"Stop giggling," Beth whispered. "They'll hear."
"Can't help it." Storm bit his lower lip hard. "I'm melting over here."
"Dear Goddess on high, we give thanks for this blessing," Theo sighed.
Tasia barely muffled a snort of laughter. "Oh, sure, this is when he turns to the Faith." She ran her tongue over her teeth. "They're rippling."
"Let me see!" Raine squeezed in under her arm. "Oh." Her sigh came out long and heartfelt. "So this is paradise."
Ryan was doing his level best not to giggle as well. "Oh my god oh my god. I feel like this is so illegal."
"Hey, we're adults." Emily's eyes were wide as she watched over his head. "Thoughts of lust are perfectly legal."
"I didn't know his muscles could bunch like that." Racine pressed a hand to her heart. "I've been married this long and still get fluttery."
"My parents have been married millennia and still get fluttery," LeAnn whispered. She blew out a hard breath. "I should have so brought Mom's camera. This is worth immortalizing in print."
"It'd melt the camera." Reagan's cheeks looked as pink as her cousin's eyes. "I mean, naked is one thing, but half naked and sweaty . . ."
A collective, wistful, sigh filled the air. They had all hidden themselves inside the office of Tasia's combat school. They had been expressly forbidden from even being there, but since Tasia could successfully cloak them all, they had hidden away and watched the show regardless. And what a show it was, too. Every single one of their Caretakers, out on the mat working out. Some were working with swords, and others practiced hand and foot. The Caretakers covered most every skin tone and body type imaginable, and all had stripped to either workout bras or undershirts, meaning not much could be left to the imagination.
Kari and Kimber had asked Terry and Logan to teach them advanced techniques, and it had shortly gotten everyone involved since everyone had different skills and talents. Terry and Logan were master-level physical combatants, and Rodi was that plus a master with swords. Chance and Allister both had mastered swords, and Allister had additional mastered physical training different from Terry and Logan; he had focused more on grappling than outright striking. Silas had master sword skills, but had been interested in learning to handle himself if disarmed. Gail and Pallas had bare-to-minimum physical skills of any sort—mostly introductory type for Gail—and both had wanted to minimize their potential 'squishiness' in battle.
Rodi was in the processing of showing Kari how to hold a long sword properly when his sensitive Virtuoso ears heard a tiny giggle. He sighed wryly and looked at the office. "Alright. Come out here. You may as well be helpful if you're going to spy on us."
"You owe me money," Allister told Chance. "You thought it would take an hour for them to check on us."
Gail winced wryly. "My ego won't be bruised for the help. I don't think any of us are ashamed that Defenders are stronger. It's your job."
The others also stopped what they were doing and looked to the office as the Cultivators exited. All were grinning or at least smiling; Reagan also looked a little sheepish at being the one to get them caught. Tasia walked over to Rodi and smiled up at him as her eyes danced merrily. "So you admit you bit off more than you can chew?"
"Never. But I do concede you have far more teaching experience than the rest of us." He tangled his fingers in her thick chocolate locks. The mass of curls and straight lines had been piled up in a ponytail as usual with a floppy gray bow holding it together. As Reagan had noted, Tasia's hair did not grow normally; it reacted on the basis of her power moving. It had gotten to an unbound knee length after Daelan had been born, and it had stayed there until it had gained another inch recently in the onset of the sparking. "Going to help?"
"I think so." She nimbly plucked the sword out of his hand and swung it through the air lightly. "Group effort, kids, always gets to a result faster. Who is learning what?"
"Everything," Kari, Kimber, and Pallas said.
"Hand and foot combat," Silas said.
"That and swords," Gail said.
"A valiant idea, to be sure, but unless you're a Dark core capable of learning at a high-octane pace where physical skills are concerned, you're all going to just confuse your bodies and minds alike trying to do too much at one time. Let's back up here and focus on the one thing everyone agrees on: hand/foot combat. Honestly, just having that in your repertoire is going to make the biggest difference because it means you don't need a weapon in many instances. There are roughly two dozen types of physical combat that involve using your hands and feet to fight, and what I teach here at this school combines about half of those to give a broad and useful collection of critical skills. Let's start everyone there, and then as we progress, you can choose to start specializing in a particular style if you like. Terry, Logan, and Raine are master-level instructors who can advance anyone through roughly six different styles. Rodi can cover those plus another eight or so, and Allister is probably going to get hired here because he has most of the others that only I so far have been able to teach."
