Page 55 of A Spell of Bones and Madness
“This is a good thing, Aikaterine. It means why I asked you here might just work in our favor,” Nikolaos managed to get out in between chuckles, but then his face hardened, swirling silver eyes that felt so familiar, yet were older, fiercer, struck her. “We may laugh, but that is only because I have not seen my son in years, and even before then, something was always missing from his soul—that is, until you. This is an extremely dire matter. Alexander told me the books in our library were of no help, but that is only because this kind of lore—this kind of power—has only been passed down for one to know.”
Katrin shifted in her seat, a slight tremor beginning to ripple up her hand. “And you think I am this person?”
“At first I was skeptical. It is why I did not call you into my study the first day you returned. However, yesterday I was taking a walk through the forest with my love, when a burning sensation struck my palm where I held this very crystal.” He lifted the blue stone off the pedestal. “When I looked through the brush, I saw you training with Alexander, your power giving off the same glow as this did. Now I don’t think, I know. The crystal has chosen you.”
Nikolaos leaned back in his chair, resting his chin on one hand. “You are aware that each Grechi has an artifact they are meant to protect?” Nikolaos asked and Katrin nodded back slowly. “Not only did the Grechi inherit these weapons of sort from the Olympi, but some also created talismans, ways to enhance the power of those who were deemed worthy to yield them. I was entrusted with one of these, a crystal from Poseidon’s Lost Palace of the Aegean.”
“And this talisman, is it like my father’s staff? Your trident? Can this crystal kill an Olympi?” Katrin asked.
“It cannot, but it can give its wielder enough power to trap one. Only the artifact your sister possesses can truly defeat Hades. If you work together we might be able to rid this world of his wickedness before more lives—or worse, entire isles—are destroyed.”
“I will not let him take one more thing from me—from anyone.” Walking across the room, she plucked the stone from Nikolaos’s outstretch palm. Katrin unlatched the necklace she wore around her neck, slipping the crystal onto the chain where it would dangle next to the sun and moon. She would not rest until that man—Olympi or not—was resolved to ash.
Chapter Forty-One
Ander
Time was not a luxury they had—it never was for a Kirassos. Sitting together in the study, it might very well have been the last time the three siblings saw each other. A great unknown lay before each of them and Ander hated it. Hated that he asked his siblings to risk their lives, that he would send them to places they had not ventured before, all in the hope of peace.
What did peace even mean anymore? A world not tormented by the wrath of an Olympi? One where vile men like Edmund and Khalid did not rule? Weeding out that kind of evil was impossible. Someone would always want more. More land. More power.
Silver shadows cast against the walls from the rising moon, its eerie glow a contrast to the warmth the fire in the room held. Fogcrept in from the windows, though it was not from Ander’s control—perhaps his mother pulled at that tether of her own powers, attempting to shield her children from the course they must take.
Dimitris and Chloe sat before him, his brother with a permanent scowl on his face, his sister with her signature velvet hood pulled up hiding most of hers. Ander may be the oldest—strongest, even—but his siblings got their chilling aura and villainous glare from their mother. Even though they were of no harm to him, the looks still sent an unnerving tingle up Ander’s back. Nexian wolves through and through, especially as they still came off the high of the full moon.
How was he supposed to ask them to do this? To sacrifice their time—sacrifice their lives? To believe in this cause when they could remain here protected on the isle, hidden from the world. They had already risked their lives once for him and each of them had almost not made it back.
“Are you going to speak, brother, or may I return to my bed?” Dimitris muttered, his right palm gripping the side of the chair, knuckles white.
A low laugh filled the room. “To your bed? You mean to pad about outside that cat’s room,” his sister shot back.
Flexing his jaw, Ander stiffened in his seat. Whatever strange fascination his brother had with Thalia needed to stop—especially if they would be spending so much time together. His brother was reckless, even more so when it came to women, and Thalia could not afford recklessness. She needed structure and poise and order, something the youngest prince had never had. “Can you two be serious for a single moment?” Ander snapped.
Both his siblings’ mouths closed tight, each sinking further into their chairs. “War is on the horizon, and whether we like it or not, Nexos must be involved. As we know, Alentus has been overthrown and now has the backing of both the Morentian fleet and the armies of Harrenfort in the north—not to mention what allies our spies have not yet discerned—”
Dimitris cut him off. “And it is our fault Alentus no longer stands? Just because your dear Katrin lost her throne does not mean we should risk ours.” He flung his arm around the back of the chair, utterly disinterested.
It was true—Dimitris was never known for his decorum, but this was too much. Thunder crackled outside the room, the air thickening. But it was their sister that spoke first. “If you think this is only about our throne then you are more of a fool than I thought. Lyssa has seen what could be, what past may repeat itself if we do not fight.Hewill not rest until we are all ash.”
“Your seer is amaniae.” Dimitris stood to leave. “I will not fight. The wolves will not fight.”
“Sit back down,” Ander growled.
“You may be the eldest, brother, but as alpha I am fully in my right to refuse.”
“And as your future king, I am fully in my right to send you anyway—but I am not, I am asking as not your king but your brother.”
Dimitris did as he was told, returning to his seat. He may be reckless, but he was loyal. To his people. The wolves. To Ander. “Then what is it, really, that you are asking of us?”
“I need you to go to Skiatha. Thalia will be able to finish training the men and women there, to fill them in on what has happenedthese months. But she cannot go alone. I need someone I trust to protect her.”
“And Leighton cannot go?” Dimitris replied.
“No. I need him with me. There are other things I must ask of the nauarch.”
“So you send me as, what? A man in wait? A glorified guard of some seer? She can protect herself. I saw as much when we were in Aidesian.”
“In Aidesian, you let her fall! We almost lost her to the spirits because you turned your back on her for a moment. Rest assured, brother—if there was anyone else I could send to protect her I would, but we do not know if there are spies among us. Ajax was unaware of the infiltration of the Spartanis and it caused irreparable consequences. I will not let the same happen to my men.”
