(Protea Castle)
Hindsight being twenty-twenty, everyone later agreed that they should have seen all the signs. She had been far too quiet lately, far too withdrawn, and far too calm to be perfectly fine. She had never been known for her complacency when things didn't go her way, and though she looked perfectly tranquil on the surface, underneath lurked the same wild-spirited woman they had always adored.
The day after the Resurrection Cultivators had disappeared, steps had been immediately taken to ensure that no one would panic. Their families had been notified and told that, while things would be awkward to explain right then, they would have details cleared up on the following Saturday if they would come to the castle. The families had been only more nervous at that, but agreeable.
Allister Statice was in a silent fury all the more dangerous because it was rare. It took all of Sabin's considerable concentration to keep his brother from finding a way to charge after Racine. All Commanders, including Sabin, had already been combing the entire galaxy, and word had been dispatched to Celia, Aria, and Ranunculus alike to put them on alert. Celia had been an ally since the Royal Era, and Ranunculus since the Rebirth; marriage had, in both cases, cemented the alliances only more, so the fact that distant relations to those worlds were involved meant both worlds started looking, too. Aria had always been grumpy about alliance, so its lack of response in this situation literally did not mean one way or another whether the Ruler knew anything. Other galaxies and other worlds were looking, too, though they had a smaller stake in the outcome.
The Elder Defenders themselves kept an even closer eye on the two High Queens and Kings than they had before. They all grieved for the loss, yes, but none of them had gotten close enough to the younger Cultivators to be at the level of panic the four parents had to be feeling. Sayena remained astonishingly calm under the circumstances, despite her considerable temper, and Evan weathered things well enough because he did have an even temper.
Robert could have been a problem, if it had not been for his diversion from fear for his daughter to fear for his wife. Shanae had all but disappeared into herself in a way beyond normal even for the Apex of Dark. She barely slept at all. Her closest friends knew that eventually something had to give, and yet they did not know when—or realize just what would happen.
Arista had just started to enter palace grounds when she had to hastily get out of the long driveway in front of the castle before she was run over by single-person EC, commonly called an electric bike. A second followed in the wake of the first, and she muttered choice insults under her breath as she stalked toward the grand entry doors. Plenty of servants as much as residents owned bikes, so it could have been any of them. She knew it was her fault for walking in the wrong lane, but she felt pissed enough to hope Shanae's own temper finally snapped. They could have a good fight and feel better.
To her shock, though, she found Evan standing in the center of the hall and issuing orders calmly. "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded as she walked over to him.
"Hello, Arista, nice to see you too," he responded dryly. The stress of his missing daughter and niece wasn't completely visible on his face other than in the faint strain around his eyes. Dark elements tended to hide their emotions where Light elements threw them right out there in the open. "And to answer your question, Shanae and Robert have disappeared. Or rather, my sister disappeared, and Robert went after her."
"What?!" She stared at him in utter shock and then belatedly remembered the two bikes that had gone flying past her. Now that she thought about it, the first one had looked a lot like hers and Diego's most recent birthday gift to Shanae. And if that had been her, then the second one must have been Robert. "We have to go after her! She shouldn't be out alone!"
He caught her arm as she turned, and he slowly shook his head when she stared at him. "No, Arista. This time she should. She wouldn't abandon the kingdom suddenly unless it was for a good reason. The strain has been building up in her for years. She's been on the edge of her self-control, and the kidnapping finally—perhaps blessedly—snapped it."
She said nothing as she removed her arm from his grasp. He was right, of course. Shanae had smothered all of her wild tendencies and only let them loose when she was training, and that happened far less than it should to keep her even remotely content. She was the Apex of Dark, and she could not be happy unless she pushed her body physically. Her attempts to smother even that side of herself had choked her. "Robert knew, didn't he? That's why he chased after her."
"He said he knew where she was going and that he knew best how to handle her." He lifted his hands slightly in helplessness. "He's always known her better than anyone, even you or me. If anyone can help Shanae loosen the pressure she's been under, it's her Caretaker."
"Agreed."