"Accepted," Allister said on a grin.
In fact, other than Shanae, Tasia was the only person in history to have ever earned the coveted sash that meant she had learned and mastered all forms of physical combat utilizing either her body or a weapon. Varying others had ranked high—especially Evan, Robert, Veronica, Arista, Asheria, and Rodi—but none of them had mastered everything. Tasia looked around the room briefly and then said, "Terry, you work with Kim. Logan, you work with Kari. Rodi, you can work with Silas, and Allister can work with Gail. Raine can work with Pallas."
Chance eyed her warily. "What about me?"
She shot him a grin. "You are going to better yourself as a certain High Princess of Protea's Caretaker and expand your own physical combat skills, because, right now, she has you significantly beat. She's both Protean and the daughter of the Apex of Dark, so you need to at least match her partway to keep her happy. That means it's time to do some training of your own. And guess who will be teaching you?"
He sighed and shot a quick glare at his snickering fiancée. "Yeah, you're twins alright." He eyed Tasia. "You just want an opportunity to knock me on my ass."
"Of course I do. A Lead Defender takes their humor where they can." She kicked off her shoes and then removed her top layers of clothing to be only in her bra and a plain tank top. Her denims could stay as is—she could technically fight in anything, but she didn't want to have to spend time keeping her temperature down while trying to instruct, really. "Alright, let's see what you've got. If you've got anything, of course."
He sheathed his sword and set it to the side. He had already resigned himself to the fact that he had to get used to her slightly twisted sense of humor since she and LeAnn were twin souls. It did not bother him that much; strangely, he found he loved her more than he had expected now that he had let himself open up. Reciprocity between connected mates of all kinds could make things interesting. Yet, as was normal, twins and lovers tended to clash over their shared mate. He had a whole new sympathy for Robert dealing with Arista. "I think I've got a fair bit, thank you."
The others were already getting to work and things moved more smoothly with them all partnered off. Those not partnered helped however they could by offering pointers or holding equipment. LeAnn sat on the sidelines and prepared to enjoy herself greatly.
Tasia tossed her hair back. "So prove it."
Chance gave a sigh. He knew he was going to get his ass handed to him. He had seen her in battle many times, so he knew how damn good she was; she had been made Lead for a reason. He took a breath and then rushed at her with nearly blurring speed, his foot aimed for her head. Her mind immediately filed him away under advanced. She blocked the kick and then blocked the subsequent punches that followed. He gave her everything he had and realized fast that she prolonged the fight only to see what he knew. She barely exerted any effort to hold him off.
She saw enough to tell her what she needed to know, and she ducked under one of his punches before he realized she was going to move. She came up directly in front of him and her knee slammed into his stomach with such power that she drove the breath from his lungs. He would have fallen if she hadn't caught him. "Holy hell," he managed to gasp.
She calmly steadied him. "You're good. Probably almost as good as Terry, so you skirt toward master in your chosen style. However, it's clear you rely on your sword arm too much. I think we can fix that and make you a far better combatant over all."
He realized that he could catch a breath and straightened. He pressed a hand to his stomach and realized he did not actually feel pain. She had not hurt him at all. She had such utter perfect control over every aspect of her body that she could drive out air yet not do damage. She had the very same strength and skill as Shanae. His heart gave a small dull thud as his blue eyes studied her intently. "You're as strong as Shanae."
Silence fell as everyone turned to look. Her eyes felt far older than even normal as she looked at him. There were only a few inches between their heights, and their gazes met easily. "Yes," she said calmly. "I know."
