Edge of Pathos (The Conjurors Series Book 4) (36 page)

“You brought me joy,
too,” he said, his voice low. “Every day, even when I was scared of the risks
you were taking or mad at how you didn’t take care of yourself. I know you
can’t think about us being together right now, with losing Cyrus and figuring
out your vivicus powers. But can I hold you?”

She leaned forward
and pressed her cheek against his heart. His arms around her were warm and
tight. At last, she didn’t have to fight what she wanted any longer. Her mind
had survived the war, and now her vivicus power was tucked away from her, where
it couldn’t hurt her anymore.

“I can think about
it. I don’t want to go another day without you, Thai.”

He pulled away then
so he could look into her face. Her conversation with Azra tumbled out, and
Thai listened to every word.

He kissed her
forehead. “This doesn’t change much for me. I want what I’ve always wanted—to
be with you. But I’m glad that now you can let yourself be with me, too.”

“That’s all I want
right now,” she said. “Everything hurts except being with you.”

“Here. I saw you
peeking,” Thai said, handing her his drawing pad.

Valerie opened it, and
flipping through, found sketch after sketch of herself. The way he saw her… She
was powerful and beautiful in his eyes.

“Check out the date
of the first sketch,” he said, smiling as he watched her reaction to what he’d
created.

It was dated the day
after they’d met at her hospital.

“I think I knew,
even then, that you were in my heart to stay.”

“Me, too,” she said,
remembering how she’d felt when she spotted him out of the window in her room
at the Oakland Children’s Hospital.

“I’m not going to
think about anything else other than us for a while, and neither are you,” he
said, and he brushed his lips against hers.

He was right. She
didn’t think about Cyrus or war or loss or anything other than Thai for a long
time.

Weeks passed, and
Valerie busied herself with days of dealing with the messy business of the
aftermath of war and wrestling with her grief, and nights spent lying outside,
staring up at the stars and catching up on a lifetime of conversation with
Thai. It was a combination of acute pain and utter sweetness, a swing of an
emotional pendulum that almost made her dizzy.

The Grand Masters
had named her Grand Chair Elect, studying under Skye, who was the Acting Grand
Chair. The responsibilities were immense, but in her heart, Valerie knew that
she wouldn’t run from her new role, as tempting as complete freedom would be.
Earth and the Globe were in a state of merry chaos now, and she wanted to be a
part of helping to mold it into something stronger and better than it had been
before.

Still, it was an
intense relief when the prisoners were organized enough that Calibro and Sibyl
could take over and she wouldn’t have to split her attention between her duties
at the Capitol and her role as the leader of the Fist.

“You’re sure you
don’t need me to help with trials or anything?” Valerie asked the golden-haired
Grand Master, who was consulting with Sibyl.

Calibro turned and
gave Valerie a level stare. “The business of justice is not your area. My guild
has handled these matters for centuries. The Justice Council has already tried
eleven prisoners today. We’ll have swift justice delivered to all within these
walls.”

Valerie ducked her
head so that Calibro didn’t see her smile. “Of course.”

“I predict things
will go smoothly,” Sibyl said, a trace of a smile letting Valerie know she
shared Valerie’s amusement. “The other Oracles and I will travel between here
and the Roaming City until the trials are complete.”

“If you’re sure you
don’t need me, then I’ll leave you to your work, my friends,” Valerie said.

“You may be called
on to provide testimony in certain trials, but for now, I thank you for your
service,” Calibro said.

Dismissed,
Valerie couldn’t help giving first Sibyl and then the serious Calibro one quick
hug before turning away.

That night, long after
Thai had fallen asleep, Valerie remained awake. It wasn’t unusual for her to
toss and turn these days. She remembered how Cyrus used to visit her in her
dreams when she still lived on Earth, unaware that magic existed in the
universe. He’d never abandoned her. But now, she couldn’t find Cyrus anywhere,
even in her dreams, and his absence created a vacuum in her that threatened to
consume her if she let it.

Valerie
involuntarily reached for Henry through their mental connection. He was in
Elsinore with Kanti, who was getting a constitution in place that would replace
the monarchy with an elected democracy. She and Henry wanted to return to
Arden, Henry to continue his training at the Empathy Guild, and Kanti to
explore apprenticing at the Guardians of the Boundary.

Henry’s peace flowed
through their twin bond. It was comforting to know that he was happier than he
ever thought he could be, and sometimes, she was glad that she had time to be
alone with Thai. Other times, she missed him. Blood will call blood, and he was
her only family.

