Imperial (Insight #8)(53)

If anyone in a line was near their sovereign, they would be hard to sense simply because the sovereign’s essence was so powerful. Fielder, the king of grief, was always in the real world, not in human form like Donalt had done, at least not for extended periods of time, but he was always down there. I’m sure that was the reason why Cadence was hidden from Mazing now, but like Mazing, I hoped she was mirrored.

Mirrored souls were ones that were basically imprisoned by their kings. They had done something horrid, and now their souls were trapped; only their images could roam The Realm, and they would stay that way until the king saw fit to release them.

The springs had manifested my dear Silas for me. He was not in The Realm, but a dimension below. He was sitting under a tree, and a chapel was near him. It was old and decaying, the once white wood was gray and the windows had been blown out by Mother Nature, gray cloths that were once curtains blew through the broken glass.

“I don’t think I need you. He is in the real world.”

“So are the kings that betrayed you.”

“On point,” I said under my breath. “Where is Rasp?” I asked, glancing around.

“Vade called him. That is half the reason I knew you were here.”

“I don’t suppose you learned any secrets with Rasp? Like him telling you there was a big, fat lesson in front of my face that I cannot see?”

“Got that vibe, but no words.”

I clenched my jaw as I stared at Silas.

“Am I missing something?” I asked, glancing to her.

“Just as much as I am, I suppose.”

As much as I needed to go to my Fated Escort, my First needed me now. I turned to face her. “You harbored a deep secret for quite some time. I’m sure it feels new because we are back here, because you are near the anniversary of that cycle of eternity.”

“I just wish I could have heard and felt the promises he did from the Creator.”

I bit my lip and held in a sarcastic grin. I so knew how that felt. “Don’t we all,” I finally said. “It was real. You hear me? It was real for the two of you.”

“I don’t know,” she said as she sighed. “It hurts like hell now, I know that much.”

“We’ll figure out how Cadence is taunting you with his scent and stop it. That might help a bit.”

“What else is on the agenda besides ceasing the memory of my torrid affair?”

“Getting Silas home, then releasing the dead that are trapped in the Veil.”

“Tall order.”

“Even if we find a way to let a few loose, it will appease me. I may not be able to send the Reaper a bouquet, but I can send him a single stem, let him know that my deeds are to help him and others. I don’t want to go back.”

She glanced away. I knew she was in the middle of an internal war. One thought told her that at any second she would perish because she had been coupled with Colton, who lives no longer; the other told her that she wouldn’t because it was not a blessed coupling. I did not envy her for that battle and knew that no punishment I could give her would be worse than what her mind was doing to her.

“All right, then. I guess we are going to do this. I still want you to stay cloaked; Silas deserves to see me alone.”

Her eyes moved up, then beside me to where Rasp was now standing. “Good meeting?” I asked him.

Rasp grinned. “It was good to see my old friend again.”

I turned crimson. “You guys are staying hidden. This is my moment with Silas.”

“Where to, Sovereign?”

I reached my palm for the spring, asking it to open wide for us.

That instant, it pulled me in. I reached my essence around Silas and the scene he was in, shielding us. I hesitated, making sure I could sense Rasp and Mazing; oddly, Mazing was full of wrath. Maybe I should have asked her to stay. It was clear that she was being haunted at this point.

Silas looked up instantly. He breathed in deeply as his eyes filled with judgment. “Mint,” he seethed.

“Yup,” I said, not really caring to rehash words that had already been spoken.

Silas stood as he took in another breath and tilted his head slightly as his eyes grew curious. “Who is with you?”

“They cannot see or hear you.”

He took two dominant steps toward the direction where Rasp and Mazing were standing, but he hit the wall of my energy. He could see the fields that were there, but not them.

“I’m imprisoned,” he said, glancing scornfully over his shoulder at me.

“No, you are shielded to have a private conference with me.”

Silas breathed in again, then clasped his chest as if he were in pain. His eyes squinted closed.

“Still processing the awakening,” I stated. His senses had to be on fire. Every sensation was new to him now, yet it linked him back to a past, one that was clearly showing him each step of the way what he truly was.

“There was no awakening,” Silas said, gaining his composure and turning to face me.

“My line does not lie. Learn that lesson now.”

“Oh, but you have already breathed a lie to me.”

I cringed as my hands formed into a fists. I never should have let him see a weakness in me, know my limits. We were going to end that now.

“I see that you took my advice, found a place to think.”