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  As we came closer to Delen, I thought I felt Dane. I wasn’t sure if his emotion was in the string or somewhere inside of Esterious, but a moment later I could see a dark image coming closer to us.

  That’s him, Landen thought. “Not now,” he said to Marc and Brady, telling them to keep their opinions and thoughts to themselves. They both nodded and slowed down so Landen and I would be the first to approach him.

  As Dane emerged from the glow, his eyes found mine.

  “How did you get in here on your own?” I asked him. “Do you need help to see your way into Chara?” I asked, knowing the only way to suspend the tension would be for him and Clarissa to end their fight; when her tears stopped, so would the anger that Landen and the others had.

  I knew he had the intent to stay with me, but I was hoping he’d hear my coded message that he’d crossed a line and that I was his only fan at that moment.

  “I don’t need colors to see my way in or out. No one does. I’m right where I want to be,” he answered with cold eyes as he looked between Landen and the others, daring them to speak their minds.

  “Dane, Clarissa is at home. I think you need to go there and work this out,” I dictated, letting go of Landen and stepping closer to him, trying to catch his eyes so he could see the obvious warning there. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold Landen back if he pushed any harder.

  He looked away, avoiding my stare. “Willow, that’s none of your business.”

  “Our family, our business,” Marc said before he had a chance to censor his tone.

  “Really?” Dane said sarcastically. “Well, your ‘family’ left me in Atamentous, thinking that I had no other way to get home. She’ll get over it and go back there.”

  “Yeah, and you aren’t there,” I rebutted, reaching back to Landen’s chest; out of the corner of my eye, I could see him shifting his weight as he fought his rage.

  “Why were you there?” Landen asked through gritted teeth as his eyes slowly looked over Dane. He was waiting for one flinch, one move, one excuse to hit him.

  Dane looked at Landen as if he were some kind of plague. I couldn’t understand why he was acting this way, why was he looking for a fight.

  “I wanted to hear what he was saying to them. I would think that you would care - or am I wrong? You’re willing to take his word?” Dane accused, glaring at Landen. He then locked eyes with me. “To let him have whatever he wants, whenever he wants it?”

  That was all Landen needed; he pulled me behind him as he charged Dane, stopping just inches before his face, his broad shoulders pulled back and his strong hands locked in a fist as his eyes coldly looked over Dane, daring him to move. “ This is your one chance to shut your mouth,” Landen seethed.

  Dane rolled his eyes in disgust. “ Right. Well, call me old fashioned, but I would think that you could have found a better way of protecting her than partnering with Drake.”

  Instantly, Landen pushed Dane back, knocking the wind out of him. He then stepped forward, waiting for Dane to throw a punch. Brady grabbed Landen as Marc stepped between them. Landen threw his hands in the air, saying he was done, then glanced at me, feeling the terror that was coursing through me. His eyes filled with regret as he pulled me to him and walked us a few steps away.

  Marc kept himself between Landen and Dane as he scolded, “Drake; that’s my brother, my family, my blood.” Marc stepped a little closer to Dane and glared down at him as he slightly bowed his chest. “I know you’re new around here, but you need to understand that family - blood - is something we hold dear. We’re forgiving of each other’s mistakes.” Marc pointed his finger at Dane’s chest as he stepped back. “You’ll find that a benefit when you stop acting like a jerk and we all still find a way to call you one of us.”

  My eyes pleaded for Dane to just shut up, call a truce. Though he didn’t look at me, I knew he felt my plea because he stepped back and said, “I’ll let you know when I feel like not being a jerk anymore,” as he looked away from Marc.

  “It’s time,” Landen said, turning to face the passage that my followers would come through. I was so distracted by my own emotions and racing heart that I hadn’t noticed the terror of emotions coming from the other side of the passage. That was the worst part about this plan to work with Drake: the way these people felt. They were literally expecting to die, and they thought they were watching the deaths of others before them.

  My father and Ashten approached us, looking curiously at Dane, and then us. I knew they could feel the hostility between us all.

