Tani signed the documents his lawyers needed after listing his assets and deciding who got what. Now that his calamity was coming to an end, as Dante had said, he had to start thinking about the future. He would leave the residence to Hera and her descendants, while Tom would look after the fortress with Uncle Amu’s help.
Tani was rereading the last page after signing when a wave of distress from Dante hit him—fear, really, which was strange, because Dante was exceptionally safe in his residence. Tani capped his pen and handed the documents to the man in charge, while his partner arranged the provided documents in a briefcase.
“Discuss any issues with Tom King,” Tani said. “You can also rely on Amu Ryuzo if I fail to attend any of your requested meetings. Talking to him is like talking to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Tani thanked them both for their time and left the office as fast as he could. Dante’s distress was rising. The moment Tani reached the corridor, he teleported. Following the waves of worry, he found Dante in the library. As he materialized, Tani sensed Amu in the room, but he was too focused on Dante to greet his uncle.
He hurried over to Dante, placing a hand on Dante’s shoulder just as Dante stood up and insisted on going to see his children in Ohio. A pulse of panic arched through Tani’s heart—an old fear he felt every time his beloved went back to his family.
He closed his eyes and opened his arms when Dante turned to him. A soft sigh escaped Tani as Dante stepped into his embrace, begging for his children’s safety.
Yes, it was almost the same feeling as before.
“Tani,” Amu said, drawing Tani’s attention. “Go.”
“Mm.” Tani held Dante tight and teleported them out of the library. He brought them to the backyard of Violet’s house in Kirtland. It was dark, and the house looked empty. Dante let go of Tani and hurried to the kitchen door, murmuring a spell to unlock it.
Once inside, he turned on the lights and went straight to the calendar pinned to the fridge. As he read the dates, Tani focused on the photographs on the fridge: Zach and April with their mom, their friends, and a man Tani assumed was Violet’s boyfriend. They clearly led a life full of adventures. Tani’s gaze shifted to Dante. In another life, the pictures on the fridge would have included him too.
“They went to Clear Brook Forest Campsite,” Dante said.
“I need a visual,” Tani said, watching Dante hurry to the kitchen table. He moved with ease in Violet’s space. On the table sat a Surface Pro tablet. Dante touched the screen to wake it, then spent a few minutes finding camping photos. Tani assumed it wasn’t the children’s first time at Clear Brook.
“Will this work?” Dante asked, holding the tablet so Tani could see a photo of Zach and April standing beneath a large sign for Clear Brook. The name was painted in white on a tall pillar.
Tani memorized every detail of the entrance in the photo. “Alright. Let’s go.”
“Let me lock the door,” Dante said, moving to close the kitchen door. “I don’t want them feeling insecure if they come home and find it open.”
“Hm.” Tani watched Dante flick off the lights and return the tablet to its original position on the table, smiling at his meticulous nature.
“Come, Dante.” Tani beckoned. “We should hurry.”
Dante returned to him and pulled Tani into a tight hug.
“I’m worried about Zach, lost and alone,” Dante whispered in Tani’s ear. “I’m his dad. This is what I should do. But it doesn’t mean I’ll leave you, Tani. So, stop giving me that helpless look.”
Tani felt the ache in his chest ease when Dante kissed his cheek. He teleported them to the campgrounds with a small smile, relieved to see the entrance pole that read Clear Brook.
“I’m glad you found that picture,” Tani said, letting go of Dante. Dante clasped Tani’s right hand and started leading him toward the administrative buildings of the camp.
“Wait,” Tani said, his aura picking up lingering power in the forest. “We should go straight in. We’ll find him faster than the search party.”
Dante nodded. “I placed a protection spell on Zach. If he were truly in danger, it should’ve alerted me.”
“Unless he’s not in danger,” Tani said, teleporting them to the forest’s center. A shallow, clear river ran through the middle, the wide bed lined with smooth stones. Thick clusters of tall evergreens flanked the water.
The forest was quiet. From somewhere to the north, Tani heard the search and rescue team calling Zach’s name. Tani inhaled deeply and dropped the glamour concealing his features. His eyes sharpened as he scanned the forest floor. He knew Dante’s scent by heart, so any magik linked to Dante would share a trace of it. Closing his eyes, Tani turned slowly. He first faced the direction of the search team, then pivoted east. When he did, he caught a whiff of that familiar power.
He grabbed Dante’s hand and teleported them to the spot where the scent was strongest.