Shanae drove as fast as she was allowed, unafraid of being pulled over because there was no one who could—or would dare—catch her. Just the thrill of moving somewhere was enough to start her blood pumping again. She raced out of her city and farmlands alike, moving past the wall entirely and then heading deep into the mountains.
She couldn't take any more. Years of fighting her true self just couldn't be denied anymore. Allister wasn't the only one who terribly wanted to find the missing Cultivators and help them. Shanae was choking on her need to don her Mask and go find her daughter. Something had chipped her careful walls. She thought Tasia might have done something when they met, yet she could not be sure. She just knew that she could not breathe anymore.
She had sacrificed everything for her world. She had given up her first life and her kingdom, and then she had given up friends, peace, and a truly normal life. And, finally, she had given up her freedom as well by locking down on her spirit. She just wasn't cut out for the life of a queen with the pampering, the formal manners, and the always tranquil appearance. She was also an introvert, and her need for quiet to recharge loomed large. There seemed to be no quiet when you were a High Queen.
She wanted to get huffy and angry and yell and be demanding when needed . . . really, she sort of wanted to be her daughter. LeAnn was all of that and more. She was everything Shanae had abandoned. She had nurtured her daughter's spirit covetously so that it could never be bound or tamed like her own. It helped that LeAnn had a lot of her father inside her as well. Her natural Protean Dark core had been tempered by her father's pure Light.
The hidden path that went from one side of the mountains to the other still existed. She went that way, turning a trip of more than a day into merely two hours, and soon enough exited back onto the main road where she slowed down as she approached an immense manor tucked into the mountains. She rode in the gates that opened at her arrival and then stopped at the end of the long driveway before the front door.
It looked just as she had remembered it. It had borne up so well over five thousand years, and people had still been tending it for the last quarter century. It felt nostalgic to stand there beside her bike and look at the welcoming structure. Her casual denims and shirt felt nostalgic. Memories of another life. It had been her home for the biggest part of her life, truly. Five years as a child, twenty years away, and then back again where she had stayed until the kingdoms had been resurrected. If she had a home other than her castle—which actually did feel like a home—then this was it.
She had not been back in twenty-five years. Funny how long a time that felt compared to the five millennia she had lived. She hadn't wanted to remember the life she had given up. The Royal Era hadn't been this hard. She had grown up in a kingdom back then, so it had been all she knew. Being reborn into a normal life, being an active Defender, had opened her eyes to what she truly wanted. Sayena understood without understanding just what she felt. Sayena craved her peace as much as Shanae craved her freedom.
The door to the mansion always stayed unlocked, as most doors did. She carefully pushed it open and walked into the foyer. She and Rocky, and her brother and sister-in-law, had made this their home. The first winter holiday after her marriage still lingered as her favorite memory. The tree in the living room, and the way they had hidden presents all over the house. Then there had been the solstice party, and all of their friends coming to dance and to laugh. Mistletoe had been hung in all the corners and Rocky had made sure to catch her for kisses under every single one, saying that the ancient fertility herb might help them in the future.
She had no idea she was crying until she felt Robert's hands settle on her shoulders. She turned and burrowed against his ready strength, needing him to hold her heart together when it wanted to break. Her face pressed to his shoulder as the tears fell without stopping. He said nothing. He simply held her closer and wrapped her within his arms and jacket.
He had known the instant he saw her getting dressed what she had planned to do. He had feigned sleep until she left and then dressed and followed her. He had known she would come here. And he knew that once the tears were spent, he needed to bring back the wild spirit inside her that had captivated him from the beginning. It was long overdue.
Why couldn't she live true to herself and rule at the same time? She could be herself and lead the kingdom and the people would love her all the more. The people would love her no matter how she acted, and if she continued to deny her heart, she would eventually kill herself. "Tash," he said softly, invoking his oldest endearment for her, the one only he used, "look at me."
She tilted her head back to look up at him and her eyes closed as he leaned down and softly kissed her. It was a gentle kiss of comfort at first and then he held her closer and desire flared. His hands were a little rougher, his body a little more aggressive. It yanked up every powerful instinct inside her spirit. They were perfect equals and perfect opposites. She was compelled to meet him halfway in everything. The danger he showed demanded so much more than she had given in years. Even in the hottest moment of desire, there had been none of the recklessness surrender they had once had. It would have asked for more than her spirit could give under its restraints.
