsing his life, he’d come to believe in the goodness within him. In the man who loathed what Galeran was doing and wanted only to stop him.
He gritted his teeth. This is what happened when you accepted a demigod as family.
Was that how he viewed Nikolai now? As what, a brother? Lucas didn’t know. Aria was easier. He’d loved her from the moment she walked into his dream. Now that he might never see her again, he was willing to acknowledge it.
He would do anything for her.
Wasdoing this for her. Or so he’d believed. But poised on the point of final decision, he doubted. Because the Liberi had seen the nightmares of Lucas’s past, and neither quailed from them, nor shrugged them off. He’d come crashing through a door to save Lucas from Demeti. Lucas had little doubt that he would do it again in a heartbeat. When he’d broken the collar’s hold, all Lucas had sensed beneath the Perditor’s rage was determination to keep him safe. To defend him, no matter what.
It was something you did for family. And for love. Maybe Lucas wasn’t doing this just for Aria, after all. Or because Nikolai deserved to be saved.
Maybe he was doing it for Nikolai.
He shook the thoughts away. His fingers tightened and broke open a bead woven into his hair. The crystal dust hidden inside tingled as he swallowed it. He hesitated and then consumed more.
A few moments passed, and then a surge of raw power pulsed through him. It was as though his skin was suddenly too tight for his body. Every hair he possessed stood on end, along with a few things better left unacknowledged. His breathing hitched.
Lucas, you okay?
Yep. I’m good.He moved to the cell’s barred door and peered into the hall beyond.
Empty.
It was show time.
He needed a long, thin, and strong arm with dexterous fingers. Lucas concentrated, morphing his arm to that of an orangutan. The strength was not as necessary as the fingers. With them, he yanked a long, metal pick from his braids before extending the arm through the bars.
The length enabled him to reach the lock, and the strength to hold it at the awkward bent angle as the nimble fingers worked the pick.
A few tense moments later, and it clicked open.
Lucas withdrew the arm and focused again, visualizing the young male Liberi. Ash’s features blurred, and the body shifted, growing taller, more heavily muscled.
The clothing was trickier. Liberis used hair to cover the basics, and it took Lucas a few tries to get it right. He was betting on the fact that his small poison injection would keep the young Liberi out of circulation for a few hours. It would be beyond awkward if they bumped into each other.
I would ask what you are doing, but I probably don’t want to know.Nikolai’s mindvoice was a growl.
Yeah. Just lie down in your straw and daydream.
Lie down?Images flashed through Lucas’s mind of Nikolai leaping free and attacking the Bellatis guarding him.
No attacking! This is all about subterfuge. I need to work in the straw around your legs without anyone seeing what I am up to. So be a good Unicorn and lie the hell down.
No reply, just a moaning kind of grumble at the back of his mind. It added to Lucas’s general state of concern.
He opened the gate to his cell and walked into the tunnel. Moments later, he pulled the straw cart along behind him. He kept his movements deliberate and calm as he rounded the corner into the main cavern.
Bellatis milled about in the larger area, talking in low voices. There was no sign of Galeran. Lucas kept moving, pulling his cart. No one even glanced at him. He took a slow, deep breath as he approached the two Bellatis guarding Nikolai’s cave.
They stood close together, discussing the tornado that had obliterated the mine. They barely looked his way as he pulled his cart past them.
Nikolai was lying down. Lucas exhaled in relief.
The sleek head lifted slightly with a clang of chains.Nice pants.