He looked at LeAnn and found her looking away. A glance at Storm showed his eyes looked almost as old as Tasia's. All the Resurrection Cultivators wore similar expressions of a combination of acceptance and sadness. "How long have all of you known?" he asked quietly. "We all were saying that Tasia might be close to Shanae, that she rivaled her, but none of us knew . . . knew they were perfectly even."
"Tasia knew it from the moment they met," Storm admitted softly. "I knew it when I saw them sparring. Didn't any of you realize? Didn't anyone see? When they spar, they're just playing. They're never serious. They push each other lightly without any real effort and then call it a day. They both . . . they both know what it means if they were to truly fight one another. If they want to push themselves, they have to spar someone else. They have to." He took a shaky breath. "We just . . . we just didn't want to say it out loud."
"How can you stand it?" Pallas whispered to Tasia.
"Because I have to. Everyone is placed here for a reason." Her eyes turned dark chocolate in a passing shadow. "That just happens to be one of mine."
Chance looked at the other Caretakers present, and all of them wore the same expression as they looked at Tasia. It was suddenly clear to all of them why Minstrel would be obsessed with her. If he wanted the strongest soul to break, then he would find it only in Tasia, the one burdened by Destiny to have a power and strength to match the legendary Apex of Dark.
* * * * *
Raven restlessly paced back and forth through the black protea portion of the garden on the palace grounds. He wanted his sword back. It was the only one he was comfortable with, and he would need it to engage Minstrel as needed. He wanted the ability to properly protect Starlight as her Caretaker when she inevitably entered battle again.
Robert watched him pace and then propped a shoulder against a marble pillar. He had been there. He knew how terrifying it was to love someone whose duty placed them directly in the most dangerous places. It was made worse when for some reason you couldn't protect them as well as you were capable. "Troubles?"
Raven turned quickly. He had not realized that the white-haired king had snuck up on him. "King Robert, you surprised me."
"Just Robert." Robert walked over and sat down on the bench in a small gazebo. "You know," he said conversationally, "has Starlight told you about Shanae and Sayena?"
Raven's brows lifted. "No."
"They're also Dual Cultivators, which means they are Defenders as well. Quite literally legendary alongside the rest of their generation, but perhaps more so in many ways. They stand as the most powerful of all Defenders in existence—except for Tasia. Shanae, while active as the first Protea Defender, often got referred to as the 'greatest Cultivator of all' by the entire universe. The sheer scope of what she and my sister did as Defenders lent itself to the reason why, after they hung up their Masks in preparation of ruling, people shortly forgot they had existed. After all, who could have done the things people whispered about?" He sighed. "And, for many years, Evan and I nearly lost our minds because we could not be proper Caretakers for them. You see, being High Rulers ourselves meant that the Defenders were just as powerfully driven to protect us as our sisters. We were just as critical to the future of the universe. And," he added a bit wryly, "'we didn't wear armor.' So we had to stand back far too often. Once we found the Commanders again, it got better because then there would be someone protecting us while we acted as Caretakers personally. But that happened after several years, and some rather terrible wars that we would have rather been more involved in. And, of course, I have it far worse than Evan because Sayena has always accepted being magical and staying in the backlines. I have the damned Apex of Dark who charges right into the thick of things without cost or care."
Raven walked over to join him. He no longer felt as if he was the only one who had endured the impotent frustration, and he even felt humor at the wryness of Robert's tone. "I suppose that explains your own lethality. I heard someone say you had resisted your lineage's magical leaning to become capable of pushing Shanae in combat. I knew she was the Apex of Dark, but this makes more sense."
"Indeed. Evan pushed himself as well, and he can use magic in ways that most Rulers don't, especially Proteans. That doesn't take away the fact that I am also exponentially gifted with magic as the Apex of Light's brother, or that he is exponentially gifted physically as the Apex of Dark's brother. We just worked to make ourselves into the perfect Caretaker for our soul mate."
"So I am not being an overprotective fiancé at the idea of my lover being a Defender and, until she becomes pregnant, incapable of hanging up her Mask?"