The restraints had blown apart in a searing tangle of love and lust and need and desperate craving for the Light inside his soul. She tore free of the kiss to gasp, "Not fair! You promised!"
His mouth hotly explored the skin of her neck. His arms held on relentlessly around her waist. "I promised to not make the fight harder for you. I didn't promise to not erase the fight entirely. I want everything you've hidden inside. I want your true self, Shana Toulume. Your name changed but you did not!"
"Let go, damn it!" With an expert twist of her body and a well-placed kick to his shin, she freed herself from his grip and moved away a few steps. Her breath tore in and out of her lungs with a blend of terror and hunger. She had carefully hidden the truth from everyone, but he had seen right through her. He always did. He always knew her best. "Why are you doing this to me?" she demanded raggedly.
"Because I'm tired of seeing you kill yourself!" he shouted, causing her eyes to widen. "Goddess damn it, Shanae, I want my wife back! I want the woman who would shamelessly yell at me when I managed to piss her off! I want the woman who said what she thought whenever she wanted and damn the public opinion! I want the woman who refused to give in to Destiny and her machinations! What you've been for the last few years is nothing but a pale reflection of that!
"So what if you're a High Queen? Is there a damned law that says queens can't be sassy and stubborn and unafraid to curse in public? If there is, our kid's going to have a hell of an issue! Damn it to hell and back, Tash, for once in your long life, you were wrong! You've been blind to the answer there in front of you all along!" His voice gentled as he took a step toward her and reached out to put his hands on her trembling shoulders. "There can be harmony. You can find it. You can make this work. You are my Apex of Dark. You can make miracles for others." He pressed his forehead to hers. "Make a miracle for yourself. For me. For the ones who love you. Come back to life."
Silence fell except for the sound of her labored breathing. He simply held onto her and let her mind and heart wage the war. That was the thing about her, the thing that made her both strong and fragile all at once: she balanced between heart and mind. The tug of war between the two was difficult for her to endure constantly, and all too often she let her mind win when her heart should have had the last word.
Her breathing finally began to level as calm descended. Absently, she asked, "You really want back the part of me that would yell at you when you pissed me off, regardless of public presence or not?" Of all the things she had suppressed, that had been one of the hardest. He could be ridiculously frustrating sometimes.
He grinned. "Of course. Part of what I've always loved about you has been your temper or lack thereof. You take longer to get there, but it's always more spectacular when you do. I loved the way we could fight so passionately and then literally kiss and make up. Our life together was so much more fun when we met halfway. We're not like our siblings, Tash. They are the dawn and dusk that transition peacefully between lives. You and I are the hottest Day and fiercest Night. We don't transition. We simply burn for all of time."
She took another ragged breath. Her thirst for life. That was what she had abandoned the most. She had tried to force herself to transition when she had never been meant to dim. He was right. He often was, unfortunately. She had done what she had been led to believe she needed to do, and she had never had to do it at all. And, well, if the stress was too much and she needed a day off, she could take a damn day off. Her world was more than self-sufficient now. She made the laws, and she could give herself a national holiday, damn it.
"If you want her, you've got her." She sighed. "Robert, I'm so sorry." She went into his arms again and rested her head on his shoulder. "I just couldn't find the right wire to walk. It never occurred to me that maybe I didn't need a wire at all."
"Maybe this was meant to happen, too," he mused. "The kingdom really did need your steady calm for a time, and now that it is strong, it can handle your true self. And when LeAnn eventually takes over, it will be easily able to accept her."
"Easy except for her father's influence on her," she countered drolly.
"Well, that's what happens when opposites attract, mate, and produce offspring."
"Too true." She looked around the empty foyer and then pulled free and headed for the stairs to the second floor. He followed her, and he lifted a brow as she walked into their old bedroom. She looked around, and she studied the furniture in the room. It had been there for ages as well. "Know what I'm thinking?"
"What?"