They appeared in a grassy clearing with a weathered gazebo at its center—likely abandoned, given the broken stairs and overgrown grass. A lone lounge chair stood in the middle, and Zach lay on it, covered with a blanket.
Tani grabbed Dante’s left arm, using considerable strength to keep him from rushing over.
“He’s in there,” Tani said, “but there’s something else too. Zach is bait.”
“Bait?” Dante cursed under his breath. He wanted nothing more than to sprint to his son, but he fought the urge.
Tani extended his right hand. Dante saw the thin gold-leaf bracelets on Tani’s wrists and briefly wondered why Tani still wore them now that Kinon’s cuffs were neutralized. This wasn’t the time to ask, though.
Bright sparks flickered from Tani’s fingertips, transforming into small golden lights that floated into the clearing like glowing fireflies. They drove back the darkness, illuminating the gazebo.
Dante sucked in a breath when the lights revealed Zach lying peacefully on the lounge chair, wrapped in a green blanket.
“You came,” said a soft, pleased voice. Dante’s fury ignited at once.
Flames engulfed his left arm, and he flung a burst of fire toward the voice. The flames struck a nearby shrub, turning it to ash.
“Whew,” came the voice again, echoing around the clearing. “It’s a good thing I bounced my voice around. Otherwise, I’d be nothing but ashes. You’re strong, Fire Warlock. Very frightening.”
“Come out,” Tani said. “Or I’ll let him burn down the entire clearing.”
“That might harm the child,” the voice warned.
“It won’t,” Tani said coolly. “He’s under my watch. You won’t lay a finger on him.”
“You’re always so confident,” the voice changed, deepening to a masculine tone. “You really have changed, Tani Ryuzo. Perhaps a thousand years of pain refined that sharp temper.”
“You know my pain,” Tani said, narrowing his eyes. “You know too much.”
He increased the glow behind the gazebo, and a tall figure emerged, draped in a dark cloak. His long, unkempt hair—typical of an ekho struggling in the mortal realm—hung around his face, and mud streaked the edges of his cloak.
“Step forward so we can see you,” Dante said, barely suppressing a growl.
“So angry,” the man said, walking slowly. “I can’t imagine what he sees in you. Sorry if I’m slow. I’m in rough shape.”
Tani frowned. His gaze shifted to Zach, who still looked as though he were napping on a camping trip. Tani worried about waking him, in case there was a hidden trap. Clearly, there had to be one. No one would use Dante’s child as bait without a plan.
“Aww, just look at you two,” the man said as he limped closer, the cloak hindering his movement. “You make quite the pair. I’m sad I never met you together. I only ever saw Dante from the shadows.”
“You know us together?” Tani asked.
“Who in our ekho realm doesn’t?”
“Who are you?” Dante demanded. “What do you want with Zach?”
“With Zach, nothing. He’s mortal; I can’t truly harm him. I only needed his help so you’d come find me and listen. He’s asleep—won’t wake till morning. If you hadn’t come, I would’ve slipped him back into his bed.”
“His mother is frantic,” Dante said. “Release him and we’ll talk.”
“That would be foolish. Your rage is literally burning down your left arm, Dante Arturo. The moment the boy’s out of this clearing, you’ll incinerate me.”
“What’s your name?” Tani asked.
“My name is Lua Wadi, a fox working for the Anael Sentinel Branch in Gralia, Immortal Prince.”
Tani sneered at the title. “I am not the Immortal Prince.”
“You can deny it, but it’s still true,” Lua said. “Your power burns my skin. I can’t get close.”
“And yet you dragged me here,” Tani mused.
“I had no choice,” Lua said, resignation in his voice. “Only you can help me.”
Tani let out a dry chuckle. “A strange way to ask for help—kidnapping Dante’s child.”
“I tried every other option. For decades I’ve calculated all possible outcomes, even giving up returning home to my family to figure out a way. In the end, this was all I had left to survive.”
“What exactly do you want,” Dante asked, “that you’d stoop to using an innocent child as hostage?”
Lua glanced at Zach, then exhaled. “The Immortal Prince has no weakness other than you and your descendants. I can’t reach him in the ekho realm. Only in the mortal world could I get to you.”
“How considerate,” Tani scoffed. “But let’s be clear: my beloved’s rage runs hotter than mine and living a calamity has been exhausting enough. I’ve grown jaded, Lua. So, the one who’ll exact revenge is Dante. He’ll decide your fate.”
“Coming from one deviant to another, I accept that,” Lua said. “Immortal Prince, please—I need you to help me meet Cale, the God of Calamities.”
