Chapter Twenty-Three

I walked carefully to the cave entrance. The last time I was here I was trapped inside, and even if I controlled the magic today, I still wasn't eager to relive those memories. Gabriel stood by my side, arms folded, aviator sunglasses on and hands moving expertly around his crimson rosary.

“Did you do an Eternal Walk?” I asked casually.

“Of course,” he replied, waiting for me decide what to do. “For a different king.”

I brushed my hands across an ancient stone pillar, feeling the gritty rock beneath my fingers. The blue smoke already surrounded my feet in soft, smokey swirls, blowing gently with the breeze. The healing magic was ecstatic to be home, and made its appearance as soon as my feet were on the stone patio leading into the caves.

It was just Gabriel and I now. Naima waited for us back at the car, which was at least an hour's walk. Bex Costello stayed with Sebastian at camp and Jericho led the rest of the group left to lay the ground work at the palace.

Our goal was to surround the palace at equal distances and when I arrived, I would take Gabriel straight to Avalon, while the rest of the team descended on the palace from every direction, strategically placing explosives to avoid killing Avalon. As soon as Gabriel and I had Avalon in our custody, the palace would go boom.

If everything went as planned, we would be able to make an escape easily through the confusion and wreckage. It was simple. I just wanted to meet the Caves one more time, before I left India, probably for good.

“The explosions can't significantly hurt Immortals, right?” I asked Gabriel, going over the plan again and deciding there was still time to change course if I didn't feel comfortable.

“Not significantly, no. Everyone affected will be able to recover,” he replied seriously and I knew I could trust Gabriel. Not because I knew him so well, or felt he would never lie to me. I knew he would never lie to me; he would never lie to anybody. “Everyone, except Avalon and if there are any other humans in the palace.”

“Will there be? What about the stewards?” I panicked at the thought of martyring those beautiful women. I wouldn't go through with it if there were a chance they would be in the compound.

“They are not allowed to stay inside the palace and from Te's observations, all of the Walks have been suspended for now,” Gabriel never lost his matter of fact tone, but now I found it very comforting.

“Ok, so let's do this.” I sighed, finding the courage to move forward.

We walked silently into the Caves, our footsteps echoing off the cavernous walls. I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't immediately feel an invisible barrier blockade me inside.

The Caves felt empty, hollowed and lifeless. During my Walk, I immediately felt the power radiate inside these stone walls, but now I walked their solitary enclosures and felt nothing. No pulsing magic, no electric force from the earth manifested itself into colorful winds. The empty rooms and natural hollows imparted nothing except the mere beauty of creation.

The blue magic flitted around my feet, rushing across the rock floor, in swirling patterns and playful wisps. Glad to be home and happy to be reunited with its origins, the blue smoke displayed no desire to return here for good, made no effort to struggle with me again and be freed from my bodily prison.

Gabriel stayed silent, quietly observing the phenomenon; I appreciated his company even more for it. I could find no words to explain what happened here, and had no explanation to offer for the consequences and the smoke that I carried with me.

I didn't know what I was looking for, or what I thought I would find once inside the empty caverns; but whatever I was looking for wasn't here. There was nothing left of the magic from the earth and I felt foolish exploring the Caves for something that was already at my disposal.

We walked further into the Caves, nearing the outside and suddenly there was something to feel. The hair on my neck stood up straight; my blood began to prickle with the warnings of other magic close by. We were not alone and no longer safe.

Gabriel tilted his head and the joints in his neck cracked. I knew he was not Titan and could not feel the other magic's presence, but he was a wise warrior despite his vows to the church.

“This was a mistake,” I whispered.

“There are no mistakes, Eden, just different outcomes to our flawed expectations,” Gabriel recited with confidence.

I stood up, distracted by his wisdom so when Lucan, and thirty Titans, walked around the corner he found Gabriel readied in a battle stance and me, completely unprepared and confused. But Gabriel was right, I shouldn't be worried about messing up, I should be focused on how to turn our unfolding events into opportunity.

“Eden, what a pleasant surprise,” Lucan practically sang. He glowed with victory, happy to have caught me off guard and almost alone. The blue magic that was scattered across the floor, gathered to me quickly, disappearing completely at the sound of Lucan's voice. He stared after it, his expression suddenly hard and angry.

“I heard you broke the Caves, so we came to see if there was anything we could do. Is there like a generator box around that I can take a look at, or power cord that needs to be plugged back in?” I asked sarcastically, narrowing my eyes and folding my arms.

“How clever....” Lucan sighed, looking me over with hungry interest. “And Gabriel, I had so hoped you were dead. Amory recruited you after all, did he?”

“No,” Gabriel said simply, relaxing his stance a little and feigning unconcern.

“Eden, then? Really?” He looked back at me, his ice, blue eyes twinkling with amusement. “From what I've heard, she hardly lives up to her brother's potential. She probably doesn't even understand what a find you are. Or were, in this case....” He smiled cynically, pure evil marking his expression.

“I am often underestimated,” Gabriel responded, and the hardness in his tone caused my attention to turn to him. His orange eyes fueled by hatred shimmered with rage, as if they were on fire. I struggled to tear my eyes away from him, absolutely certain they held a power of their own.

