Blakeshire (Insight #9)(80)

“You need to be careful. Xavier is one of the seven.”

“Seven?” he asked, raising his brow, questioning what I had figured out.

“Did Marc tell you about evacuating that city north of here?”

He nodded once. “It’s in the process.”

He was far too casual with that reply.

“Did he tell you where he got that information?”

He furrowed his brow as his eyes questioned me. “Actually, Landen was the one that told me with Marc in the room. He said he was told that was one of three omens, that we had twelve hours, and that I needed to move them north.” He leaned his head back. “I told him that meant we had six and that we should move them in any direction but north.”

“He didn’t tell you where he got that information, though?”

“No...”

“I was the one that told him that, and I was told of that threat by…by Donalt.”

His eyes grew wide as rage consumed him and he balled his fist. “Explain,” he exhaled venomously.

“Aden showed me the looking glass. I wanted to see how deep it went, if it was saltwater, if it led to anywhere else. I dove in.” I reached for his arm when I saw him tense again. “I swam through a channel I found and surfaced in another room. I felt that cold, angry energy and told him to just show himself.”

“Having no fear is no reason to act foolish,” he said with a fair measure of scorn lacing the words.

I let that comment go simply because I knew his fear and anger were speaking at the moment. “Ghosts are disoriented when they manifest. I was safer when he was in that form, but that is not the point. The point is that in this conversation, I managed to get him to tell me that there are seven kings.”

“Kings of what?” he asked in a knowing tone, as if he already knew.

“Emotions, I think. He said he was the King of Fear, and he mentioned a king of shock and obsession. He even confirmed that there were six against one.”

“One?”

“Yeah, and I think it is the King of Anger…I think that is the line you came from.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s all in my head now. I can’t tell you how I came up with it, but I think that the reason you and Draven have been put through hell is that they are after your king; you are ploys in this massive war.”

“And how does Willow fit in? Charlie? You?”

Again, his tone led me to believe he had heard this before, that he already knew what our roles were.

“That, I don’t know. Donalt liked my audacity. He told me Xavier was the King of Shock, that none of the other kings trusted him completely, therefore, he was going to save my life. He told me I would be executed again by Xavier, and this time before they bound my hands I needed to dive in the water and swim north, that I would find what I was looking for there.”

“No one is touching you!” he swore.

I raised my hand to tell him to let me finish. “I acted like I didn’t care, and that was when he told me about the explosion. That warning came from Donalt. I don’t know why Marc didn’t tell you that.”

“Because I would not have heard a word past you diving into the pool and having a chat with the man that has destroyed my entire family.”

“I’m fine.”

“No. Apparently, your ex is in my palace and Xavier has his mind set on taking you away from me.”

“Not if I find what Donalt thinks I need before that. Whatever that dream is hiding will save me. I just have to get to it first.”

“I’m going to kill him.”

“You said that about that Horace dude. How did that work out?”

“He was asked to leave. I delegated that task so I could speak with Alamos.”

I took in a sharp breath as I glanced to my side. “Yeah, he said you wanted your normal dreams back.”

I felt him reach for my chin and turn it so I would be forced to look him in the eyes. “Three weeks ago, Zander performed a spell to relieve my dreams. Alamos had no idea that I had gone behind his back and asked for that reprieve. He never would have removed them himself simply because he was just as brainwashed as I was when it came to Willow…he has changed his tune over the last week. He thinks that tonight I will sleep in peace for the first time, but I had already found that control. I just needed a reason to be alone in that study.”

“You don’t trust him?” I pushed.

“Not completely, not when it comes to my heart. My kingdom, well that is usually a different story.”

“Usually,” I pointed out.

“He did protest the movement of that city tonight.”

I felt his grief mix with his anger. He felt betrayed, and that was an emotion he knew all too well.

“You know, sometimes the universe pushes people out of your life because they are holding you back, because their purpose and time have been served—greater things are waiting.”

“Greater things are found,” he said as he pulled my stool closer. “I don’t like being on stage. Today you had me convinced at one point that you wanted to go home.”

“If I want to go anywhere away from you, you will be the first person that will know,” I said as I winked at him and offered him a spoonful of the soup our ice cream now was.