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And of course, they needed a way to break the spell between her and Varlett. Hel told Varlett if she didn’t find a room in the castle where he could keep an eye on her, he’d put her in the dungeons. She must have believed him because she was here, a few doors down.

They all agreed the anchor had to be something connected to Valeen. Something strong and powerful. As a test they went out during the night and tried using her celestial crown Hel had pulled from the aether when she first woke him up. While her magic connected to the moon, the crown snapped in half before her shield could take any form, and Hel had to repair it.

Katana suggested using Soulender given that it was the most powerful weapon in the realms, but it wasn’t exclusively Valeen’s, and she didn’t want to risk changing it from its original form. It was too precious of an item.

In Runevale it had taken a full castle and three moons to cover her entire territory. Here, at least, she only planned on shielding the Valley of the Sun. She, or any object she could use, simply wasn’t powerful enough to protect all of Palenor.

She’d be lucky to even shield Castle Dredwich right now. Hel could place protective enchantments with runes as he’d done to her bedroom, but he had his own tasks to do, like finding their immortality. That also wouldn’t shield the people outside these walls.

A quick wind brushed across her. Magic drifted in the air tingling the hairs on her arms and with it came the smell of the… sea. With her heart jumping into her throat, she shot up from the sheepskin, sensing the presence of someone powerful.

In half-shadow form, Valeen was on her feet and whirled to the doors. “Atlanta.”

He was taller than she remembered but his presence was unmistakable. He stepped out from the umbra of the doorway into the moonlight. His aquamarine robe cut off at the shoulders and reached the back of his knees, trimmed in gold and white. Atop his head rested a golden crown with accents of pearls and seashells. Even the sandals on his feet were decorated with shells. His dirty-blond hair brushing against his shoulders was clumpy with the texture of dried salt water.

“Valeen,” he whispered, not as surprised as he should be.

“What are you doing here?” She didn’t return to her solid form. For all she knew sometime in the last two thousand years he could have taken the council’s side. He’d remained neutral during the time of her trial and execution and that didn’t sit right with her even now. And if Katana wanted nothing to do with him, that was reason enough not to trust him. She’d asked her why but without giving an explanation Katana said she would never go back to her old home—or to him. It had something to do with his many mistresses and wives no doubt. Katana hadallowed it before despite Valeen telling her she deserved to be a sun, the center of someone’s world, not a seashell among many. She was proud of her for not going back.

His brows furrowed. “I sensed…hera couple weeks ago and I’ve been having dreams about her ever since. At first, I thought it was nothing but that feeling led me here—to you. Were you in Runevale?”

“Are you alone?”

“It’s only me. I haven’t come to hurt you. You can relax.”

“Forgive me if I don’t.”

“I don’t agree with what the council is doing.”

“And yet you do nothing about it.”

He tilted his head. “What should I have done? You made mistakes. You were out of line.”

“I losteverything, Atlanta. I saw the ruin that was left of House of Night, while you and the rest of the primordials stood by and allowed it to happen.”

“You killed Synick and took Soulender for yourself. Many see you as a dangerous liability.”

“Is that howyousee me?”

“I’m a protector of the realms, Valeen, as were you at one time. You have gone off course. I don’t know if it’s because you crave more power or?—”

“I did it because SynickmurderedKatana.All Mother, we went over this countless times.” She clenched her jaw tighter. “But what I do now is more than that.”

Atlanta scoffed and ran his palm down his chest, rattling his shell necklace. “You still believe it was him? He wouldn’t have done that to her. He was a dear friend to us. You couldn’t even prove it with evidence.”

“Iknowhe did. I’m not having this argument with you again. And I’m not ‘off course’. I’m settling a wrong. Once I get my immortality and my home back, there will be peace.”

“And the weapon?”

“Will remain with me until I believe there is a better solution.”

“You aren’t supposed to be the single judge. There is a council for a reason.”

“A change of leadership is coming. A revolution one might say.” Valeen tucked her hands behind her back and raised her chin slightly. “I’d call it a civil war, but I haven’t been welcomed there in thousands of years.”

Atlanta shook his head. “You won’t succeed. You’ll be doomed to die and be reborn again until you see reason.”

“Not this time. Go back to Runevale and sit on your throne surrounded by your concubines while you ignore the injustices happening right before you.”