"I'm thinking that this bed belongs in the castle." She walked over to it and ran a hand over the footboard gently. It was a huge, hand-carved piece of ancient wood that had been turned into a work of art with four posters. "We picked it out together and never replaced it." She turned around to look at him and felt her knees go weak at the look in his eyes. Even after ten thousand years, he could still make her pulse race just by looking at her. "What?"
He walked over to her and picked her up in his arms before settling her down on the blanket covering the bed. He efficiently went to work on removing the boots she wore. "I think that this is the beginning of another new cycle. Let's start it the right way."
"In a house on a slightly dusty bed with an unlocked door that anyone could walk inside." She tried not to giggle as she sat up on her elbows to watch. When he only gave her a roguish wink, she fell back and gave in to the laughter—laughter of a sort only he ever drew out in his irrepressible Light. "You have never changed! You can be so terrible sometimes."
He leaned over to cage her in his arms and smiled to see the dancing laughter in her pink eyes. It had been a long, long time since he had seen her so genuine and her emotions so free, and he knew that he would always cherish them more now. "You love me anyway."
"Yes." She brushed at the fluffy and curly white hair falling in his eyes. It could no more be contained than its owner. "I do. I always have." She tugged him down and breathed against his lips, "And I always will, my Caretaker."
It was Friday. Neither had any desire to be anywhere except alone together. They spent the rest of the day and night there, and the bed handily survived being used again. They hunted down fresh fruits and veggies from the garden that still thrived happily, and they watched the sunset from the back steps as they had in the past. Evan could keep an eye on things until the following morning; he would understand.
Dawn had just risen when Shanae and Robert left the manor to return to their bikes. They stood for several moments beside them before she slowly reached up and began to remove the pins in her hair. He froze and watched with his mouth dry as she methodically removed all of the binds she had placed physically and emotionally. The black locks tumbled free to fall around her body, straight as a pin and reaching down to her ankles. In the light from the sunrise, her hair glimmered with hidden hints of pink that matched her eyes.
His heart clenched painfully and he ran a hand through her hair slowly. He tugged her close for a tender kiss and then reluctantly let her go. Because time was slipping and they needed to get to the palace before the Resurrection Cultivators' parents arrived, he couldn't linger like he would have preferred. Instead, he gave her a friendly pat on the bottom to nudge her toward her bike. She shot him a dangerous glare, and he smiled innocently. "What? It was there, and it's gorgeous."
"Get stuffed." She tucked her hair up into her helmet as she pulled it on, and she grinned when he laughed at the old insult. She gunned the engine on her bike and shot off down the road, leaving him in her dust, and he hastily moved to catch up. They rode back to Protea together, and it was with amusement that they both remembered riding horses in a similar fashion. They would have to get back to that, too. There were lanes on all roads for both.
They stashed the bikes at the castle and tried to sneak in the back like two children who had been playing hooky. They didn't get very far before they were spotted, and they watched Sayena descend the stairs toward them like a particularly grumpy storm. "Busted," Robert murmured in an aside, and Shanae muffled a snicker.
"Where have you been?" Sayena demanded of her brother. "The Cultivators' families should be arriving around twelfth hour, and you're both off to who knows where! You're always telling me that I am the flighty one, but it turns out to be my hypocritical brother!" She poked him repeatedly in the chest. "You don't get to scold me anymore for being late! You're just as bad and you know it!"
Shanae laughed and pulled her helmet off. Her unbound hair dropped free and swung into place. "Sayena, don't blame him. I ran off first, and he chased after me. I needed some space that I could not get here. I'm an introvert, remember? There's no recharging in a castle full of people!"
"Okay, that's fair but—" Sayena broke off sharply as she actually looked at her sister. Tears filled her eyes and shimmered there before sliding down her cheeks. Shanae's hair was down. In public and broad daylight. Her spirit shone vivid in her eyes, alive and laughing, not hidden and contained. "Shanae." Her lips trembled as she smiled. "Welcome home. I missed you."