“Just curious, how long have you known we were in India? Or was this an accident?” I asked innocently, hoping to belittle the hateful king as much as I could. I shared Gabriel's detest. I was afraid at first and then caught off guard, but the longer I stood in Lucan's presence the more deeply I felt vengeful rage.

“We watched you land yesterday; maybe you were unaware that your grandfather's hanger is adjacent to my own,” Lucan explained smugly.

“And so you just hang out at the airport?” I asked, letting my teenage sarcasm get the best of me.

“At least your grandfather understood respect,” Lucan snapped, his eyes hardening to stone.

“And look what happened to him,” I growled, taking a step forward at the mention of my grandfather.

At my reaction Lucan smiled, a contorted grin of satisfaction that made my stomach churn violently. “Yes, look at what happened to him,” he repeated in a cruel, victorious whisper. “Kiran!” He called suddenly, and my heart stopped beating.

The room grew silent; not even a Guard dared to fidget. I stood, paralyzed by the realization of why Lucan would know what went on at the airstrip yesterday, someone had been there to pick up Kiran. I shouted to myself to hold it together, to remember how I was able to walk away the other night and that I was stronger than him, stronger than whatever hold he thought he had over me.

Kiran entered the Caves, dressed in tan, linen pants and a blue, plaid, button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was perfection as always, but only his eyes caused some hesitation, I had moved beyond being impressed by looks alone. He walked to his father, standing next to him and directly across from me. The real distance between us was probably five feet, but it felt both canyons apart and suffocatingly close at the same time.

He stared at me, his mouth unmoving, his body unflinching, but I fought the desperation to find his gaze. I would lose myself in the ocean of his eyes and I could not allow myself to misplace my focus. So instead I stared at his father, my grandfather's murderer, and the orchestrator of oppression for my people.

“Impressive recovery,” I mused, keeping my eyes from him, even while addressing him. “Already up and about, hmm?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered softly. I could feel his intense gaze on my face, pulling my eyes toward his with gravitational forces rivaling the sun.

“Don't we have you to thank for that, Eden?” Lucan asked with a pleased, vicious voice.

“Ok, what's the plan here?” I shook my head, forcing my attention back to Lucan, “Like, do you want to just meet us back at the palace, or.... what?” I was really getting a kick out of treating this so trivially and it helped that I knew it was driving Lucan mad.

“We would be more than happy to arrange the transportation.” He smiled with practiced benevolence at me before snapping his fingers and turning on his heel.

The Titan Guards surrounded Gabriel and me, pushing us forward and out the other side of the cave. The elephants were dressed in their traditional Cave Walk costumes and I couldn't help but dread another long ride on one of the mammoth beasts.

“Seriously, we drove here,” I whined, hoping by some unrealistic miracle my complaints would be heard, “you fly jets, why don't you make yourselves some roads, for like, cars?”

“Eden can ride with my son,” Lucan demanded, ignoring my protests and I couldn't stop my eyes from rolling and a long sigh from escaping my lips.

I grumbled the entire way to the top of the elephant, refusing to use magic on the principle that riding an elephant, as exotic as it was, was really uncomfortable. The basket on top of the large mammal was big enough for at least two people, so I knew I would not be confined next to Kiran, but this was a brave risk Lucan was taking. Wasn't he worried I would just kill his son?

Lucan's elephant moved next to ours and I couldn't contain my curiosity, “Aren't you afraid this will be the last time you see him alive?” I shouted to Lucan, gesturing at his son.

“If you touch him, harm him in any way, I will kill your brother tonight. And then tomorrow morning I will execute every single one of your friends at dawn. Do not play games with me, child,” Lucan said seriously and I kept my mouth shut. At the moment, he held the upper hand, I couldn't argue with that.

With Lucan's threats hanging heavily in the air, he did not even bother to board a Titan with us. I sat across from Kiran, bouncing roughly with the uneven and slow steps of our elephant transportation moving up the mountainside. He stayed silent for a long time, his back to the elephant's head and still stared, his gaze burning a hole through my soul.

“I'm glad we have a moment to ourselves,” Kiran said after minutes of silence, as if our togetherness was the most normal thing in the world, as if I wasn't his prisoner. “I wanted to say thank you, for healing me.” His inflection was genuine, but I yawned in response, I had nothing to say to him.

“Eden,” he began again, and the way he said my name, forced my eyes to his. He held my attention completely, I was transfixed by his turquoise eyes, shining in the bright sunlight; he was hopeful but reserved. I kept my mouth closed and my magic under control, but still his gaze held me. “If you would like, I could have them bring.... I could send for Lilly, if you wanted. I mean, if you wanted, I would get her for you, I know how much she means to you.”

I narrowed my eyes, and tried to swallow the bile rising in my throat. Why had I never been disgusted by how spoiled he was? Was I supposed to fawn over how generous and self-sacrificing he was being? How sweet of him to fetch my captured best friend for me and let her be a prisoner with me in a palace instead of the dark, horrifying dungeon he was keeping her in presently.