"Ah, is that where Aluria draws the line? I was wondering. No, you very aren't." He blew out a hard breath. "I'm telling you this next thing only because I understand how you feel. She is a Defender Cultivator. They are needed. There may come a time where the need for her to live is greater than yours. You will step in front of her and die to keep her safe. You will either be forced to remain in limbo until you can return, or—if she has already born said child—possibly continue on to the Realm without her. Either way you will only be able to watch over her from afar, unable to touch her or taste her. To only remember the scent of her skin and suffer knowing she grieves for you."
Raven could see in his golden eyes that he had been there already. "As long as she lives, then I can handle anything."
Robert clapped him lightly on the back. "So says every Caretaker. To that end . . . I have a suggestion, if you're willing to listen. Mind you, we'll both have our asses handed to us by our mates, but I've gotten used to Shanae bending my ear over being reckless."
"We have a propensity to this?"
"So she and Nica claim. Sayena and I just say we're confident in our choices." He grinned. "Anyway, I think you know by now about Talon and his odd connectivity to time-space that makes him borderline Sensing as well as gives him some damn big headaches when Memory or Time Flower Elements are used? Or, you know, when someone is moving through dimensional walls."
"I do, yes. Felt terrible for knocking him flat in my arrival."
"He took it with good nature and rarely ever complains. However, he came to me the other day to complain for once. Said it felt like someone had just shoved a sword into a dimensional wall. I believe that your will might be trying to force your sword over but it can't manifest. I have Future Sight of my own thanks to being so powerfully of the Light, and I'm second only to Shanae and Tasia for sheer strength. I fully believe we can retrieve your sword."
Raven thought about it for long moments. "You're suggesting you, I, and Talon go see if we can't retrieve the sword? Basically go off without a Defender backup because they're busy with more important things? You're right; we'll get scolded." He smiled. "But since the other option is sitting and doing nothing, I say we try it."
Robert grinned briefly. "Somehow I knew you'd feel that way."
Lazily a male voice drawled, "And am I invited?"
Robert sighed. He had always been sympathetic to his wife's plight with Arista for the simple reason that he himself had an overprotective twin soul. He glowered over his shoulder to where Sabin stood with a shoulder propped against a tree. "How did I know you'd show up?"
"Because," the Lead Commander retorted politely, "Veronica and Shanae are not wrong about you being reckless and prone to charging in?"
Raven began to grin. "This sounds familiar."
"It ought to." Sabin smiled. "Because Protea and Delphinium fulfill such a critical role to the entire universe, history has always dictated that the High Princess receive a twin soul mate among the Defenders of the world in order to give her the highest level of protection from evil. Well, someone screwed up millions of years of status quo with his birth, and got Delphinium a High Prince." He caught Robert in a headlock. "Protea got Evan as well, of course. And because they are fully Activated High Ruler Cultivators themselves as well as critically important to both Apexes, Destiny decided they should have twin soul mates as well. Their mothers happened to agree with their need to have personal guards, so the former High Queens and Kings set out to find Commanders, which they did indeed find. And guess who I got stuck with. The troublemaker!"
Robert just grinned unrepentantly. "And you think Maxim has it any easier with Evan? Besides, can you imagine if Diego had been in your shoes?"
Sabin grimaced. "God no. Don't ever mention such a thing." He loved Diego like a brother but he rivaled Talon for sheer mischievousness. He released Robert and crossed his arms lightly. "Speaking of Diego, I don't think we should need him and Ulyen as well, but I told both of them to be standing by just in case I'm wrong."
Robert got to his feet and clapped a hand lightly on Sabin's shoulder. "Then let's find Talon. The sooner we get Raven his sword back, the better. We need all the power we can muster."
They found Talon crawling on his hands and knees in the library. Sabin's brow lifted. "Lose something?"
"The brat who seems to think his name is devil and not Devin." Talon emerged from under a table with his son caught by one ankle. The small boy was giggling madly. "Ah ha!" He tossed Devin over his shoulder and smiled cheerfully at the three men in the doorway. "Ah, well. Shanae said a while back that she'd love to see me have a kid just like me. I'm more inclined to think she was being prophetic rather than hexing me."
"She does that," Robert agreed dryly. "Chance is still annoyed she didn't be more specific with him about his own future."
