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where she belongs, sooner or later.” He’s flashingteeth. I haven’t seen that expression from him in a while. He’sdefinitely emotionally invested in Gia Scoralini’s demise. And I dohave questions, but at the moment I relish in the satisfaction of,for once, seeing Na’ta look at the Selell who I love with a glintof appreciation in her eyes.

“So he wanted you to free Gia andforce us to retrieve the Scepter of Gant,” I ponder aloud, tryingto put together the pieces of this extraordinary puzzle LarioExgesis has created. “If he is bonded to me then he knows that yourpredicament with Telman isn’t enough to force me to simply hand thescepter over to him.”

“True.” Na’ta pulls her eyebrows together asshe contemplates. “He has Telman. I’ll do whatever it takes to savehim. But…” she studies Chex and then sets her eyes on me, “… Adore,are you doubled-bonded?”

I grimace, wondering why she would askthat.

“What would you do for Chex? Would you goagainst your ethics? Would you strengthen the evil? Would you freethe likes of Gia Scoralini to save him?”

I hesitate to think, although I must admitthat my new circumstances have me confused about what I’m inclinedto do, or not do, for Chex. “Is she evil?” I say with a certainamount of prudence.

“She’s crafty as hell,” he replies. “She’swhere she belongs.” He’s visibly agitated by Na’ta’s line ofquestioning and is losing patience as time passes.

I look from Na’ta, to Magnificent Star, andthen settle on Chex’s face. I close my eyes to sigh gravely. “Yes,”I’m led to admit. “If I were uncertain about his safety, then, yes,I would do what I must to release Gia Scoralini back onto theEarth, even if she is crafty.”

In a flash, Chex curls a hand around mywaist and draws me into him. I’m staring into his incensed eyes.“That was a hypothetical. In real life, don’t ever do that,” hegrowls through clenched teeth. “There’s no way Exgesis or hisfucking scallywags can get their hands on me, here or on Earth. Sothere’ll be no freeing of me.”

It’s clear he finds the mere thought ofneeding to be rescued by me insulting. Yet, I am not offended. Ihave determined that Chex is a being who’s never depended on anyonebut himself. He believes there is no force stronger than himself,and if there is one, he will die happily by its hand rather than besubdued by it.

I’m still studying him askance as mythoughts return to what Na’ta first asked. “A double bond,” I muse.That will certainly explain the powerful feelings I have for him,and, I sadly admit, for Lario Exgesis—still.

“It’s almost time to enter Ol,” MagnificentStar says to regain our attention. She looks out into the darkwhich right before our eyes transforms into murky daylight. “Thisis the east of Tetra.”

“But how could that be?” I ask, gaping at asun hanging high in the sky. “Tetra doesn’t have a sun.”

“It’s the Earth’s sun,” she replies. “It wasbrought there by the power of the daughters of Benel.”

I remember what Lario Exgesis told me, thatthe sun had disappeared from the Earth but he didn’t tell me whereit had gone.

“But why was it brought here?”

“Unfortunately, I do not know the answer;but, when it appeared in Tetra, so did the vampires.”

Chex steps up next to me. His eyes, likeNa’ta’s and mine, are pinned to the miserable Selells that arebeing battered by the elements. It seems the wind is too strong forthem to stand in and the air is too hot to breathe. They are notsouls like the deceased Selells. They still have flesh andbone.

“Those are second generation vampires. LastI heard your sisters got rid of them.” He takes a pause. “So thisis how they ended up,” he says as if that is the answer to aquestion he’s been longing to know. “Not dead.” He soundsdisappointed.

“But why the sun? I don’t understand whyCl’auta would call the sun from the Earth and send it to Tetra?” Iknow it was her decision to do this. She has the full power of themind. There has to be a reason why Cl’auta did this. And this alsoexplains why she did not answer when I called. Is she in distress?Is the Earth in distress? I turn to Chex. “You said secondgeneration vampires. What do you mean by that?”

“When Exgesis started making vampires afterhe was turned back from being a human,” Chex snarls, “He startedmaking a type that could suck a human’s soul out of them. Buthere’s the deal -” He pauses to feel the gravity of what he’s aboutto reveal, “- you kill one of them and Lario Exgesis gets theirlife.”

“What the hell do you mean by gets theirlife?” Na’ta asks.

“You kill him, he comes back to life.” Hepoints his chin at the vampires. “Because somehow their lives areattached to him. At least that’s how it used to be. I’m not sure ifit’s the same if they’re in Tetra.”

And then I’m struck by illumination. “Theleaf,” I sigh with dread, remembering. “Falu fed him the leaf fromthe Tree of Life.”

My heart is heavy. Lario Exgesis has usedhis powers to perform the ultimate act of evil—he has taken whatwas made of God and has transformed it to serve himself. It’s forthis reason my time has come. Only I, Adore, his bond, can punishLario Exgesis for what he has done. And I know what I must do.Lario Exgesis actions have determined his fate.

“I need to find him,” I say through my ownclenched teeth. I am angry—angrier than I have ever been in myexistence.

“You will find him, but first: the scepter,”Magnificent Star reminds us. There’s a sense of urgency in hertone.

She’s right of course. I mustn’t allow myemotions to steer me away from what’s important, and that isretrieving the Scepter of Gant and returning it to its rightfulowners, whoever they may be. One thing is for certain; we, thedaughters of Felix Benel, cannot keep it unless the Mtknv gives itto us.

“The Earth’s sun will also follow you intoOl and Tetra will once again be dark. That means Ol will be lightand you’ll have sixteen minutes to get inside of the Tarantula andtake the Scepter