Rime shrugs. “Someone from the Subworld.”
“Duh.”
He laughs. “Duh? Hmm. I like that one. Duh. Duh, duh, duh.”
I roll my eyes. “Okay, then, what’s the Subworld?”
He stops practicing hisduhsand answers. “It’s short for Subjugated World, what we call the realm of humans.”
So a Subworlder is a human. I ask, even though I already know, “Subjugated how?”
Rime thinks for a moment, probably trying to find a way to cushion the blow. “Like I said, in Nàdar we believe everyone is equal. No one living thing is more important than another, so no one tries to wield power over anyone else: the fae, the birds and animals, fish and plants, the earth itself. We live in harmony because we’re all the same.”
“And humans do the opposite.”
We both sigh.
I think aloud, “What is it the Bible says? ‘Subdue the earth and have dominion over it?’” Something like that. Whatever the exact words, we humans have taken them to heart, and twisted, contorted, and molded them into a way of life that only serves us. “Nàdar sounds like a wonderful place. Better than here.”
“It is, most of the time.” Rime’s mouth turns down. “But not right now.”
“How come?”
He sets down his cup and licks his lips. “An egalitarian society only works if everyone thinks we’re equal. But every now and then someone rises up who believes they’re better, smarter, more powerful—and that they should rule over all of Nàdar.”
“Are you talking about Brier?”
“You’re smart, little psychic.” His smile is tight. “It’s happened twice in our history. Centuries ago, and right now. Brier has already taken control of our capital. He’s building an army and hoarding resources. He says he’s unifying and strengthening Nàdar, but what he’s really doing is destroying it from the inside out.”
“Avery said you’re searching for something. Something that’s hidden here.”
Like a documentary interviewee, Rime nods and folds his hands in his lap. “Yes, something dangerous. Most likely some sort of weapon.”
At the wordweapon,I nearly fall out of my chair. Did somebody bury a nuke in the Blue Ridge Mountains?
Nervously, I eye Rime. “One ofourweapons?”
“No, one of ours. But nearly as powerful.”
I gulp. “And it’s here? In North Carolina?”
“Within five miles of where we sit.”
I can’t keep myself from glancing around, like our table could be standing right over it. A weapon almost powerful as a nuclear missile. What if someone drops a spoon on the floor and the reverberations causeit to blow?
Rime bends closer and quietly says, “It needs to be wielded, Betts. You’re safe. We’ll all be safe if we can keep it out of Brier’s hands.”
“So that’s the goal?” I ask. “Find it before Brier does?”
“Yes, that’s what we’re trying to do. Until a month ago, we weren’t sure if Brier even knew the weapon existed, much less where to find it. But hearing the news that he’s sent a search party to the Subworld—” Rime shakes his head. “We can’t afford to waste any more time.”
Which Leo has done, by getting too deeply involved with me. When, shamefacedly, I look away, Rime gently insists, “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know.”
Because Leo told me absolutely nothing.
Refusing to indulge my wounded heart, I shift my thoughts back to Nàdar. And I know, without a doubt, that the horrible feeling of vulnerability and impending evil that I felt that morning in Leo’s apartment was the three faeries’ fear of this weapon. I know because I’m feeling it again, weighing down the space around me and Rime.
I ask, “How did one of your weapons gethere?”