"Only you, Sayena," Shanae said fondly. She hugged her sister and smiled to see Arista and Kacey dashing toward her. They both came to such sudden stops that they almost tripped, and then both stared at her in growing joy and wonder. She eyed them and said, "What are you doing here? Go get the families of the Resurrection Cultivators while I get presentable."
"But they . . ." Arista couldn't string a coherent sentence together. Her twin was back stronger than ever and no longer hidden away. She was no longer fighting her true self. In that moment, the lingering pain of Shana's 'death' finally faded away. She had never died. She would always be Shana. "They aren't supposed to show up until twelfth hour," she managed to say.
"Screw that." She headed up the stairs and looked at the giggling maids on the landing. "Start a shower," she told them. "The king pounced on me on a dusty bed." They hustled off with outright laughter, and she shook her head. "Arista, get the damn families. I'm not going to sit around and wait for things to happen. They need to know what's going on. Oh," she added as she turned around at the top of the stairs, "make sure to bring Theo's brother and Raine's fiancé. They need to know as well. I know for a fact one of them is the mate of a Cultivator, and if LeAnn's hunch was right, then Theo's brother might be the mate of the new Carnation Cultivator." She stared at her gaping Cultivators, her laughing husband, and her grinning best friend. "Well? Get to it!"
"Yes, ma'am!" A grin spread across Arista's face. She wanted to jump and dance with joy but she settled for doing it mentally until she could find her husband and make him do it with her. Kacey's helpless laughter proved she was in the same condition. Knowing that the sooner they got the families, the sooner they could rejoice and tell the others, they both turned and hurried out.
Less than an hour later, the parents and few siblings of the Resurrection Cultivators were ushered into the throne room of the Protea Castle by the Captain of the Royal Knights himself. Perplexed by the events of the last week, Olivia isolated herself slightly from the others. It felt as though her world was being torn apart. Her daughter's disappearance would have been terrifying enough without knowing that the others had disappeared as well.
"Liv." Tosh Peacer put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get through this." He resisted an urge to pull her into his arms, but he laced their fingers together when she covered his hand with her own. They had been best friends for as long as they had known each other, so reaching out to her was as natural as breathing.
Unknown to either of them, Maria Mallory exchanged a wry look with James and Kami Jackson. They had been waiting with relative patience for Tosh and Olivia to figure out things the rest of them had noticed ages before. The distraction of watching them pretend they were just friends was welcome right then, for it helped stave off the fear all of them felt.
Logan and Terry stood together nearby, and it took all of Logan's willpower to remain still. His fury knew no bounds. There was nothing he could do, though the Goddess knew he had tried. He felt every time Raine and Tasia encountered danger, and he had already used every spell he could think of to find them. He had suffered feeling their pain in varying waves in the time since they had disappeared, too. He felt a bit gutted where his soul connected to his sister's. Something terrible had happened.
He knew. Of course he did. Raine and Tasia both connected to his soul; there was nothing he did not know about them, which meant that he knew of the unusual bond they had formed with the four new friends they had met.
Tasia, Raine, Storm, Beth, Theo, and four others made nine total. He would have bet anything that there had been a tenth involved as well. Seven out of those ten had been marked with unusual hair coloring, and those colors corresponded to different colors related to seven of the ten worlds in Blossom Field. At least five had held majik in the Flower Element related to the world that their hair connected them to. He didn't have to be a pattern master to see what might be happening. Still, he remained silent without sharing his suspicions. He wanted proof before he alarmed everyone even more.
The doors to the throne room opened, and they all turned to see who had entered. Everyone hastily bowed or knelt. Shock crossed all faces present. They had been expecting a delegate, or at most a Lower Queen. They had not expected the High Queens of Delphinium and Protea themselves. They carried an immensely powerful presence that had nothing to do with their arcanery as Apexes. They could have worn denims and sneakers and still been queens.
"Enough," Shanae sighed as she walked through the room. "I never understood the need people had to bow down and stare at my feet."
"They're pretty feet?" Logan offered as he straightened. He hadn't intended to say it, but there was something about Shanae that reminded him of Tasia, and he couldn't help but relax. When she grinned at him, he had to smile back despite the atmosphere. "Sorry."