****
In the Ekho Realm, Cale watched Anit settle into her seat in the grand, circular hall of the inter-clan court. The sun was high, and the Reima Sentinel Branch called the court to order, beginning the first of thirty days set aside to hear and resolve the year’s accumulated cases.
So much work to manage a territory, Cale thought, letting out a sigh that caught Anit’s attention.
She sat in the highest seat in the domed room. Most would think she was flaunting her authority, but Cale knew it was to protect people weaker than she, those who might buckle under her aura. She was like Sunu in that sense, though she would never admit it.
Ten feet below Anit’s seat was a high bench with five chairs. The judges seated there wore gold masks covering half their faces. Each judge held a seven-inch card—black on one side with an X, white on the other with a V to signify approval. If any of them abstained on a case, they would put their card down, forcing Anit to intervene. That was exactly why the hardest cases were usually brought up on the first day when Anit was guaranteed to attend.
Cale concealed his presence from everyone but Anit as he ascended the ornate steps to her extravagant seat. Her power teased his, but it wasn’t as harmful as Tani’s could be when unleashed.
“Fox Goddess,” Cale said, “if I’d known the energy in your court could feed me, I would have volunteered to attend sessions on your behalf.”
“You were too busy devouring my son’s calamity,” Anit replied with lazy amusement, her hands resting on her seat’s armrests. Her nails were a sparkling emerald green today.
“Well, you do have my attention now,” Cale said, standing on her left. He glanced over the hundreds of people filling the benches below. So many burdens, he mused, letting out another sigh.
“Sit quietly and behave,” Anit said, waving one hand so that a wooden chair appeared beside hers. Smaller, but enough to keep her company. “I want you to discover the foul plot that’s simmering. It’ll give me an excuse to expend my energy. All I do lately is tease Tani and grow apples.”
Cale stifled a chuckle at Anit’s mock boredom. He knew she worked tirelessly to maintain Gralia’s peace. Thanks to her the Kara ot was not rampant in her lands. The forests thrived, and her foxes prospered. Prospered enough to need court days and thriving bureaucracies. She reminded him of Sunu’s quiet leadership in the immortal lands. A fascinating sister-in-law indeed.
He was about to speak when he caught a dark whiff of deceit. Turning his attention to a group of men and women entering the court, he watched them close the doors behind them.
“Who are they?” he asked.
“Members of the Anael Sentinel Branch,” Anit answered. “They’re delivering evidence for a case to be heard today.”
“They reek of deception,” Cale said, eyeing the three men and three women carrying boxes to a court attendant. They then seated themselves in the front row. Cale smirked, anticipating an entertaining reveal—until Tani’s voice echoed in his mind.
Cale.
“I must go,” he told Anit. “If you value justice, keep an eye on whatever those six are plotting. I sense nothing good will come of it.”
“Where are you going, after insisting on joining me?” Anit asked.
“Your son is calling,” Cale said, disappearing from the inter-clan court. He emerged at the palladium gates, nodding at the guardians who acknowledged him with silent bows. He closed his eyes and pushed through the overwhelming energy between worlds, reappearing in the mortal realm dressed in an impeccable blue suit.
Where are you? Tani’s voice sounded in his mind, tinged with irritation—a rare note from him.
Cale teleported again, following the thread of Tani’s call. He was surprised to find Tani in an American forest clearing under the veil of night, where small golden lights tried to fend off the darkness. Dante stood at Tani’s left, his entire left arm blazing with uncontrollable fury. Even from a distance, Cale felt the heat of Dante’s rage. The tension in the clearing was enough to stop a mortal’s breath.
When Cale materialized by Tani’s right side, the very air seemed to shift in acknowledgment of his presence—like the forest itself held its breath.
“Little Lordling,” Cale said softly. “I’m here. You always bring me the most thrilling scenes.”
“A dark one has emerged,” Tani said, inclining his head toward a cloaked figure. “This is Lua. He’s holding Dante’s son in the gazebo. I’m sure there is a trap in there. I would have resolved it sooner, but he wants to speak with you before he’ll let Zach go.”
Cale’s eyes narrowed as he assessed the figure. “So that’s why you needed me…” His voice was warm, but beneath it ran a current of lethal power that made the night air crackle. “And you dared to force Tani to call me?”
Lua opened his mouth to respond, but he never got the chance. A suffocating black cloud of power exploded from Cale, roiling across the ground. The grass beneath him withered, and the dark tide surged forward to wrap around Lua. He choked, eyes widening in sheer terror.