Talon snickered. "And I am eternally grateful she wasn't. I made money off that one, thanks. Hang on a second." He disappeared out the door and returned a few minutes later without Devin. "There we go. I made Arista baby-sit."
Raven winced wryly. "Is that wise?"
"Sure. It's not like she can teach him more bad habits than her kid has." He cracked his knuckles lightly. "So," he said, "how're we getting there anyway?" He saw Raven's surprised look and grinned. "Well, Robert said he was going to talk with you, and Sabin doesn't let Robert get into trouble unless it's trouble with Shanae in which case we really don't want to know about it, so obviously you're all here to fetch the sword giving me a headache."
There was a beat. Helpfully, Robert said, "One gets used to him."
"Rather like a splinter," Sabin added dryly.
"At least my family tree doesn't look like a blind tailor was stitching it together." He paused, thought about it, then amended, "Okay maybe it does thanks to Raine and Tasia. I think we're all eventually related to everyone somewhere." He tucked his hands behind his head. "So, again, how do we get there? How did you get here, Raven?"
"That's a complicated answer. I heard a voice singing—who I know now to be Tasia—and she activated something called Leylines on Aluria. Elemental veins, I suppose is the best way to describe them. The combination allowed me to use my transport magic and follow the music through dimensional walls and land here on Protea."
"Ah, that's actually good news. Tasia's voice leaves a trail." Sabin began to draw an intricate design in the air to open a time-space portal. "We've actually been studying this for a bit now. She leaves ripples on time-space every time she sings. We thought it might be related to her possession of Memory majik, but she did it even before she unlocked that. However, because of her ability to touch time-space via her voice, it can cross dimensions. That may also be how it can cross the entire universe so hard and fast. I actually contacted the farthest occupied world from here and asked for a notice if they heard her. They did. Clearly. As if she had been there with them."
Robert considered the ramifications of that. "Conceivably, if she put enough force into it, she might sing across time."
"That's the theory, but we really don't want to test it." Sabin finished his portal and opened it wide enough to walk through. "This is something of a test as it is, since we've never actually tried to enter the area between dimensions."
"Thus implying you and Claret perhaps knew of the other dimension existing all along?" Robert murmured.
"More like she knew it existed but it was not of critical importance until recently, and I knew because she had to tell me lest I get stuck somewhere on accident and she have to retrieve me. In." He shoved Robert and Talon through and then let Raven walk in as well before following.
For the first time, the phrase 'time-space' seemed to make more sense. The area on the other side of the portal looked like a strip of an artist's rendering of space, including stars and swirls of color that echoed to the look of the different galaxies. The one thing that kept it from being mistaken for real space was the presence of air to breathe, and the series of hovering landmasses that made up a walkway. Memory power swirled and moved in the distance below the walkway.
As soon as the portal closed behind them, Talon felt his head throb. "Oof. Bloody hell, as my daughter might say. I think it's north."
"Hey, finally a use for him. We can use him as a compass," Sabin murmured.
"Bite me."
Raven smiled. "I find myself oddly envious of you, Robert."
Robert grinned. "Yeah. They're pains in the ass, but I wouldn't trade them for anything."
* * * * *
Minstrel thought critically about how to give his gift to his favorite person. He didn't want to be obvious about it. She was so smart she would think it was a trap. And certainly his brother wasn't a fool either. He would have to play them both very carefully. Or maybe just Cashlin. His favorite sorceress would see through a lie. So maybe he would make it obvious it was a trap for Cashlin. She would probably be happy to take advantage of it.
His head suddenly snapped up. A sinister grin crossed his face. The spell he had put on Raven's sword to tell him if his rival had reclaimed it had activated. That meant that Raven was on his way to fetch the sword. Minstrel had known it was trying to manifest because of the same spell, but he hadn't realized that Raven would have the means to go get it. Those Blossom Field people were quite resourceful.
He eagerly got to his feet and began to prepare. He wanted to fight Raven. He wanted to try and beat him. He didn't care to win; just to fight him. If he fought Raven too seriously, then he might lose. He couldn't lose because there were other things he had to do. Still, the delight of perhaps feeling pain made him hurry. Raven was always so much fun to play with.