She couldn’t bring
herself to disturb his peace by calling him or waking Thai, but she couldn’t
stay still. Quietly, she slipped on her jeans and left to visit Gideon in the
Healers’ Guild.

Since the night that
he had almost awoken, there had been no change in his condition. She liked to
sit by his bed and have one-sided conversations with him. She slipped down the
quiet, dark halls of the Guild to Gideon’s room.

She pushed open the
door and immediately reached for her blade, but she wasn’t carrying it. Stupid.
Kellen was fluttering above Gideon’s bed, dust drifting from his wings. The war
would never be over.

Valerie’s magic
gushed through her. She jumped into the air and tackled Kellen to the ground in
one smooth move. The fairy spluttered, trying to wrench himself from her grip,
but she didn’t budge.

“Stop—” Kellen tried
to choke out, but Valerie didn’t listen.

She was about to
strip a piece of cloth from her T-shirt to gag him when she heard the soft rustle
of Gideon’s sheets.

“Perhaps we should
let him explain himself,” Gideon said, his voice hoarse.

Valerie dropped
Kellen and whipped around to see her mentor sitting up in his bed. She tried to
speak, but nothing except a strangled sound came out, so she hugged him
instead.

When she pulled
back, she saw that he was pale, but his eyes were alert.

Kellen dusted
himself off. “I was using the light dust, which I hoped would drive away the
last remnants of the dark dust within him.”

Gideon was testing
his limbs, and he winced as he attempted to stand.

Valerie was at his
side in an instant, supporting him. “What’s wrong?”

“Too many months of
inactivity, I believe,” Gideon said, gently pushing her aside to stand on his
own.

Kellen fluttered
close to Gideon’s face, and Valerie fought the urge to swat him away. Kellen
stared into his eyes and nodded after his examination was complete.

“The dark dust is
gone,” he said.

“Why are you helping
now?” Valerie asked, making sure to angle herself between the fairy and Gideon.

Kellen reddened. “I
was not myself when I attacked both of you. I admit that when
Chern—Reaper—approached me three years ago, I was considering putting our
guild’s support behind his plan in return for a promise that we would have a
central role when we returned to Earth. But after he kidnapped me, my mind was
not entirely my own again until Dasan healed me. An excruciatingly painful
process, rewiring my mind, if it comforts you.”

It never comforted
Valerie to imagine anyone in pain, but it also didn’t sit right with her to
think that Kellen would go on with his life like nothing had happened.

“So you go back to
being Grand Master of the Knights?” she asked.

The fairy huffed.
“You think Calibro would agree to that?”

“You’re not in
jail,” she countered.

“I suggested my own
punishment, and she and the Justice Council agreed to my terms. I will serve as
Silva’s groundskeeper for the next one hundred years.”

Valerie swallowed,
so that the emotion that rose in her wouldn’t pool in her eyes. Kellen met her
gaze, and she knew he’d chosen the same punishment her father had accepted many
years ago to atone for his work with the Fractus as a way to make amends with
her.

She cleared her
throat. “That seems fair.”

Kellen bowed his
head, his usual bluster gone. “I hope to train with you both at our guild
someday. My esteem for you is more than you can know, and I hope you may return
some portion of it in time.”

“You have already
begun,” Gideon said in his usual grave tone.

Valerie
couldn’t echo his words, but some piece of her was able to begin to forgive
Kellen, and forgiveness sparked something within her that she didn’t know had
had been snuffed out. Peace.

Nightingale made
Gideon stay at the Healers’ Guild for two more nights before he let Valerie
take him home. When they stepped outside, her mentor took a deep breath of the
fresh air.

“It was as though I
fell asleep in a nightmare and awoke to a dream,” he said. “I had faith you
would prevail in time, but you exceeded all my hopes.”

Valerie stood
straighter at his words. It was something her dad might have said, and hearing
it from Gideon was like having a piece of her father back.

She caught him
looking around The Horseshoe. “As bad as it is now, it was even worse a few
weeks ago.”

The Architecture Guild
was busy with repairs, and in spite of their rapid progress, much remained to
be done. The Justice Guild was still in shambles, which was why Calibro and the
rest of the Conjurors in her guild were working out of the magical prison that
had been created in Dunsinane, but the Capitol Building was rebuilt, and even
the crack in the stairs had been fixed.

“This cost is merely
property,” Gideon said. “It can be rebuilt.”