Reacting instantly, Tani flung up a shimmering golden wall, keeping the lethal wave from seeping toward Dante or Zach in the gazebo. Cale’s onslaught slammed into that barrier, scattering in a burst of black sparks.
Tani gave Cale a small, wry smile. “Someone’s in a mood.”
“I was about to watch a rather entertaining court session before you summoned me,” Cale said in a low growl. He dropped his hands, still brimming with power, and then locked his dark gaze on Lua. “Instead, I get called away to find a mindless dark one threatening you?”
Stripped of his cloak by Cale’s force, Lua trembled on his knees. His hair clung to his sallow face, and dark lines trailed up his neck.
“Don’t suffocate him,” Tani said gently. “He claims to have information. Let him speak.”
“What information?” Cale demanded, though his aura still pressed down on Lua like a crushing weight. He studied Lua’s face with dark eyes. Lua looked too thin, his skin abnormally pale, and dark lines were climbing up his neck. “Your choices have already led you to a path straight to the Dark Fort.”
“I have information about the Immortal Prince’s beloved,” Lua choked out.
Tani gasped, and Dante moved closer to him, wrapping an arm around Tani’s shoulders.
“Surely, you’ve noticed he died early in each reincarnation,” Lua said, looking at Tani with great difficulty. “It was by design. I have been in the mortal realm every century to make sure your beloved failed you.”
The air in the clearing charged, a single heartbeat away from total devastation. Cale’s power filled the night like a thunderstorm about to break. Tani closed his eyes and fought down the urge to unleash the harsh power building inside him.
“Release that child,” Tani said, his tone harsh. “What I want to say should not be in his presence.”
Lua chuckled. “There is no trap. The boy is simply sleeping. I’ve told you, he will wake up in the morning.”
Dante’s fire vanished, and he rushed to the gazebo. He gathered Zach into his arms with utmost care and hurried out. As soon as he cleared the gazebo, he set it ablaze with a whispered spell. Reaching Tani, Dante let Tani caress his cheek. Then, remembering the path the rescue team would take, Tani teleported Dante and his son away.
“You won’t follow him?” Cale asked when Tani turned to face Lua with blazing amber eyes.
“No.” Tani’s voice dropped, each word laced with lethal intent. “Lua Wadi, speak slowly and carefully. Don’t let any part of what you want to say be vague.” A sharp pulse of power crackled around him, driving home his threat. “Otherwise, the Dark Fort will be unattainable.”
***
Lua let out a long sigh and sat back on his haunches as Cale eased his hold, though Lua still could not escape. Cale’s power was unrelenting; he truly lived up to his title as the Dark Prince. Unable to meet Cale’s dark gaze, Lua turned instead to the brighter prince beside him. Tani was shaking with anger.
“The day you gave yourself to the mortal was phenomenal in Gralia,” Lua said with a chuckle, settling down comfortably. “The Fox Goddess howled and wept tears of blood in her domain, frightening all the sentinel branches. We thought the world was ending, especially when the Septum dragged you back by force.”
“It was a beginning for me,” Tani said. “Durante was my whole world. I didn’t want to lose him to the test of time.” He scoffed. “Turns out others thought I needed to prove my words.”
“Your choice was understood in Gralia,” Lua said. “But you are the son of the Immortal Lord Sunu. The Septum has lived by a purist doctrine forever. For the Immortal Lord’s son to transgress the law and bond with a mortal—well, the waters in the citadel were under threat.”
Cale chuckled.
“That is an accurate explanation of the Septum’s reaction,” he said.
“A tribunal was called, but the Fox Goddess could not attend. She was still angry that the Septum’s purist culture had contributed to her leaving the citadel with the Immortal Prince,” Lua continued, shaking his head. “She was inconsolable. Not even the Grandmaster of Bao could reach her. We all knew she wouldn’t make it to the Septum’s tribunal.”
“You saw an opportunity?” Cale guessed.
“Not me,” Lua said with a shudder. “No, I wouldn’t care if the Immortal Prince chose to tie his soul to a common fox in the forest—let alone a mortal with no power.”
Lua drew in a deep breath and glanced at Tani.
“You don’t know, but your grandfather, Fox God Nua, has a messy lineage.”
“Watch your words,” Cale said. “Fox God Nua is famous for holding deeper grudges than his daughter.”
“I’ve long been punished for my sins against the clan,” Lua said. “One more person on the line won’t hurt me. Fox God Nua had a son with a woman from the Water Lands. This son is ambitious, but he can’t break free from the constraints of his bloodline. He can never reach the heights of the Fox Goddess or her son. Fox God Nua took a good look at him and knew the most he could do was serve the people. But the son had other ideas. He’s chosen to scheme his way to the top. As you faced the Septum and made a bold promise before your father, he stood in as a witness for the fox clan.”