  “Where’s August?” Brady asked them.

  My father cleared his throat. “I was telling him about this morning, about the rings, and he got that look in his eye like he’d just had an epiphany, then he left to go back to Chara.”

  “What’s with the rings?” Marc asked Landen.

  “Nothing,” Landen said, ending the onslaught of questions that would surface.

  At that moment, a little girl emerged in the string. Landen reached out for her, sending calm through her as he passed her to my father. Other travelers then lined up in the string, leading the girl to the passage of Delen. Her mother was the next to be pushed through.

  “She’s fine,” I whispered to the woman as I touched her shoulder. She nodded blindly and tried to smile, but the cold fear in her soul wouldn’t let her. I guided her to the traveler who was waiting to lead her to Delen.

  Only fifteen more came after her. Drake was right yesterday: this wasn’t going to work anymore. Their fear of dying was greater than the peace they would find in the light of Delen. Landen nodded in the direction of the other travelers, letting them know that that was all. They all seemed to look down at once and fill with sadness as they walked away.

  Ashten and my father started to walk in the direction of Delen as well. I went to follow them, but then I felt an anger, a rage rise inside of Landen.

  “Step back, Willow,” he said through gritted teeth.

  My father instinctively turned as he heard Landen’s demand. I didn’t want to move away from Landen, but my father reached for my arm and pulled me back. At that moment, a man in a black cloak was thrown through the passage. He landed in a ball on the floor of the string. He didn’t stare blindly into the darkness he should have seen, but instead looked up at me. Before he could say or do anything, Drake charged through the opening and pulled the man up, but the man had control of his energy and pushed Drake back. Drake screamed in agony and held his side, and I could see blood seeping from beneath his hand as he tried to compress a wound.

  “He’s bleeding!” I screamed.

  Landen, Marc, and Brady pushed their energy at the man, forcing him back to the ground, then holding him there. I broke away from my father’s grip and rushed to Drake’s side.

  “How did he do this? Is this a new power?!” I asked him frantically, not knowing what to do.

  “No, he had a knife,” Drake said through a locked jaw, trying to block the pain he was feeling as sweat glistened off his intoxicating image.

  My father was at my side, trying to see the wound that Drake was holding. Once Landen was sure that Marc and Brady had control of the dark man, he came to Drake.

  “Landen, this wound goes all the way through. You’re going to have to really focus; he’s punctured two major organs.”

  Landen nodded, then Drake raised his hands, allowing Landen to touch him. As Landen placed one hand on Drake’s back and one on his stomach, a light blue glow began to emerge from his hands. Drake looked into my eyes as the healing began. Within his dark eyes, I saw the purest shade of blue emerge. As Landen slowly let go, the color faded and his eyes were as black as coal again. Landen looked at my father, wanting to know if he’d managed to repair everything. My father circled Drake, taking in every part of him.

  The color of his eyes changed when you healed him; they looked blue, I thought, confused by what I’d witnessed.

  Landen looked into Drake’s eyes, then back at me. Strange, he thought as
he anxiously rubbed his hands together.

  “You healed the wound, and then some. Every cell looks stronger,” my father said, amazed by what he’d witnessed.

  Drake nodded once at Landen, as if to say thank you.

  “Who is this?” Landen asked, looking at the dark man who was struggling to break free from Marc and Brady’s hold.

  Drake glared down at the man. “I don’t know. I just knew that he was deceiving me. He didn’t believe in Willow, at least not in the way the others did. I ordered him to be returned to prison, and the guards left with him, but a moment later I felt someone behind me. When I turned, I felt the knife slide through me.”

  “I never meant to hurt you,” the dark man said in broken breaths.

  “His intent, Landen,” Drake said, glaring down at the man.

  Landen’s eyes narrowed as he focused on the man. I felt his anger and confusion as he began to speak.“He’s a spy. He was supposed to follow you, to find Willow, then take her to a man named Xaviour,” he said.

  As Drake locked eyes with me, I could see his rage for this man, for the idea that I was his target.

