When word reached Albanion and Blaine about the incident in the graveyard, the Emperor was more than a little nonplussed. Blaine was infuriated. Somehow she managed to hold onto her smile as a soldier recounted the events. She wanted to rip out his heart even though he was not at fault. "You're sure it was a Pure Relic?" she demanded.
The soldier kept his head bowed, sweat sliding down his back. He hated talking to Blaine. He always felt as if his life was in danger. "Yes, my lady. The Relic Masters in town are certain they recognized the strength of the power. The one body we recovered was branded with the mark of a scythe."
The Devourer! Blaine bit back a snarl of rage. That cursed Ben had been holding it all along! He had taken the secret to his grave, literally, and now it was in the hands of the one person it should never have gone near. The bloody Kaiten Star. Icily, she said, "The Devourer Relic is indeed a Pure Relic. It is a dangerous one. If we're lucky, it will do as its name implies and devour Tyrian Southerwind."
Albanion looked at her speculatively. "Would it?"
She shrugged. "It could." She wasn't holding her breath for it. The very iron will that made Tyrian the destined Kaiten was the very thing that might save his life. "If it doesn't, he has just become far more formidable than he ever was before. He is an army himself."
Albanion waved a hand and the soldier hastily fled from the room. The Emperor settled back on his throne and stared thoughtfully across the room. "I like not that that boy has gained such power. Perhaps a ceasefire needs to be arranged."
Blaine's nails bit into her palm as she struggled to hold her smile. Albanion was a slimy coward. He had no idea what she had endured, what she was willing to do to get her hands on a Pure Relic. She would rip it from Tyrian Southerwind's dead body with her own hands if she had to. In a sibilant purr, she ran a hand down his arm. "We will handle him."
He fell under her spell without a whimper and nodded. "Indeed. We hold the checkpoints. The cities are under guard. This puny rebellion will fall, Pure Relic or not."
And when it did, when the relic was hers at last, she would have everything she had ever wanted.
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
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