“When he left there, he found me—an ambitious man hoping to work hard and provide a good life for my mother. He promised my family would never lack for anything. All I had to do was carry out a task.”
“What task?” Tani asked the anger in his amber eyes growing like a wild animal deep in the Zona Forest.
“He asked me to ferry a crystal through the Palladium Gates. I had to be careful, as you know. The Gates break us down to our essence when we cross into the mortal realm. The crystal needed to be part of my essence to pass.”
Cale sighed, and Tani looked at him, confusion plain on his face.
“He corrupted his soul by storing the crystal in his body to help it cross to the mortal realm. Otherwise, Sahdrina would have stopped him to investigate the foreign object,” Cale said.
“Yes,” Lua said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the crystal was grown and filled with Kara ot until it started corrupting my body.”
Lua unzipped his leather jacket and pulled his hair aside. He removed the jacket and turned, revealing his back. Black splotches covered his skin, deep and radiating from within, showing only after a long, corrosive process. His spine was lined with thick dark veins rushing into his skull.
Tani closed his eyes and stepped back.
“What did you do once the crystal was in the mortal realm?” Cale asked.
“I gave it to Aero, the dragon merchant,” Lua said. “The first four times, I noticed nothing. I just passed over the crystal, and my mother received payment. My mother has been able to give our family a good life in Gralia, so I don’t regret helping her. But when the crystal started affecting my health, I realized it was more dangerous than I thought.”
Tani scoffed. “What did Aero do with the crystal?”
“He always needed my help finding chances to use it,” Lua said, shaking his head. “He asked me to watch your beloved. If Durante chose to return to your side, we’d find a way to introduce the crystal into his life. As it affects me, so it affects your beloved—like it was tailored to his existence. It doesn’t touch his family. Most times, Aero found a way for Violet to feed crystal dust to him—”
“Stop,” Tani said, shaking his head. He trembled at the thought of Dante suffering because of this horrific crystal.
“Who sent you to do this task?” Cale asked.
Lua sighed. “Before I give you the name, please, Lord Cale, let me enter the Dark Fort. It’s the only way I can stay alive. The creator of Kara ot is there and can help me find a way to purify the worst damage. I’ve betrayed the Fox clan. I’ve belonged to the Dark Fort for a long time.”
“I can purify you,” Tani said.
“NO,” Lua said, scrambling to his feet. “I already tried that. When you cleansed the Arturo Vineyard, I was on the edge of the olive grove, and your power almost burned me to ashes.”
Tani cursed under his breath. “Did you drop the Kara ot in Dante’s land?”
“No,” Lua said, lifting his hands in surrender. “That was Aero. When he couldn’t find me, he met with the Arturo Matriarch for a trade and tried to ignite your beloved’s journey to the afterlife early.”
“I hadn’t even met him yet!” Tani said, his eyes wide with shock. “Why harm him when we’ve been apart this entire lifetime?”
“I guess we’ve all grown tired of a thousand years in the mortal realm without change,” Lua said, casting Cale a helpless look.
“You have broken rules that concern the Septum,” Cale said. “Lord Tani’s oath with the Septum was a promise that no one would interfere with fate. So many have intervened that I can’t decide your fate alone, Lua.”
“Please, Lord Cale, please take me in,” Lua begged. “I have nowhere else to turn. I’m willing to help the Immortal Prince bring the creator of this plot to answer for his crimes. Please.”
“You’ll have to meet my brother,” Cale said, reaching for his right cuff.
Tani started to protest, but Cale used the pin on his cuff links to prick his right palm. A drop of blood fell to the ground—dark and corrosive. Before it could touch the grass, a white drop engulfed it and sank into the soil. The grass around them turned green, neutralizing Cale’s destructive power, and beautiful flowers sprang up to fill the meadow.
Tani looked up and froze when he saw the man standing behind Lua. He wore a perfectly tailored black suit and white shirt. His brown hair was cut short, and he had the same tall, lean build as Cale, though his expression was kinder. His presence in the meadow brightened the dark, his light enhancing Tani’s light beads. He regarded Tani with keen amber eyes and spoke to Cale without looking away.
“Brother, you called?”
“Stop staring at your son and focus,” Cale said.
“Tani,” Sunu said with a broad smile. “Can we make good memories together?”
