It’s terrible, and not at all entertaining the way I’m certain these beings would have seen it if they were in my position. But still, it’s success.
But I can’t enjoy it or the way Vincent roars in anger, slamming his first to the table. “No! No! No!”
Or the way Liz laughs. A beautiful sound, even though it’s so full of bitterness.
I can’t enjoy it because something is still wrong.
My connection with Jarron is still flat. I don’t know if he’s okay, but it’s not only that.
There’s somethingherethat is amiss.
Aceline shifts into the form of a massive serpent and coils tightly before hissing terribly. His serpent body twists and writhes, then stills, belly up.
The cyclops groans, holding his head.
Something is—
Shit.
I know what’s wrong.
“I miscalculated,” I whisper.
“What?” Janet asks. “What did you miscalculate?”
The cyclops is in pain but doesn’t fall to the floor.
I spin to face them. “The cyclops is huge. It’s been bugging me for the last hour. Something was off about it. That’s what it is. The death potion—I didn’t give him a strong enough of a dose for his size.”
They blink at me, shocked frozen.
“I miscalculated. He’s not going to die.”
59
Two Major Problems
I need the cyclops to die.
If he doesn’t, the council will remain intact. My sister will continue to be enslaved, and the war will continue.
“There’s something we can do, right?” Thompson says, already on his feet.
“One miss, that’s salvageable!” Janet says reasonably.
“Yeah,” I breathe. “Uh-huh. But I’ve got another problem.”
Their eyes flare.
“They used the nullifier on Jarron. He’s powerless, injured, and cornered.”
I could give up now and go to him. I could find my way to the palace and give him the antidote. I could fight for him the way I’ve always promised to.
But that would mean giving this up.
It would mean giving up on saving my sister. It would mean letting Vincent continue his crusade against Oriziah—which is clearly working—and wait for the moment my sister comes to capture me.
She’ll be forced to torture me. Kill me.
