Page 105 of Degradation

I felt her surprise. “I have. How did you know?”

“The caster who had been ruling Turre prior to our arrival was determined to master longevity because of rumors of yours.” Though I was curious about Rose’s age, I did not ask. Instead, I said, “Thank you for your explanation. You’re welcome to travel with us. I would welcome the help creating the road.”

As I spoke, I began to cast, absorbing the trees before us.

“I’m afraid I will not be much help. I’m unable to replenish what I’m using like you are. My well’s running a bit low since I helped your sister.”

“You shouldn’t need to touch your well. It’s a balanced cast,” I said. “The trees provide what I need to make the road.”

“Perhaps to make the stone, but not to embed the spell that’s protecting it. That you’re pulling from your well.”

The worry of all seven men climbed.

“Consider carefully how you treat me when I am with child if you wish me to produce more than one heir,” I said.

Rose chortled. Father muttered, “Child…heir…” and Garron flushed scarlet.

“Oh, this is going to be a lovely reunion,” Rose said, walking on the road that erupted under our feet as we moved forward. “You’re as likable as your sister, who I am quite fond of.”

A hint of emotion drifted from her. Secrets and amusement. Rather than question her, I moved forward.

My kings demanded I take more frequent breaks, which proved mildly vexing until I stopped at a part of the old road that looked familiar.

“This is where I found the stone,” I said to Edmund. “What a wicked caster I was then, was I not?”

He scoffed at me even as he hugged me. “Forgive me for being an arse.”

“You weren’t an arse. You were protecting yourself and your brothers. But I truly did find the stone here. I still question my luck in finding Father with a level of humanity remaining, finding the stone in the road when I needed it the most, and then your glade. Too much coincidence.”

“You are right,” Rose said. “It’s not a coincidence but the powers you were touched with while still in the womb that guided you to where you were meant to be. Have you ever felt a whisper of warning? A tingle along the skin?”

“I have,” I said.

She nodded. “You were guided. Energy doesn’t disappear. It’s reformed with the intent of the caster. I wonder at the caster’s intent that touched you that both you and your sister have found princes to marry.”

“Princes?” My father echoed.

“Yes, but only one for Eloise. And unlike this daughter, she cannot cast. That’s for the best, perhaps,” Rose said with a hint of amusement.

Father distracted me from it with a question. “Do you still have the stone, Kellen?”

“She does not. We took it from her so she wouldn’t leave us.”

“I thought you said because it was dangerous.”

“It was. To us. We needed you, Kellen.”

Father cleared his throat, and I stood, ready to continue on.

“If you have the stone, I would like it back, please,” he said.

“Why?” I asked. “The road will keep you safe.”

“Your mother gave it to me when Turre first fell.”

“That sounds like a tale I would like to hear,” I said.

While Father told the story, we moved closer to Eloise.

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