Page 78 of The Fifth Soul

I feel bad. I can almost see her heart beating out of her chest. She probably feels guilty about causing a scene. I don’t think it’s her fault, but I doubt my words would change anything.

“They are blowing steam, sweetheart.” Jesse tries to assure her. His tone is mocking more than anything, so I’m not surprised when he adds, “I bet on Roman, if it makes you feel better.”

It doesn’t. She gets up in a huff and walks out of the room. Without looking back, she hurries her steps and disappears behind her bedroom door. She doesn’t even slam the door. It shuts quietly with a gentle click. Lexi Blue looks at the fighting fools before walking after her sister. Not much shows on her face, but it never does. At least she takes her cake with her.

“Go rest,” Alejandra instructs me. “Your room is there.” She points at a door inside the suite. “We’ll go looking for information tomorrow night.”

I touch the necklace holding the emerald on my neck. I’m almost there. Matias will be back with me soon. I don’t plan on losing the safety I’ve found here for us. The individual attempting to dismantle the Red Book is in open rebellion against Brandon's leadership, even if he refuses to acknowledge it. Whatever this rebel group is plotting, I will do everything in my power to stop it. I won’t let anyone jeopardize Matias’s safety again.

CHAPTER 30

BRANDON

The city of Nahla is one we rarely visit. I have only been to this land a handful of times. Most of the time, the Royal Kai family comes to us. They insist on it, as a matter of fact. Despite their lack of invitations to visit them, they’ve always been friendly.

Their homeland is the least technologically advanced compared to other cities in Puerto Quinn. They focus on the natural beauty of the rivers running through their city. Due to the homes and structures built surrounding the riverbanks, most places are only accessible by foot.

In past years, I’ve watched how other royal houses have commented on how outdated the Kai way of life is, but that’s never bothered them. Growth and expansion aren’t their priority, it never has been. That’s why I like them so much. They don’t play political games. They show up when they have to, enjoy the food, and then leave. That is also something I envy about them.

It’s ten past noon when Jesse finally joins Roman and me on our way to visit our grandfather. My time to come clean has come. Keeping this from him is no longer an option. I knew the second I went forward with the Gabriel and Mel's plan, I would have to tell him about everything happening. After what I learned in the underworld, I have no choice. We no longer have the privilege of thinking this can all be a misunderstanding.

I knock on my grandfather’s suite door, and it opens instantly. One of his guards gestures to two opened double doors inside the room. We walk directly inside.

With an arch brow my grandfather greets me by saying, “Good to finally see your face.” He is fixing his shirt buttons, not facing us. “Your actual face.” He shoots Roman a look.

My brother obviously didn’t fool him. I didn’t expect him to; he simply needed to buy me time and save some face amongst the others.

“I know all my grandchildren. I know you the best because you’ve been my shadow for years.”

He means the words with endearment, but they sink into my gut. I don’t like to acknowledge the differences between my brothers and me, not when it comes to my family.

“I need to talk to you,” I tell him, stepping further into his bedroom.

His room is much bigger than mine, but the space feels so small. His eyes move from me to my brother’s hanging closer by the door.

“You needed backup to speak to me?” He huffs. “My hope is for you to reveal that your scheming is over. Sneaking around at every tour stop is one thing. Having a young woman with no record in the force as your second personal guard is foolish. If you think she’s gone unnoticed, you are wrong. Brandon, you are about to be crowned and need to take things more seriously. I hope you had your fun and it's now over.”

Not even a tiny part of me is surprised he knew all along. How can he not? We’re so close. But he has it all wrong. His smirk tells me he thinks it’s all for good fun, but he has no idea. While I’ve been investigating our allies inside their own homes, my grandfather thought I was having a good time with my friends before my coronation. What I’m about to tell him will shatter his world.

“Bianca Blanco,” I say. His eyes tell me he already knows her name. I’m sure he got his hands on the onboarding documents easily enough. I take a deep breath. “An unknown group hired her in Fierno to steal a cursed book in our Vault.” His smirk drops as my words ring across the bedroom. I hand him the book in question. “The book needed five souls to open. It took her friend’s soul during the attempted retrieval. I have spent time on every tour breaking into each royal house’s vault looking for missing items.”

His eyes stare at the book tentative before he takes it. His eyes skim the pages. “How did you do it?” His question is about the book, not the vaults.

“Bianca’s gift allowed for a trade with Guard General Gabriel. He helped us facilitate the book’s opening and discover this group’s mission.”

“An angel helped you practice black magic?” His tone is inquisitive, not incredulous.

“No, his brother did. General Mel. You’re focusing on the wrong thing.” I move closer and take the book from him. I scan the pages to the exact entry I am looking for. “This journal speaks of dismantling the Red Book when it was first created.”

I hand it back to him and watch his eyes examine the words carefully.

“The creation of the Red Book came with a cap on people’s magic. Klause, the journal’s author, speaks of his attempts to help those who seek to destroy the book and uncap their magic.”

His eyes finally meet mine.

“His last entry explains how the Fates have done a mercy to humanity by creating the Red Book. He drops all attempts to aid the cause. Whoever hired the thief to retreat this journal from our vault is trying to destroy the Red Book.”

His face becomes pensive. “I need a list of all the items found missing. Anything, regardless of how small you think it is, needs to be cataloged.”

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