* * * * *
"Someone just walked on my grave," Talon muttered.
"I didn't realize you had already picked a plot. I'm sure it's a lovely spot," Robert said drolly.
"Boys!" Sabin shook his head. Despite the mild scolding, he watched his partner's face very closely. Something flickered in Talon’s smoky gray eyes. "What are you feeling, Talon?"
"The best way to describe it," he said slowly, "is to say that I felt a chaotic presence."
Raven went very still. "Minstrel. He's always been very chaotic. He must have put some sort of locater on my sword to know when I was getting close to it. He's here to fight me." He let out a soft breath. "I guess the bright side to that is that he won't stop me from getting the sword."
"Some bright side." Sabin moved to be directly behind Robert even as Talon moved to be in front. "We'll still keep our guard up."
Robert sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why they conveniently forget that I regularly kick both their asses."
"Same way Arista forgets that Shanae kicks hers," his twin retorted.
"Your point."
Raven was going to comment when he felt a sharp compulsive tug. He stopped walking and turned swiftly in a circle. He could feel his sword near. A quick glance at Talon's grimace told him that the other man felt it too.
They all looked up and saw the sword sticking out of a chunk of rock floating above their heads. It was easily a hundred feet higher than they were, and there were no visible signs of anything that would lead them up there. "That is definitely beyond the range of jumping or climbing, and none of us can fly," Talon said. "Does anyone have spring-loaded boots?"
Sabin looked at Robert. "I thought you said they were still technologically impossible."
The king sulked. "Storm found a flaw in my schematics and made a working prototype last month. They'll hit the market in a few more months."
"Hello!" Minstrel appeared in midair with a pop of sparkles and glitter. "It took you long enough!" he scolded Raven. "I was beginning to think I'd never get a proper duel with you again! Want me to get the sword so we can fight?" He made a couple of mock punches. "Come on! It'll be fun!"
"I'd rather you didn't touch it at all." Raven drew the sword he had been borrowing. "Let's fight this way. I'll still kick your ass. Again. Maybe there won't be innocent bystanders this time."
Minstrel's eyes flashed with raw malice and then cleared. "Ooh! You made me mad again! You're almost as good at making me feel as my sorceress is!" He looked at his watch. "I only have time for one fight, you know. So much to do. So many things to kill. I wouldn't want the Resurrection Cultivators to think I'm neglecting them!" A bolt of pure Dark magic suddenly shot through the air and narrowly missed his head. It flew so close past him that it neatly clipped strands of his fair hair. His eyes widened. "Wow. Good shot."
"What the . . .?" Raven wondered.
Robert sighed. "Right on cue." He turned his head and his eyes immediately found the sight of Shanae standing on the top of the chunk of rock holding Raven's sword. She wore her Mask and her armor alike—for the first time in three centuries—and she had her sword in hand. The impressive claymore clearly had not been made by any Metal Flower Element. Like Tasia's own sword, Shanae's blade radiated raw power. The black blade had been born solely of her arcanery, and a bit of amber in the hilt held a protea blossom. "Figured she'd take the excuse to armor up," he murmured.
Shanae knelt and her Nature magic flowed to open the stone and allow the trapped sword to fall free. "Here you go, Raven."
Raven felt a little ripple down his back that told him he was in the presence of an ultimate power. He had of course known that she was the Apex of Dark, but it startled him a little to realize that once she put on her Mask, he could literally feel the power as if some mufflers had come off. It also, oddly, felt familiar. He pushed it out of his mind as he caught his sword, and he felt something inside relax as he held its weight again. He held out the borrowed sword to Sabin. "My thanks, but this is much more my style."
"Navidan didn't mind lending you one," Sabin said dryly. "He prefers broadswords too."
Minstrel had landed on the walkway to study Shanae, and he didn't even notice Raven was right on top of him until the other man nearly cut him in two. He hastily dodged. "Whoa there! Not even a formal start to all this?"
