Cara’s lips straightened. “It’s true.”
Cass’s face had gone rigid. “If we get him back, can you save him?”
“I think I can. But it’s not a sure thing. And the longer he is without his horn—” she broke off, glancing at me.
Cass’s eyes blazed. “What Galeran’s done to Sebastian—he needs to go down.”
Eli’s eyes flashed. “As in dead down.”
“We will need all of you once we find Galeran,” Cara said.
I noticed she used “once” instead of “if.” Cass had put his arm around Eli, whose face had gone completely rigid as he attempted to control himself.
“Have you heard about Gartaka?” Cass asked Cara. “And Orik. And Batak.”
Cara stiffened. “What about them?”
Eli actually growled, before saying, “They are towns about four hundred miles from here. Someone wiped them out last night. Everyone is dead.”
Cara rubbed her temples. “I sensed faint ripples through the energies, but I’ve been—distracted. That sounds like Galeran.”
“Azazel was pretty sure he sensed Bellati involvement. Neither Eli nor myself felt anything. But Aza is the most powerful of us, now that Sebastian is missing.”
“I’ll get Jacques to look into it,” Cara stated. “Galeran’s been impossible to track. But we might have a solution to that.” Her gaze slid to me. “This is Anna. Sebastian’s soulbonded.”
Their gazes snapped to me. I saw a glimmer of hope in them, and swallowed.
“Soulbonded?” Eli straightened. “So you can mindspeak with him?”
“If he deigns to talk to me,” I said. “I haven’t had much luck so far.”
Cass snorted. “Sounds like Sebastian.”
Cara took control of the conversation. “I am certain that he will contact her the moment he discovers the location of Galeran’s hideout. We need to be ready when that happens.”
Eli’s lips peeled back from clenched teeth. “I want a piece of that monster.”
Cara looked at me. “Eli and Cass were with Galeran, and left when Sebastian did.”
My eyes widened. “You were with Galeran?”
“We’re here now because we believe there is another way.” Eli exhaled, and some rage dimmed in his eyes. “Although I must admit it isn’t an easy path. I hope what you have planned today takes a while. Ihatedigging.”
Cass had more of the typical Bellati-man-of-ice expression as he added, “We should have the communities downstream protected and be ready for Nikolai in about a week.”
“He’s part of this, too?” I asked. I’d thought his power was too scary to use.
Cara waved toward the dam. “With my guidance, Nikolai will create a new path for the river.”
As I gaped at her, my brain added “Perditor training” to her already impressive list of virtues.
Oblivious to my reaction, or perhaps accustomed to incredulity around that topic, Cass added, “He’s already purified the water in the reservoir. Once released, he will use it to flush the pollution from this section of the river.”
Wow. The thought that he could save this river staggered me.
Eli looked from Cara to me. “What do you need from us?”
“I need you to teach Anna how to fight like a Bellati.”