“That's all right, I think I'll just get her myself,” I whispered hoarsely, venom dripping with every word.

He smiled at me, a patronizing smile that let me know how little he believed in me as leader of the Resistance. Although, I didn't think my recent captivity was doing my case any favors.

“She's Ok, if you're worried about her. I mean, I know she is fine. Talbott has been finding any reason to get to Romania, so I know he is making sure they treat her fairly and that she is well taken care of,” Kiran babbled and my hardened eyes turned incredulous; what was he trying to accomplish?

“How's the wedding planning?” I asked, changing the subject to something as far from us as possible.

His eyes shifted uncomfortably, and he cleared his throat nervously before answering, “Good, I mean, I think good. I've only been apart of them the last twenty-four hours or so. Well, you know that....” He laughed nervously.

“Right....” I sighed, removing my eyes from his and searching the jungle for a distraction. Naima would know by now that something had gone wrong and would hopefully figure out what. I trusted the individuals of the Rebellion far more than I trusted myself in these kinds of matters and I believed they would adjust their plan and assume we were captured.

Not a whole lot changed as far as the chain of events would go. In fact, an escort into the palace made things much easier. Once inside, I would just continue with the mission according to plan and hope that was what everyone else would be expecting.

“Your aunt is all right, too,” Kiran spoke up again, more nervously than before. I snapped my head back to face him, my mouth falling open from shock, “I mean, don't worry, we don't have her or anything, it's just that, my father put a small detail on her, just in case you went home. She's fine, she isn't in any danger or anything....” I shook my head in disgust, and he cleared his throat nervously again, “She is with Angelica and my father will not cross Angelica. She practically raised him.... Besides, entangling a human is messy business.... I just thought you would want to know that she is fine, I didn't know if you talked to her recently. I'm sure you're worried about her and I didn't want you to-”

“I get it,” I snapped, cutting off his nervous rambling.

“I'm sorry, I just don't know how to be with you like this, without our magics....” he trailed off, and I realized that I was keeping control of my magic the entire ride. In his room, in London, I had not been able to even pretend to keep my magic from the magnetic pull of his, but today, in the daylight and having had the shock of seeing him for the first time wear off, I was able to hold myself together.

“You'll figure it out,” I mumbled, turning my attention back to the jungle and the palace walls interrupting the exotic vegetation and centuries old trees.

“I don't want to figure it out.” He leaned forward, across the distance that was separating us and whispered passionately to me.

We were entering the palace grounds, and the gates the elephants walked through. The gate was only wide enough for one elephant to pass through at a time. Gabriel was held prisoner on an elephant in front of mine, with two other Titans keeping their eyes secured on him.

“Eden, my offer still stands,” Kiran continued, “please reconsider saving our kingdom a different way. If you were my wife, if we stood together, we could make a difference, any difference that you want to make. I would be on your side.”

He reached for my hand, grasping it in his as he appealed his case and my magic was suddenly pulsating under my skin at his unexpected touch. His eyes smoldered, turning from turquoise to deep blue and I felt his magic sigh in relief at our connection.

“Sounds lovely,” I found my sarcasm, and a plan formed decisively in my mind, “but I think you've made those promises to me before and I would rather not go down that road ever again.”

I ripped my hand from his and stood up abruptly. My necklace tumbled from underneath my shirt and his face lit up with pride and victorious possession. I couldn't take it anymore, I couldn't stand to be in his presence. So, I took in my surroundings quickly and threw myself over the side of the elephant. We were just inside the palace walls; Lucan's elephant was the first one through and on its way to the stables. I shouted at Gabriel to follow suit and he did, jumping over the side of his elephant and landing gracefully on the ground.

Before I could think about it, I sent magic, zapping the feet of all of the elephants still carrying the angry Titans, sending them reeling in fear. They bridled up, like angry horses, sending the Guards and Kiran in every direction and jamming the entrance from more entering.

I forced more fevered energy into the melee and fueled the confusion. The Titans struggled to gain control of their animals and protect Kiran at the same time. The elephant gridlock, loud and dangerous, drew the attention of the palace Guards who waited for their king's arrival.

Gabriel pulled on my arm and we were off, sprinting across the palace grounds and into a hotbed of Titan activity. I learned a little bit about the palace over my stay in December, but not nearly enough to know where the prisons were or the best way to get there.

“Do you know where they would keep Avalon?” I shouted at Gabriel, while we ducked from some Titan fire, sliding through an arched doorway and using our magic to keep from slipping on the slick marbled floor.

“Of course,” he shouted back. “If you've lived as long as I have, then you have seen the inside of a few prison cells.” He looked back at me with a smile on his face, his eyes alit with intense surety and I couldn't help but smile back. “That was quick thinking, Eden, I am very impressed!” He half laughed at me, while we dodged more Titans, and turned down another long hallway.

“I just hope it works!” I mumbled.

Gabriel reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. I smiled, still finding the technology severely out of place, hidden in the long folds of his robes. He dialed while we moved and shouted instructions to whomever was on the other end. At least the rest of the team would know how to act now.

We were inside the palace.

We just needed to get to Avalon now, and then get out before the whole place went up in flames.