Tani found himself speechless before the father he had not seen since turning five hundred. He looked to Cale for guidance, but Cale merely smirked.
Tani closed his eyes for a moment.
“Tani.” Dante’s voice rang in his head. Tani longed to run to him, but he couldn’t. The kneeling Lua before him knew the person who had made his beloved die at the age of thirty-six. He needed to find a solution soon. The tide of time was moving faster, and Dante’s birthday was too close.
“Lua, if you won’t speak the name of your benefactor,” Tani said, sparks dancing on his fingertips, “I’ll burn that Kara ot inside you and feel no remorse.”
“You don’t need to handle him,” Sunu said, hurrying around to Tani’s side. He took Tani’s right hand with his left, holding it tight as he faced Lua.
Tani stood in shock at the warmth of his father’s hand. He was even more stunned when Sunu stepped forward, blocking Lua’s view of him.
“Lua,” Sunu said, his voice gentle but pulsing with energy. “Look at me.”
The command was soft but impossible to ignore. Lua stood and faced Sunu eye to eye.
“Immortal Lord,” Lua said, meeting Sunu’s amber gaze.
“Good,” Sunu said. “You’re using the corruption in your body to coerce my brother and my son. I’ll resolve that for you. Dissolve.”
Lua stared at Sunu for a moment, then emitted a high-pitched scream, arms flung wide. Tani frowned as white light permeated Lua’s skin. The black splotches vanished, and he collapsed, trembling.
“Now there’s no bargaining chip,” Sunu said. “You will answer for your decisions.”
Lua nodded, sitting up with his arms wrapped around his chest.
“His name is Zal. Zal Izuna,” Lua said. “He is the head of the Anael Sentinel Branch and has been for far too long.”
“Do you still wish to enter the Dark Fort?” Cale asked, making Lua look up at him.
Tani noted Lua’s visceral shudder at the idea. Sunu’s purification had left him abhorring the dark.
“I apologize for my presumptuousness,” Lua said, bowing his head to Cale. “I hope you’ll forgive my earlier insistence. I do not wish to join the Dark Fort.”
“Then,” Sunu said, studying Lua, “we can only send you to the Guardian of the Palladium Gates. You violated the terms of the Palladium Gates. So, Sahdrina will take you in and treat you as she sees fit. Is this acceptable?”
“Yes,” Lua said with a vigorous nod. “Before you send me to her, there’s one last thing. The crystal I brought this time is with Aero. He asked me to find an opportunity to give it to Violet.”
“What?” Tani stepped forward, ready to shake Lua, but Sunu still held his hand.
“Can you get it away from Aero?” Sunu asked.
“No,” Lua said. “But I can make him come find me.”
“Good,” Cale said. “Sunu, I’ll plan this with Lua. Someone is eager to meet this pair.”
“Then I’ll leave them to you,” Sunu said, turning to Tani. “Your beloved has been calling you. Will you answer?”
Tani stared at his father, at a loss.
“Baby,” Dante’s voice sounded in his mind again, “will you join me at the camp offices, or should I get a jeep and come find you? Because I will—”
Tani closed his eyes, preparing to teleport away to Dante, but Sunu used his considerable power to bring Dante to them instead. One moment, Tani was ready to vanish; the next, Dante stood in the clearing. Dante spotted Sunu, then quickly wrapped an arm around Tani’s shoulders, glaring at Sunu’s hand, which still held Tani’s.
“Who are you?” Dante demanded, hostility blazing in his eyes.
Tani smiled and leaned into Dante’s embrace. “Don’t glare at him with fire in your eyes. He’s my father, Sunu Ryuzo.”
“Oh.” Dante gave Sunu a dismissive glance, then pulled Tani closer, forcing Sunu to let go. “Zach is with his mom. The children are safe with Violet. I hugged and kissed them goodbye. Can we go home now? I don’t want Hera and Deniz to wonder what happened to us.”
Tani nodded and kissed Dante’s cheek. “Yes, let’s go home.”
He teleported them back to the library and sighed when Sunu materialized behind them. Amu, startled by the new arrival, dropped his book.
Tani pulled free of Dante and glanced out the window. The Elderwood bushes, which had calmed after Eren’s visit, now exploded with unbridled joy. Branches shot upward as though they were on a mission, bushes bulged outward, and white flowers popped open by the dozens.
“Why?!” Tani shouted, rushing to the windows with both hands extended, as though he could restrain the wild growth by sheer will. But, with Sunu the immortal lord here, he had no hope. “My elder bushes!”
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