Shards: Book One of the Anderian Series

Chapter 39: The Synod

Shreyna alternated between chatty and somber on our brief journey and didn't seem to mind at all that I didn't respond. It wasn't the mother and daughter reunion I used to dream about, but if the last few days had taught me anything, it was that ignorance truly was bliss.

The Synod's house... prison... compound—I didn't know what to call it—was built like a maze with short, intersecting hallways designed to confuse anyone unfamiliar with the layout. I tried to keep track of how many turns we made, but after the seventh I gave up.

Reaching out to sense the energy in the rooms along the hallways proved fruitless, as well. I felt absolutely nothing. It wasn't like how it had been in the house when I was injured and unable to draw on the surrounding energy. It was like it didn't exist at all. Either they'd cleansed the place recently or this collar around my throat was more than ornamental.

"Here we go," Shreyna said, turning down a hallway that dead ended at a large door.

I followed obediently because there was nothing else I could do. Rescuing Cian would have been far easier if I'd managed to get in and out without being caught, but the Grolim made sure that wasn't possible. When I first came to, I was glad to not be dead and have a second chance, but without my abilities, the slim upper hand I had was gone completely. And this time, June would not knock on a door and save my backside.

The room Shreyna led me into defied the laws of physics. It was bigger than the house itself, with a ceiling of gold veined stone dozens of feet above our heads. In the center, what looked to be a large cage hung. The floor extended from the door in a narrow path that widened into a circular platform. On all sides of the path and platform was a steep drop off that made my stomach contract with panic.

On the platform were five thrones of various sizes and ornateness. Four were occupied. The largest one in the center was empty. Consisting entirely of shimmering silver and gemstones, it was a thing of beauty and chaos, with the back looking like rising waves. At the top, they fanned out and curved forward so that whoever sat there would be cocooned and hidden from anyone who wasn't looking at them from the front.

"This is the girl who has been such a problem?" The woman on the far left asked, leaning forward in her wrought iron throne, a pensive look on her bland face. I found it offensive she was unimpressed with me considering she looked about as interesting as milk toast.

"Give her a little credit," Shreyna responded, leaving me in the center of the platform while she ascended to the center throne. That tracked. "She's been poisoned by a Grolim. A normal human, Shard or not, would have died instantly."

A man directly to Shreyna's right groaned. He had pointed ears and teeth that fell over his generous bottom lip. Golden bands ran from his wrists to his large biceps, contrasting with his beautiful onyx skin. They designed his throne to accommodate massive bat-like wings that drooped to the floor.

"This is all for nothing," he said. His wings flexed. "Bellamy cannot return to a ruined body."

"It was just a scratch," I muttered like the idiot I was. Come on, Bria. You want them to think you're useless to them.

"Grolim poison is always fatal. Whatever they've done is only buying you time."

"Ajax," Shreyna said, the waves rippling and parting around her as she turned to look at the winged man. I guess that answered questions I had about how she saw her companions. "We've discussed this. The transference will heal her. Why do you think we gave the order to bring her to us in any condition as long as the heart was still beating?"

"Can we get on with this?"

This from the man on Shreyna's left. His throne was boring compared to the others. Merely a large, gilded chair clearly designed for intimidation rather than for comfort. The man himself was much like his chair, and at first glance, appeared entirely human. But the longer I stared at him, the more terrifying he became. Behind the high cheekbones, strong jawline, ice chip eyes, and satiny black hair lurked a monster. His good looks alone were dangerous enough, since I was certain he knew how to use them to charm. I shivered, wondering what powers ran through his veins that earned him such a spot in the Synod.

The plain woman spoke up again. She tugged her thin lips back in a smirk. "Why the rush now, Basilus? We'd have gotten on with it a long time ago if your pitiful excuse for a son hadn't been nearly killed by this Shard Bearer."

Basilus tilted his head from side to side. "If you seek to anger me, Juniper, you'll find that path to be fruitless. I'll readily agree Kohl is a disappointment—" I jolted at the mention of the red headed Andarien. "But none more so than the other."

Shreyna clapped. "Speaking of the other, let's bring him down, yes?" Everyone nodded, even the cloaked, silent figure on the far right. "Step out of the way, Shard Bearer."

The obstinate part of me wanted to stay where I was, but the moment machines whirred to life, I glanced up and saw the cage lowering at an alarming speed. Darting to the side just in time, I coughed as dust and debris billowed up around it.

No one spoke or moved toward it. In the center, a lone figure kneeled on the floor, massive gray and silver tipped wings extending from his back. He planted one hand on the floor to keep his balance, and the other one covered his eyes. Deep gouges ran down his golden arms, and fresh blood dripped onto old stains.

"Cian!" I screamed. My elation at seeing him alive quickly disappeared as I continued to catalog every injury. It disappeared all together when he didn't raise his head at the sound of my voice.

"Sorry, love," Shreyna said. "There are wards around the cage. He can't hear you or see you."

"Let him out. You wanted me. You have me."

Basilus looked at me directly for the first time. "We do have you, and yet you continue to make demands. Odd little thing. Must be the human in you. My son must answer for his crimes."

His son. Basilus was the father Cian wouldn't talk about. Suddenly, his reticence made sense. I grimaced. That also meant Kohl was his brother. At least half brother.

"Answer for his crimes?" I gestured toward him. "What do you call this? He's clearly been beaten." And broken.

Shreyna threw her head back and cackled. "No, no. We haven't touched him. Not since they captured him. Those wounds are self inflicted."

"N-no. He wouldn't. Why?"

She scooted to the edge of her seat and covered her mouth like we were sharing gossip as she whispered, "Poor Cian there thinks you're dead. Your heart stopped after all."

I raced to the cage and gripped the bars, fully prepared to be punished, but no one moved to stop me. Reaching for him, I shouted his name. I kicked and screamed and shook the bars, but nothing I did drew his attention.

"Cian, please," I whimpered, searching for the mate bond for the first time since waking and finding nothing there. Had my near death experience truly destroyed it, or was this another side effect of the collar?

He lowered his hand from his eyes. Tears streamed down his face, but if not for the physical evidence of his grief, I might think he felt nothing at all. His expression was blank. His eyes were cold. As cold as his father's.

"It was rather amusing," Juniper said. "The way he lost control when he felt you die. He spent hours raging. Now this. Nothing. Catatonic."

"Spoken like someone who's never experienced a mate bond," Basilus sneered, his defense shocking me. Perhaps he was not completely without a heart, but he destroyed that theory with his next words. "I might pity him more if the bond had not been with such a weak creature."

"Enough." The robed figure at the end spoke. Stepping down from the chair, they approached the cage and me. Their voice was familiar. "We need to get on with this before the weak creature you refer to dies from the Grolim poison or finds yet another way to escape."

I flipped Basilus off. At least someone in here recognized my ingenuity.

"Please. There has to be another way. I want you all to go home. Just not at the cost of my life."

"If we could, we would." The hood came down, and I gasped. Amaya touched my face and gave me a sad smile. "There is no other way."