Page 91 of Avelina

I nodded again. “So, you see now why we must fight them. If Anick comes back using Ward’s body, there will be nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.” I turned to Aaron. “Even Earth isn’t safe. We have no choice. We have to stop Seleca before it’s too late.”

Aaron and I stared at each other for a long moment. We took a breath together, and I turned around, keeping one of his arms around my shoulders. Let Falon take that as a clear message.

“You’ve all said you’re in,” Aaron said. “Can we count on you?” He looked at each of the men in turn, making eye contact with every face.

The Smite brothers nodded right away, as did Ellis. They all had family to rescue. The Eboros brothers glanced at each other first, took a breath, then nodded more reluctantly. They had less to gain and more to lose. Falon’s eyes met my own, then he looked at Aaron, then back at me, his eyes searching. One corner of his mouth twitched, and Spirit started laughing again.

“I think someone likes a challenge,” she commented aloud.

Seriously, Spirit. If you must comment, could you keep it between us? I stole a peek at Aaron, knowing he’d heard what Spirit had said. He returned the look, his brow furrowed. I rolled my eyes and shook my head in the universal gesture that meant never mind, then resolved not to meet Falon’s gaze again.

“Okay,” Aaron said. “We’ll leave in the morning, after we’ve gotten a few hours of sleep.”

“Why not now?” Ellis asked. “Ward can’t wait for us to take a nap.”

“Neither can Cobb,” added Shane.

Oh, interesting, Spirit thought to me. Here’s something we should keep between us.

What?

Cobb’s a woman who’s been disguised as a boy her whole life.

“Skiffing isn’t safe in this weather,” Aaron said, oblivious to my conversation with Spirit, “at least not in the dark. Besides, you’re all dead on your feet, especially Lina. You won’t be any good to anyone if you’re too exhausted to hold an oar.”

Why is she disguised? I asked Spirit.

I’m not sure. The Smite brothers aren’t thinking about why, they’re only worried that someone will find out while Cobb’s enthralled. That would significantly worsen her current situation. It’s a miracle that it hasn’t happened yet.

“And we need to make a basic plan, at the very least,” Fitch said sensibly. “I don’t want to botch the rescue.”

Aaron nodded. I could tell those two would get along nicely. “And if your brother took Ward back to Axel’s home,” Aaron added, “which is not definite, then we don’t know who could be there. We’ll most likely only get one chance to rescue them.”

Ellis and Shane both frowned but yielded to the logic of Aaron’s argument.

I’m guessing this is related to why there are so few girls around, Spirit thought.

Yeah, I agreed, I haven’t met one since I’ve been here.

Aaron turned to me. “Let’s show them the library,” he said, and thought to me, and go to bed.

Our bed, I thought back, yawning. “That sounds great.”

He smiled, taking my hand. Our bed, yes. But this? He squeezed my hand a little to indicate that he meant me. This is mine.

With that, he pulled me past the crew toward the stairs. I didn’t know if the timing of his declaration was significant, but I very carefully avoided Falon’s eyes as we passed him.

We told our new crew everything that night. Spirit volunteered to patrol the grounds while we educated them on the reality of what the Ministry actually was and what they wanted. Namely, power. That was always the motivation behind the Ministry's plan to resurrect Anick, the so-called Holy Father. If they knew him like I do now, they would have run away screaming. He was not who they believed him to be. Violet Atticus knew, though. She knew everything.

Fitch, Shane, and Ellis looked through the forbidden books with reverence as if they were finally discovering the answers to a great mystery. Falon and Markus already had many of the same books in their own private library at the Eboros estate in Neesee.

We learned a great deal as well. Shane and Fitch were lesser transformers but had no greater reservoirs. The Eboros brothers were both greater transmuters, a family secret that Markus was loath to reveal. Transmutation ran in their family much like Evocation ran in Aaron’s family. Their father owned all the most important durran and fortite mines on Monash, but those mines didn’t produce nearly as much as they claimed. Instead, the family secretly specialized in transmuting stone into the two substances and then selling those products to the Metalworkers Guild and the Caravan Traders.

No wonder Markus and Falon acted like spoiled rich kids. That’s exactly what they were. Falon slightly less so, thanks to his mother’s influence. Spirit was right about that guy, though. He did love a challenge.

Ellis had been trapped in Projection the entire time Aaron was in hiding. He was lucky to be alive, let alone sane. If it hadn’t been for my method of healing using a blended Connection link with Conjuration and Protection, he probably wouldn’t have been. Even so, the Ellis who emerged from long-term captivity was not the same one Aaron knew. Aaron later told me this new version was more like a reflection of his friend and former roommate, one who looked the same but was empty behind that facade.

I think Ellis was trapped in a well of darkness. He was free of his Projection trance but not of the memories he made there. Not only had Ellis been made to hold girls down for Axel, he’d also been forced to attempt the impregnation himself on more than one occasion. Entranced, he’d had no ability to prevent those encounters, but he carried the guilt all the same.

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