"We're well beyond that." Raven took another swing, and Minstrel's own sword appeared in his hand to block. Raven's eyes narrowed sharply. "I'm going to cut you in two, Minstrel."
As the two began a furious fight, Shanae floated gracefully down to the ground beside her husband and his Commanders. Like Tasia and Sayena, she could actually turn gravity on and off for herself. Another aspect of the arcane forces all utilized. "I told Ulyen and Diego that I'd come help," she told Sabin and Talon. "But Kacey and Claret are a bit irked you didn't tell them what you were doing."
Robert smiled wryly. "On the other hand, you seem to be oddly comfortable with it."
She linked her hands behind her head. "Hey, after ten thousand years, there's little left for you or your sister to do that will ever surprise me or Evan. It seemed a fun opportunity to get my Mask out again, you know? And if nothing had happened, you'd have never known I was here, so don't fuss so much." Her eyes never moved from Minstrel. There was something about him that felt oddly familiar. She couldn't put her finger on why she just felt she ought to know him.
Raven broke through Minstrel's guard and his sword slashed across his arm. Minstrel immediately transported himself out of reach. "Oopsy!" He wagged a finger in Raven's direction. "You can't kill me now! I have stuff I have to do!" Before anyone could move, he appeared directly in front of Shanae. "Hello there, Your Majesty."
Her eyes didn't waver. "Hello." She felt Robert tense and held an arm in front of him. She knew Minstrel did not intend to hurt her. "Did you have a question, Minstrel?" she asked calmly.
"I was just confirming my thoughts." He floated back and grinned dangerously. "She really is as strong as an Apex, isn't she?" A sort of giddy feeling welled up inside him as he realized all the things it could mean. A power and strength as strong as an Apex. To break her . . . he almost shivered. Perhaps it would finally let him feel everything.
He disappeared without a goodbye, and Raven lowered his sword. "What was that about?"
Robert put a hand on the back of Shanae's neck under her now braided hair and drew her into his arms. Both he and Shanae had known from the start what Tasia's presence truly meant. "It would be hard to explain. But . . . what it boils down to is that Tasia is as powerful as an Apex—as powerful as Shanae. Not just rivaling her, or Sayena. Equal. Minstrel knows what that means about Tasia's will and spirit."
Sabin cursed softly under his breath. "I didn't know," he said flatly. Talon, for once, looked as serious as Sabin did. "Why didn't you tell any of us?" Sabin demanded.
"Because it isn't important. Not right now." Shanae straightened. "The important thing is that there's something about Minstrel that I recognized. When I looked into his eyes, I felt the same way I did when I looked into Tara Ranunculus' eyes while she was consumed in Chaos. Minstrel is full of Chaos energy. And that's . . . I think that might be why he wants Tasia."
"Because she's a force of order," Raven guessed. He sent his sword away to holding in his magic and crossed his arms. "None of this makes any sense, you know that right?"
Shanae's smile was sad and wry all at once. "That's how Chaos is. There's always a meaning to it, but finding it is like sorting a million different grains of rice into individual piles. It is the turbulent and perhaps violent meeting ground of Light and Dark where emotions overwhelm all other considerations and lies are stripped away to reveal the barest truth. It truly embodies all that encompasses emotion. That is a dangerously potent thing. However, unlike the battle against Mania, there is a distinct advantage for us now. We have someone now that we did not then."
"The pattern masters," Talon realized. "They're already unraveling Minstrel's methods. All we need to know is what is driving him. It can't be just his hunger to feel again. There's got to be something more."
"Let's go home," Robert said quietly. "There's nothing more we can do. This is something we need to leave up to the Resurrection Cultivators."
Raven thought about it as Sabin opened a portal to let them all return. He had known many Cultivators, Defenders and Rulers alike, in his life, but he had never seen any team like the Resurrection one. He wasn't sure what it was about them that made them different, but he got the feeling that it might be somehow crucial to the protection of the entire universe that held both his dimension and theirs. What reason did Destiny have for making a sorceress as powerful as an Apex when two already existed?
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
Chapter 17 (May 11th, 2024)->
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