Page 22 of Deadly Little Games (Four Ways to Fate #2)

22

Banging on the door had us all turning in that direction. Sebastian sighed, then I felt his magic retreat. The door flew open and Elena came staggering in.

“What in the hells was that? Why couldn’t I enter? It was so quiet in here, I thought something terrible had happened.”

“The devil was protecting the room,” the king explained to his daughter. “But I suppose you should hear this as well. It’s time for you to know the truth.”

Elena glanced around at all of us. She was still a little pale, but looked better. Probably because she had been heaving her guts up.

The king looked at Sebastian. “If you don’t mind?”

Sebastian nodded, then walked past Elena to shut the door behind her. A moment later, I felt another flash of his magic.

The king looked again at his daughter. “Come, Millelena. Sit. I know you are not feeling… well.”

“What’s going on, father?”

He sighed heavily. “The myths about the Realm Breaker are all true. It was used to sever the pathways, but it was not just a lone celestial who wielded it. She never could have done it on her own.” He gave me a meaningful look. “Each of us, the leaders of our people, were shown the truth. And we helped her sever each of our pathways.”

“What truth?” I asked. Whatever it was, the man who had attacked me last night knew something of it. He knew why the pathways were destroyed.

“The truth was that in coming here, we doomed our home realms. We stole magic away, and left an open door behind us for anyone else to come in.” He looked at each of us. “It is not just earth and our realms that exist. There are other things out there. Dark and dangerous things. They were just starting to slip through, but it would have gotten worse. So much worse. The celestials saw it first, and created the sword. But each of us had to agree. We had to give up our pathways. And we had to remain here, trapped. There was no time to gather our people, and we could not abandon them.”

Elena stepped forward, standing between me and Crispin. “It cannot be true. You could not keep such a thing secret.”

He gave her a sad look. “Would you have had me admit to my people that I trapped them here? We all agreed that no one else must know. It was the only way to keep everyone safe.”

My mind raced. I didn’t know much about what happened beyond some of the boundaries, but the goblins… Mistral’s mother had kept the Bogs under control when she was still alive. Had she too agreed that the pathways should be destroyed? And had she kept it from her own son? There was no way he could know. With our bargain of truth, it would have come out by now.

The king looked at me. “Zenith knows the truth. He was there, and it seems he told his younger brother. For that, I am sorry. I wish he would have trusted me to keep it under control.”

Seemingly stunned, Crispin finally stepped forward. “I didn’t see anything dark or terrible when I came here.”

“Because you created a fresh pathway,” the king grumbled. “I was terrified when you first arrived, but then you were trapped here yourself. Whatever pathway you forged, it was temporary. And here, you do not have enough power to forge another. At least not all the way to our homeland.”

I rubbed at my temple, fighting a headache. If my mother really was the one to wield the Realm Breaker, and if everything the king had said was true, the man who tried to kill me was right. She had saved everyone. Then, with everyone agreeing to keep what they did a secret, she went into hiding. But eventually, someone found out. Someone blamed the celestials for destroying the pathways. And that had been when she left and took all my memories with her. Which meant…

“I knew.”

The king’s brows lifted and I shook my head, since I wasn’t really speaking to him. “I knew. I knew something about what happened, and that’s why my mother took my memories.”

Elena and Crispin both gave me stunned looks. With all the new information, I had actually forgotten that they didn’t know. But I supposed there was no point in keeping it a secret now.

“That’s why I’m trying to find her,” I explained. “When she left, she took my memories. There was so much I lost of her, my childhood… of my father. I wanted them back. I want them back. But now I understand why she took them. She had to make sure I didn’t know anything. It would have put me exactly in the situation I’m in now, only it would’ve happened when I was just ten years old.”

Stunned silence surrounded me, until finally, Sebastian cleared his throat. “Regardless of what has happened, the bounty still exists. The Realm Breaker is still up for grabs. And those who want it will not stop.” He looked at me. “You will never be safe until all of this is over.”

I blinked at him. “But now we know the pathways were closed for a reason. What happens if we reopen them?”

The king stood abruptly. “Did you not just hear what I told you? They must not be reopened. I sacrificed everything to protect my people. I will not have that sacrifice be in vain.”

I flinched at his sudden anger, realizing that maybe he was starting to agree with Zenith. Maybe it would be easier for him if I was dead.

Sebastian was suddenly closer, gripping my shoulder. “The fae were not sent after Eva by Ivan. They were sent by you.”

