“Stop,” he warned, feeling the throb of his pulse in his neck.
“We both know what needs to be done.”
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”
Kael’s voice was soft, his green eyes filled with his own pain. “Do you need me to do it for you?”
Lucian growled and tightened his arms around Effie. “She’s not to be harmed.”
“You know as well as I do what’s in store for her. She wouldn’t want to become that.”
“She won’t.”
“Oh? And how do you plan to stop it?”
“I’ll find a way,” he bit off.
“Brother—”
“We’re not having this conversation, Kael.”
“But, Lucian—”
“Either you help me find a way to save her, or get the fuck out of the way.”
Kael closed his mouth, his eyes assessing. “I recall a similar conversation not too long ago where you were on my side of this argument.”
“And?”
“You spoke of mercy.”
A muscle ticked in Lucian’s neck. “We weren’t talking about her.”
“Are you sure you’re willing to put everyone else at risk for less than a sliver of a chance?”
“I’d risk anything to save her.”
“Lucian, I care for her too—”
“Kael, this isn’t a debate. Help me or get out of my way. I don’t care which.”
Kael scowled, looking offended by the implication. “Of course, I’m helping you. That was never a question. I just wanted to make sure you know what you are doing. If we’re going to set the world on fire, I want to make sure you’re certain before you light the match.”
Lucian allowed himself a small smile of thanks as some of the tension eased. He’d hoped Kael would side with him, but his brother’s loyalty was to the realm first. Technically, so was Lucian’s, but everything had shifted with Effie’s arrival.
“We need to find somewhere safe to keep her away from the others.”
Frowning, Lucian nodded his agreement. He didn’t like the idea of locking her up, but it was the safest thing for everybody involved. With the citadel gone, the last of the Keepers and the townsfolk would need to regroup and see what could be salvaged, and then decide where to go from there. There was no knowing how many of them were left. They’d likely spend the rest of the day combing through the rubble and searching for survivors.
“I’ll take her to the catacombs,” Lucian murmured.
Kael looked conflicted, but nodded. “You should do it now, before the others show. Less questions that way.”
Lucian grunted his agreement. “We keep this quiet for now.”
Lifting a brow, Kael asked, “Just how long do you think we can keep her from the others?”
“As long as we have to.”
“They’re going to want to know what happened to her.”
“So we tell them the truth. She fought bravely defending her home.”
“And?” Kael pressed.
“And what?” Lucian asked, barely keeping the snarl out of his voice.
Kael shook his head. “You think they’re going to be satisfied with half of an answer?”
Lucian let a fraction of the rage simmering within him rise to the surface. “If they were that concerned for her, maybe they shouldn’t have left her behind.”
“Fair enough. I’ll buy you some time.”
“Once I get her settled, I’ll come find you.”
With a nod, Kael turned and started to walk away. Pausing at the end of the hallway, he turned and looked over his shoulder. “Lucian?”
“Hmm?”
“For what it’s worth, I’m truly sorry.”
Lucian struggled to maintain his blank expression. It felt like someone had shoved their fist into his chest and ripped out his heart. “I know.”
It was obvious that Kael didn’t think they were going to find a way to save her in time. All he saw when he looked at Effie was sand filling the bottom of an hourglass.
When Lucian looked at her, he saw the flickering promise of everything he’d ever wanted. She represented an entire lifetime of unspoken hope; his heart’s deepest wish made reality by a woman who was so much more than she ever gave herself credit for.
The flame might still be there, but it was guttering, and there was no telling how much longer it would last.
The catacombs were tomblike in their silence, especially after the insanity of war. Set beneath the citadel itself, deep within the earth, they were all that was left of the Keepers’ original home. Few, if any, remembered they were still here, and it had been millennia since anyone had need to visit them.
Until now.
Ignoring the thick webs built and abandoned by centuries of spiders, Lucian easily maneuvered his way through the winding chambers, the place still as familiar to him as the city above. But the air was heavy and thick, and breathing became almost painful the deeper down he went.
Reaching a room that had once been a bedchamber—and the first he’d come across that still had a door and functioning lock—Lucian stepped inside and carefully laid Effie’s unconscious form down on what was left of the bed.
She didn’t stir.
Even though he’d felt the soft gust of her breaths against his neck, Lucian pressed his hand to the side of her throat, not convinced she was alright until he felt the steady thump of her pulse against his fingers.
He allowed himself a moment to linger, his hands running along the velvety column of her throat up to her jaw. Even battle-stained she was breathtaking. Not because of something superficial like the symmetry of her features, but because of the aura of fierce defiance she still seemed to exude even while unconscious. A warning, perhaps, for those that would seek to harm her.
Lucian’s eyes fell closed, his breathing ragged.
Effie had been forged by fire, her life more difficult and painful than most of her friends would ever know. Her scars might be the only testament to her struggles, if one took the time to learn how to read them. Effie herself was carefully evasive with answers about her past, downplaying the horrors that had been heaped upon her—sometimes by her own parents. Where many would have crumbled, she continued to rise, each time stronger and more resilient than the last. And all with a core of unyielding kindness and quiet strength. He’d never met her like.
Her existence was a miracle, even if it had been preordained.
Opening his eyes, Lucian traced the curve of her lips. The curse of the Keepers was to be gifted with foresight but never know their own fate. It was a curse Lucian shared. He’d been informed he’d find his true purpose in Elysia, but had been given no clue when or where it would be waiting. No amount of bribery or threats had revealed anything further. Not even a name.
There was nothing in any world with more allure than a Guardian’s true purpose. Once found, it superseded any prior vows or commitments. While it was not always a person, nor a relationship with romantic ties, a Guardian spent their immortal life searching to find and fulfill that. While Lucian had spent most of his life waiting for her—had even known to some degree that he would succeed in finding her—Effie had crashed into him like a wild storm.