“So can society, I
hope,” Valerie said.

Gideon glanced over
at her in surprise and nodded once at her words. They began to walk down the
steps of the Healers’ Guild, and her breath caught when she saw the Society of
Imaginary Friends building.

It had been rebuilt,
and water flowed down all of the slides into the moat. The happy squeals of children
filled the air as they splashed in the water. Former imaginary friends now
brought their human charges to the Guild in person, and it was busier than
ever.

She stepped on the
path that led between the buildings on The Horseshoe, and it lit up beneath her
feet. She stared down at it, and tears dripped down her face onto the glowing
stones. Cyrus’s spell had been disturbed during the worst of the fighting here,
and no one had been sure if they could recreate the effect. Which lightweaver
had managed it? She’d have to ask Dr. Freeman.

Gideon laid a hand
on her shoulder, and she could have sworn that some of his strength flowed from
him to her.

She wiped her cheeks
when she saw Skye trotting toward her with Jack by his side. Skye’s mane glowed
with health. The centaur was enjoying the details of managing the rebuilding on
the Globe, which baffled Valerie, who found the politics and minutiae
excruciating.

Jack had become his
right hand, managing his old gang as they took on the unending tasks of
rebuilding Silva. Valerie could still see traces of his grief in the hollows
beneath his eyes, but he didn’t have the same desperate restlessness that made
her fear for his life.

“Welcome back,
Gideon,” Skye said with a flick of his tail. “The waters of Illyria will be
reopened today. Are you both coming to the Lake of Knowledge?”

“I’m taking Gideon
home to rest,” she said.

Gideon shook his
head, and Valerie saw him hiding a smile. “I have been still for too long. I
welcome the chance for movement.”

“Sure the boss lady
here will let you?” Jack teased, and Valerie gave him a surprised smile. It was
the first joke she’d heard him make since Dulcea’s death.

Valerie gave Jack a
playful shove. “I may not be able to take Gideon in a fight, but I could still
take you.”

Skye and Gideon
shook their heads as Valerie messed up Jack’s hair, and he retaliated by
jumping on her back.

“I’m not getting off
till you take me where I need to go,” he announced.

Valerie hauled him
halfway through Silva, until he hopped off and returned to his daily tasks.
Valerie continued to the Lake of Knowledge with Skye and Gideon. They found
Elle impatiently pacing on the shores, splashing the water occasionally, as if
she was testing it. On her third try, a smile flashed across her face. “At
last!”

She raised her hands
to dive into the water when someone pushed his way up through the surface. A
drenched Will gave his sister a hug, and they gripped each other tightly.

“You look older,”
Will teased.

“You look the same,”
Elle said, punching him on the shoulder.

“What of the
traitor, Gabriel?” Skye asked.

“Our people will
send him above the waves for justice,” Will reported. “Elle and I are tasked
with escorting him to Calibro, since we’re the only ones comfortable with being
on the surface.”

“I can’t wait to
drag him back to face his mortality,” Elle said, her hands fisted at her sides.
“It’s about time Mom and Dad got some justice.”

“There’s something
else,” Will said, turning to Valerie. “I tried to find your mom, Valerie.”

Gideon had been
kneeling in the water, letting it run through his fingers as he examined it,
but he froze at Will’s words. Valerie’s gaze snapped to Elle.

“I didn’t want to
get your hopes up, but the knowledge exists somewhere in the Akashic Records.
All we have to do is find it,” Elle said.

“Adelita lives?”
Gideon’s words were barely a whisper, and his eyes had a frantic, hopeful
gleam.

“Reaper turned her
to stone and hid her somewhere,” Valerie explained, and then turned to Will.
“Did you find where?”

“I couldn’t find her
location, but there was one strange piece of information that I unearthed. You
and Henry have both seen her very recently.”

“That can’t be
right. I think I’d remember seeing a stone statue of my mom,” Valerie said, but
then she fell to her knees. Through her connection, she knew that her brother
grasped what she’d learned.

Gideon pulled her
back up, and gripped her shoulders tightly. “What do you know?”

There
was only one possibility. If she was right, then she could find her mother.

Valerie waited with
Gideon and Thai on the steps of the Society of Imaginary Friends for Henry to
make his way to Arden. Gideon’s usually endless patience had vanished, and he
fastened and unfastened the sheath that was belted to his side. She thought he
would drag her away to awaken her mother if she made him wait another minute
longer.