"Don't be." She studied him curiously. He bore no real resemblance to anyone in the room, but he did bear a downright powerful resemblance to someone not present. "Logan Fujisawa?"
"Yes. Raine is my fiancée. Tasia is my soul-sister."
"Oh, like you and Evan or me and Robert," Sayena said to Shanae. "But without an actual blood relation."
"Actually, there is one," he admitted. "We descend of the same lineage."
Shanae smiled. "I was wondering that. I could feel great majik inside you, and it felt rather familiar for obvious reasons. You also bear a striking resemblance to Tasia outright. Actually, almost eerily so. You could have said you were twins and I'd have believed you." She cocked her head. "Where do you stand?"
The question was an old one harkening back to the earliest days of the Faith, and it always referenced a witch's particular attributes and skills. It was not a rude question; much like asking someone's age or gender, it helped put everyone the same level and cleared misunderstandings. He inclined his head. "I'm a White Witch—meaning of course I have a Light core—who chose Metal and Ice as his elements and Conjuring and Sensing as his skills." He paused, and then asked, "Now it's my turn. How did you know my name?"
"Logan." Tosh grabbed his collar. The younger man was his daughter's fiancé, so that made him Tosh's son as far as he was concerned. "That is the High Queen. Watch your manners."
"Relax," Sayena said dryly. "His bloodline gives him the right to informality with us in many ways, and his connection to our High Priestess of Protea gives him lots more. To be clear, however, we are not here as High Queens. Not truly. We are here as parents who have lost children." She turned back to the male witch and smiled. "Logan, we know you because our daughters mentioned you."
He sighed as some of the things that had bugged him finally made sense. "Leslie and Rhya. The cousins we met in town. Right. Of course. Leslie Ann, or LeAnn for short, and Rhya must be Reagan." He eyed Shanae. "I think I'm beginning to see where Leslie gets her personality."
"Half of it anyway." She looked at everyone before focusing on Olivia. Her brown hair and brown eyes marked her as visibly as the aura of majik she possessed. She, too, possessed an inner radiance that shined past her surface beauty, and her Ice/Illusion majik had a tang of Glass. Another firstborn daughter who was also a descendant of Jean and Liena. "Your daughter is very . . . special."
"I know." Olivia took a long breath. "I knew before she was born she would be." She tried to smile. "The fact that I found out I was pregnant only the day before the announcement of Delphinium's coming resurrection clued me in early."
Sayena paused and then slowly looked at Shanae, who looked speculative. That announcement had been made the day after Sayena and Robert had felt their Mother world awaken. The day Delphinium had suddenly been ready to be restored had been the very day Olivia discovered she was pregnant—pregnant with the High Priestess of Protea who would be the Lead Defender. That could not be coincidence. Either Tasia had been enough developed to reach out even before birth—not unfeasible—or Delphinium had been working in concert with Iris and Destiny and Life alike to wait until Tasia would be ready to be born. Her birthday falling on the first day of the first year made either scenario equally likely, if not implying a combination thereof. "Curious," Sayena murmured.
Olivia took a deep breath and leaned against the wall because it was just too hard to continue standing entirely on her own. "Please stop beating around the bush. We won't break apart if you tell us what happened."
Sayena took a long breath. "To begin with, I want to be clear about what happened. Your children were not the only ones kidnapped. As we implied before, High Princess LeAnn and High Princess Reagan were also taken. In addition to them, Crown Princess Racine Statice was taken. There were two others as well; a young man under the care of Queen Delilah and King Ulyen Orchid, and a woman under the care of Queen Arista and King Diego Hyacinth."
"God damn it!" Logan snarled. He turned away and took a breath to compose himself. He turned back around, and his eyes burned with dangerous power held in check. He saw the sudden speculative looks on the two High Queens' faces and said flatly, "You expect me to not notice? Ten young adults taken, all of them associated to a different planet within Blossom in some way or another. They're all at least Ruler Cultivators, and I'd put money on them all being Defender Cultivators as well because I know for fact that at least Princess Racine is already Dual herself!"