My heart skipped a beat. We knew about Kai, but the fae—

The king pressed a palm to his forehead and shook his head. “I only hoped to frighten you. I did not know that Zenith would send his younger brother with them.” He lifted his head and met my eyes. “I am not so blind to ignore the hypocrisy in taking an innocent life to protect others. I only wanted to sway you from your path, not harm you.” He looked at Elena. “And I did not expect you to get so deeply involved.”

“The fae stabbed my friend with a poisoned blade.” I stepped toward the king without thinking, pulling away from Sebastian. “They weren’t just trying to frighten us.”

His expression turned stony. “I was not aware of that.” He glanced at his daughter again. “And had I realized Elena’s intentions, I would have planned differently.” His eyes drifted back to me. “I did not believe you would be so difficult to apprehend. They were to put a fright into you, then allow you to escape. I imagine once they feared for their lives, they were willing to kill to save themselves.” He looked again at his daughter, both tired, and maybe irritated that she had been keeping things from him.

“She was trying to help you,” I said. “She wanted to reunite you with someone you lost, and I know that has to be the case for so many others, you all live so damn long.” I thought of Mistral, but kept my mouth shut. He didn’t just want to return home because he missed it. He couldn’t maintain the Bogs forever, and too many of the goblins wouldn’t survive without their realm.

I caught Sebastian watching me, and knew he must’ve realized what I was thinking, because he smiled, the bastard. He knew that despite the king’s warning, and despite what had almost happened, I couldn’t give up, and not just for myself.

“Eva is right.” Elena stood a little straighter, looking a lot more confident than I felt. “Whatever the darkness was in the pathways, it will have to be dealt with. We can’t just give up.”

The king sighed heavily. “You don’t understand what you’re saying.”

She lifted her chin. “That doesn’t make me any less right. Perhaps I should have been upfront with you. Perhaps the altercation with the fae could have been avoided. But ,” she lifted a finger, “I’m still right.”

The king’s cheeks reddened at his daughter’s tone. “You do not understand, Millelena. There is too much at risk.”

Elena’s eyes flared, and she opened her mouth to argue, but Crispin cleared his throat, stepping forward. “If I may intervene, there is perhaps another way.”

Everyone looked at him, and I had to admit, I admired the way he didn’t wilt under so many heavy gazes. He looked at the king. “You said nothing came through with me because I created my own pathway, and I believe you are correct. I came through what equated to an ant’s tunnel, when the former pathways were like giant ravines. It is possible that with the Realm Breaker, we can create more such tiny tunnels. Or just one, an exploratory mission to see what we find on the other side.” He looked at me. “Of course, this is all dependent on Eva finding her mother. Which she will have to do without the sword. But judging by the progress she has already made, I think she can do it. I think with practice she could create a pathway small enough just for her, leading to her mother.”

“Or to the person with the Realm Breaker,” Elena added.

I noticed the king watching me intently, and fought the urge to squirm. He lowered his chin. “This is all dependent on the assumption that Eva would give us the sword once she has it,” he said. “If I had it here, safe beyond our boundary, the hunt for her would end.” His eyes flicked to Sebastian. “But I’m guessing she has other… obligations.”

I winced, wondering if Sebastian was ever going to step into the conversation. I looked at him expectantly.

He simply smiled, entirely unruffled. “While Eva is obligated to provide me with either the sword or her mother, I will not require the use of the blade indefinitely.” He looked at the king. “If you are willing to help us now, I believe a mutually beneficial compromise can be struck.”

The king narrowed his eyes at the devil. “We will need to speak further to hammer out the terms, if such a bargain is to be struck.”

Sebastian nodded.

“Okay, so it’s settled,” I said, “We work together. But I have one extra term of my own.”

Everyone looked at me. “The goblins get to use the blade too.”

“One goblin,” the king countered. “One goblin may go on—” he looked at Crispin, “what did you call it?”

“An exploratory mission.”

“Yes,” the king continued, turning his attention back to Sebastian. “Is this amenable to you?”

But Sebastian was still watching me, a smile on his face and a telltale flash of fire in his eyes. “ One goblin,” he agreed.

I could almost hear all the strings attached to the offer, but it was better than I’d hoped to get. I could try to help Mistral and I could fulfill my contract.

“Now,” Sebastian continued before I could say anything else. “What of the elf who tried to have Eva killed?”

Elena gasped, then turned wide eyes to me. “What exactly did I miss?”