  The dark man struggled under the pressure of his captors. “You’re lost, my king. They’ve taken your queen – your throne,” he said in broken breaths.

  Drake pushed through the others and lifted the man using only his energy, suspending him in mid-air. “You’re a traitor! How dare you call yourself a follower of mine! I – not you or anyone else - have the final say in everything in this world!”

  “Killing him makes us no better,” Landen pointed out, not because he had mercy on the man, but because he didn’t want me to witness his murder; his intent to shield me made that very clear.

  “Devil!” the man screamed from the air. “Don’t listen, Your Grace – his words are poison!” he screamed.

  “His words are countering your death,” Drake bellowed, dropping the man. “What are we going to do with him? He can’t go back.”

  “I’ll take him to the prison in the palace,” Marc assured, helping the man up.

  Brady grabbed the man’s other arm, and they led him away. Ashten and my father followed, wanting to make sure he was locked securely away.

  “I hope it’s a big prison,” Dane snapped as he came to my side and reached his arm around me protectively.

  Seeming to notice Dane for the first time, Drake stepped closer to us and reached his hand out for me to come to him. “Back so soon?” Drake said calmly.

  Willow, come to me. Drake thinks something is wrong – really wrong, Landen thought harshly.

  I’d learned never to doubt any fear that Drake had. I wasn’t afraid of Dane; I just thought perhaps Drake had sensed the demon somewhere in the string. I reached for Drake’s hand, feeling the hum of his skin, the addiction of his energy. He didn’t look at me as he led me behind him into Landen’s arms.

  “Why are you so concerned with the size of my prison?” Drake asked once I was away from Dane.

  Dane shook his head and smiled cunningly. “What’s wrong, Drake? Am I a threat to you? Do you really think you can tear us apart – come between us?”

  “I’ll come between Willow and anyone who’s a threat,” Drake vowed, crossing his arms and glaring at Dane.

  “I’m not a threat. I’m the only one who’s still thinking clearly,” Dane said coldly.

  “Stop it!” I yelled. “All of you! This is nuts! Why are you fighting? We have bigger issues,” my quivering voice pleaded for a truce.

  Drake glanced back at me, then nodded once and stepped away from Dane.

  “What did you mean about the prison, Dane?” I asked, seeing that they were calling a silent truce.

  Dane stared coldly at Drake as he answered. “Mr. Perfect here has pushed more than a hundred spies through the string over the past few days.”

  “How do you know that?” Drake asked callously.

  “I’ve been in the city. I’ve heard them. I’ve been to the underground meetings, the ones that have one purpose: to overthrow you,” Dane answered.

  “Let me guess: you were the guest speaker,” Drake seethed.

  Dane smiled sardonically. “I would have if I’d been given the opportunity – but you see, my friend, there are too many who have an opinion about you. They believe that Landen is the devil – and that devil has you on a string like a puppet. That right now you’re so lovesick that you can’t see that your reign has already been given to another man.”

  “Who is leading these meetings?” Landen demanded.

  “So now you want to hear what I have to say?”

  “Dane,” I pleaded.

  He didn’t say anything; he just glared at Landen.

  “Alright,” I mumbled bleakly. “I’ll figure it out myself,” I said, walking toward the direction from which he came from before. Drake and Landen began to follow me.

  “You’re not gonna let her go in there?” Dane argued, following us.

  “Stopping her is pointless,” Landen stated flatly, looking over his shoulder, knowing I was only bluffing.

  “Alright,” Dane uttered in an annoyed tone. I halted, then turned and looked at him. “The speakers hide their faces with hoods. From what you can see, you can tell that they’re all older men. They have control over their energy, and they teach others to ‘see’, as they call it. They’ve said that this war is beyond what the eye can perceive. There are some that have already managed to escape their bodies the way we do. Most are too timid to do so. If anyone shows any strength, they’re taken from the crowd. Your friend that you just sent to prison was taken two days ago. I would imagine that’s why he could see in here; they taught him to do so.”

  I looked up at Landen. “That’s bad.”

