Seer looked at Bishop and found he watched him too. Then he found something else.Thatlook. The same one he’d had when avenging Beth became his sole purpose for breathing. Not fucking good. Something had definitely happened. And with each passing second, Seer realized every anomaly in that room bore their Belle Eveque’s stamp of oblivious power.
Nidev exhaled slowly, his gaze sweeping over the long table. “A man might believe he knows his own path,” he began, voice steady. “He might believe he carves it with his own hands, that his choices alone have led him to where he stands.” He let his words settle. “But I believe that every one of you in this room is here because something greater than choice has willed it.”
“Amen,” Seer barely mumbled as all sat still, watchful and measuring.
Nidev continued. “Fate has a way of pulling paths together. Paths that should never meet, one might think. And yet, here we are. Not by our choosing—but by something greater.”
His gaze settled on the Chaos Pillars.
“You believe chaos has rhythm. Structure. That destruction follows laws—if only one is clever enough to see them.” His voice hardened. “And what happened at Velkratos does not seem to fit any pattern. None that we can see.”
A ripple of tension moved through the Pillars.
Nidev exhaled. “Gentlemen. And ladies,” he added, looking around the room. “These men are here because where they have lived most of their lives is no more. Velkratos. The Stronghold of The Pillars. Was devoured by the earth.”
A few sharp breaths broke the silence.
“And how the hell did that happen?” Bullets wondered, his suspicion front and center.
“Ask her.”
All eyes turned to the one called Colton Graves. “She spoke,” he added. “And Velkratos fell.”
Seer’s gaze shot to Beth in astonishment. The guilt on her face aimed at the table said she was still as oblivious as ever. “It wasn’t… it wasn’t like that,” she said quietly.
Colton shrugged. “Pretty damn sure it wasexactlylike that.”
The tension in the room twisted as shoulders shifted with exchanged glances.
“Because you’re a blasphemer,” Zahir muttered under his breath.
“Here we go,” Colton drawled. “Our mind magician graduated to high priest of know it all.”
“All of you wanted the truth.” All eyes swung to Sinrik who bore the barest hint of a smirk as he leveled his gaze on Colten. “She gave it to you.”
Colton met his stare with a cocky challenge. “What do you know,Loverboy.”
“Uh-oh,” Cherie barely said.
Sinrik looked ready to fully inform the man’s face. “I know your kingdom wasn’t able to handle it, Titan of Talk.”
The water under the bridge came to an immediate boil, putting the kind of energy in the room the Marsh Kings were very familiar with.
“What is done, is done,” Nexus declared with a firm, final authority. “And we are here to learn whatever it is the universe needs to teach us regarding it.”
“If youcanlearn it,” Sinrik muttered, a last jab they decided to ignore.
“Which brings me to introduce one of our top students,” Nidev hurried, gluing down the temporary band-aid Nexus had just placed over the ugly wound. He turned slightly. “Maggie.”
The sudden attention brought Maggie to a flurry of fidgeting as she nodded at nobody then eyed Spook.
“Maggie possesses a rare ability.” Nidev glanced at the Pillars. “Through touch, she can see things others cannot. Memories, patterns, truths hidden beneath the surface. With your permission, she will touch each of you and see what her gift shows her.”
Nidev turned and beckoned her to come.
She stood quickly then ducked toward Spook. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” she whispered loudly.
“Baby, it’s fine,” he whispered back, urging her toward Nidev with his hands.