Sayena glanced at Shanae. She trusted her judgment. Shanae didn't need to think about it. She had been assuming this moment might eventually come. "Yes they are," she said calmly. "It would seem Blossom Field decided to create two generations of Dual Cultivators after spending millions of years making both Rulers and Defenders separate. And, yes, Regan and LeAnn are in fact Defenders themselves, making them the second Delphinian and Protean Defenders in history."
The implications of her statement took a moment to sink in, and all jaws except Logan's dropped. He did not look shocked at all. Shanae could see easily why he and Tasia would have a bond as powerful as the one she shared with her brother, or Sayena shared with hers. She still did not know why those bonds that had aspects of both lover and twin soul mates existed, but she knew that, too, would finally reveal with time. The things she had seen when she had met Tasia had implied there was much to be done still in the future. "You noticed the planet association?" she asked him.
"How could you miss it when it was colored locks over their eyes?"
"It's not common knowledge, that the planets color locks of frozen Cultivators," Sayena told him. "Are you a parapsychologist?"
"It was my focus of study at university."
The fact that he would have formally studied all forms of majik and magic while practicing majik himself was not a surprise. Both Sayena and Shanae made mental notes to recruit him as a consultant. Shanae looked around the room again before looking back at Logan. "Well, you're not wrong about any of that. This shouldn't have happened, though. We should have found the other seven when they were five and began to Activate, but something froze their Seeds and stopped it from happening. That's why their Mother worlds marked them in a way different of their normal Flower Marks, which could not appear until they thawed."
"So they're in danger." Tosh tightened his grip on Olivia's hand, and she tightened her hold in return. They both ached for what their shared children surely suffered.
"Danger, to be sure, but less danger than they started with." Sayena nodded. "There's something about Flower Marks. You see, when a Ruler or Defender is the only one of their world, their Mark will sparkle around the edges. Over this past week, the seven Dual Cultivators who had had sparkling Flower Marks of both Ruler and Defender have found the sparkling edge going away, which can only mean that the Resurrection Cultivators—as we are calling them—have been somehow thawing their Seeds and fully Activating."
Logan glanced at Shanae and Sayena equally. He could not see their Ruler Flower Marks over their hearts, but a sudden shimmer of magic made their Defender Flower Marks appear, which he could see. Proof of their daughters as Activated Defenders: neither queen had a sparkling edge to their Marks. The only thing that sparkled, that was also very different from all other Marks, was the crown that wrapped around their fully bloomed Marks. The crown marked them as Apexes, which was why that had never been a secret. "Tasia is Lead Defender," he murmured. "She would have to be."
"No one else could be," Shanae admitted. "And as horrible as it is for me to say this, there's nothing we can do right now. We are trying. We are looking, and we have sent messages to the next galaxy as well as the ones beyond. The entire universe is on alert and looking for our missing Dual Cultivators. The moment we hear anything, we will tell you all. In the meantime, if you ever need anything do not hesitate to notify us. If we learn anything, anything at all, we'll certainly tell you." She paused for a moment and then added, "And the Protea/Delphinium Defender thing is not strictly a secret anymore. Don't necessarily go crying it from the rafters, but don't be afraid if you accidentally say something."
Recognizing that as a dismissal, and deciding not to say anything when they truly did not know what to say, the civilians slowly filed out of the room with heavy minds and hearts. Logan went with them just as quietly, but as he left the throne room and saw Robert and Evan standing in the hall, he stopped and turned to look at them. "Until I have someone to blame for this, I'll blame you. Nothing personal." That said, he turned and followed the others out of the castle.
Robert mused, "He reminds me of someone."
Shanae stepped into the doorway to the throne room and eyed her husband. "Yes, he should. Because he definitely reminded me of you and my brother. At least his being a Caretaker to the Daffodil Defender won't be as frustrating for his poor sister."
He grinned briefly. "Tasia could handle it even if it was." The grin faded and he pulled her into his arms tightly. "There's not much left that we can do now. We can only hope and pray. It's up to the Resurrection Cultivators now."
"No worries there," Sayena said quietly from where she stood in Evan's arms. "Defenders are survivors no matter what else we may be. We always find a way to make it through, and come out stronger in the end."
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
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