  Drake looked down at me, letting his dark eyes tell me not to worry. It was easy to see that he wasn’t surprised or alarmed by what Dane had reported. His apparent confidence hindered my fear.

  “Awful confident, aren’t you?” Dane accused, seeing Drake’s obvious lack of concern. “Could that be because you’ve found a new source of power?”

  Drake turned sharply to Dane, then he and Landen both pulled their shoulders back, trying their best to deter their anger for my benefit - but with little success.

  “I haven’t found anything. The power I have, I was born with,” Drake said coldly

  “Whatever. The two of you are only using Willow as a source of power, and one day she’ll wake up and see that if she was just an ordinary girl, neither of you would have given her a second look.”

  “What?!” I yelled, putting my hand on Landen’s chest in a vain attempt to hold him back.

  “Willow, I’m just calling it like I see it. Neither of them showed up in our lives until they needed your power.”

  I took a deep breath before I spoke. “Dane, you obviously have been brainwashed by these meetings. You need rest or something because I promise you, if you ever say something like that again, I will be your worst nightmare - not them,” I said, nodding in Landen and Drake’s direction.

  He raised his hands defensively, knowing he’d crossed a line. “Sorry. You’re right. They’ve gotten into my head. I just need to spend more time around you, for you to keep me sane,” he said, stepping cautiously closer to me while ignoring the glares from Drake and Landen.

  Help me call a truce here, Landen. I don’t need this on top of everything else, I thought.

  He looked down at me and nodded once, but held his stern expression. “We need to go. The others are waiting on us,” Landen directed, glancing at Drake.

  Drake nodded. “Wait right here; Mom is on the other side of this passage. You guys take her, and I’ll find Alamos, then meet you there.”

  As Drake disappeared into the passage, I looked at Dane “I want you to go home. You need to talk to Clarissa. You’re no good to me if you’re distracted by the fight the two of you are having.”

  He shook his head no. “If I go home, I’ll only make it worse. She wants us to run away from all o
f you, and I’m not gonna do that. The only way we’re gonna be normal again is when I know you’re safe, that you aren’t being played.”

  At that moment, Beth stepped through the passage. Landen reached out for her arm to guide her. I’m gonna walk ahead. You’re gonna have to talk to him; he literally has the intent to fight with me, and right now I feel like letting that happen, Landen thought.

  I sighed and nodded. Landen guided Beth forward, glaring at Dane as he passed him.

  I looked up at Dane. “What is with you? I mean, did you get knocked in the head or something?”

  The look of shock on his face matched the mystified emotion I felt from him. “You think I’m not acting like myself?” he asked, genuinely surprised.

  “Um...no,” I scolded, walking forward.

  He followed me into the glow of the string; I didn’t want Landen to get too far ahead of me. I knew he wouldn’t step through without me, but the fear of the pain that our separation would cause was clear in my mind.

  “How am I acting different?” he asked.

  I looked up at him. “Dane, seriously – you’re asking me that? Clarissa is your life. Do you have any idea what she’s going through right now? She hates me because of you. Not to mention that you’re deliberately picking fights with everyone – with Landen.”

  I watched as he took in my words; it was as if they were all foreign to him.

  “I’m sorry Clarissa is mad at you. If she comes back, I’ll talk to her.”

  “You need to go to her.”

  “I’m not going to Chara.”

  “Why not?! It’s obvious that Esterious has messed with your head,” I argued.

  “I feel suffocated there. We tried going home yesterday, and I couldn’t breathe. I think someone somewhere is telling me that I need to stay in Esterious, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “Literally or figuratively suffocated you?” I asked, feeling the truth in his words but not understanding it.

  “Both, I think,” he answered, looking down.

  “Why are you so mad at Landen? That’s the line with me you know you can’t cross.”

  His expression turned cold, then washed away as he tried to look innocent. “I just don’t understand why he’s in an alliance with Drake. They’re supposed to be mortal enemies, and now all of a sudden they’re best friends? You of all people should find that odd.”