Invincible (The Aerling Series Book 3) (25 page)

“What?” I ask in amazement. Is that where
his scar came from? I knew I had caused it, but not how. Had I really stolen a
piece of his power when I was a child?

“It would explain why he knew you were
still alive,” Olivia says slowly, “and why he was able to find you again. It’s
his power. Just a small amount, but eventually he was able to track it down.”

Shaking my head, I say, “But I’m not sure
how I did it. I was just trying to protect myself.”

“Well,” Olivia says as she wraps her hand
around mine, “you’ll just have to keep protecting yourself. It’s the only real
weapon we’ve got.”

“And we’re gonna need it,” Hayden says.

Sloane nods slowly. “Against more than
just the Mother.”

Those words hit me hard. It’s not just the
Mother we’re fighting. It’s all of them. Every remaining Aerling god will have
to be dealt with, one way or another. If not, we’ll end up right back where we
started and all of this will be for nothing.

Chapter 27

Seemingly Simple

(Hayden)

The dust has barely settled from Tū’s
hasty exit before I say, “We need the Father.”

“Now?” Mason questions. “Already? We
aren’t even sure where the Mother is.”

Shaking my head, I point at Mason. “Going
to the Aerling world is a three day trip. By the time we get back, you’ll know
where she is and you’ll be ready for us. I should have suggested this before we
left, but I wasn’t sure how long the search would take. We can’t wait any
longer.”

“Because of Tū?” Olivia questions.
“He can’t move on to his delusions of grandeur until we beat the Mother.
Tū will just have to wait to be dealt with until then.”

Scrubbing my hands through my hair, I try
not to let my weariness get the better of me. “The second the Mother is gone,
Tū will make a run for the Aerling world. We have to be ready to take him
out right away.”

“There’s more to it than that,” Sloane
says slowly. “All of this power—what we plan to take from the Mother and Father
and what will be released when the barrier falls—we’re kidding ourselves if we
think Tū won’t want it.”

Mason’s head drops. “You’re talking about
taking him out after the Mother is dealt with.”

He looks up, and both Sloane and I nod.

“We made a deal with him,” Mason says.
It’s difficult to interpret the emotion making his words harsh. I can’t tell if
he’s put off by breaking our deal, or just pissed off after realizing Tū’s
intentions.

“The deal only went as far as beating the
Mother.” Olivia’s voice is sharp, and I don’t have to guess the reason for it.
“We made no promises about after, and neither did he.”

Mason’s eyes lock with mine, and I can see
the indecision in them. This lunatic has been killing innocent Aerling children
for centuries. He killed Mason’s Caretakers, attacked Olivia, nearly killed me,
and put everyone we care about in danger. I know this. Mason knows this. Even
still, I’m not surprised at the fact that he’s hesitant to kill. I suspect that
if there was another way to deal with the Mother and Father, he would insist on
making the effort.

“Controlling Tū after the Mother is
gone will be impossible. Not only does he have his own army, we have no way of
stopping him from escaping to the Aerling world other than stripping him of his
power. Even making an attempt would take every spec of power you and Olivia
will have absorbed,” I say. “You’ll also be exhausted, possibly injured. He’ll
be prepared for something like that, too. We won’t win against him.”

No one has any arguments left. I know how
to get back to the Aerling world now, but not how to release the Father and get
him back here without losing control. I can’t ask Olivia to go back with me
again. Not only do I not want to put her in danger, it’s just not possible. She
needs to be with Mason in case the Mother realizes she’s tracking her and
decides to come collect her son’s power.

I breathe a sigh of relief when Sloane’s
hand slips into mine. “You won’t be alone.”

Squeezing her hand, I smile before my
attention turns back to Olivia. She may be staying here, but I still need her
help. As if she knows exactly what’s going through my mind right now, she wraps
up what she was saying to Mason and heads directly for me.

“Okay, so you’re going to need to do a few
things before you can release the Father and bring him back here. Sloane, I
assume you’re going with Hayden?” Olivia says, her eyes darting over to the
girl she once despised so much. There’s trust in her expression now instead of
jealousy and suspicion. When Sloane nods, Olivia continues. “Before I left the
room where the Father was being held, I was able to absorb most of
Tāwhiri’s power. I barely even had to do anything. I think Tāwhiri
knew one of us would come back for the Father eventually and set it all up. As
soon as I reached out for it, it came to me easily.”

“But you didn’t take all of it, right?” Sloane
asks. “What about the rest?”

Nodding, Olivia crosses her arms tightly
around her body. She looks worried, which puts me on edge. “The part that I
didn’t take, it’s because I couldn’t. Not yet,” Olivia says. “When all the other
power was coming to me, that last stubborn bit refused to move. I reached out
for it and tried to pull it, but as soon as I did, I felt how dangerous it
would be. It’s the last thing holding the Father in the Aerling world.”

“What does that mean?” I ask. “I thought
it took all of what Tāwhiri had left of his power to capture him.”

Olivia’s head bobs quickly. “Yes, but it’s
like roping a calf. It takes the whole length of rope, spinning and throwing,
to catch it, but then you only need a small section of it to actually hold it.
The rest of the power that was in the room, it was preventing anyone without
Tāwhiri’s power from entering or modifying the restraints.”

That last part is pretty important, and
possibly a deal breaker for this plan. “If Tāwhiri’s power is the only
thing that can free the Father, how am I supposed to get him here?” I ask.

Biting her bottom lip, Olivia glances back
at Mason who’s just a few feet away, doing something with his power that I
can’t immediately identify. When Olivia turns back, she looks more resolved
than scared. “Hayden, I have to give you some of Tāwhiri’s power.”

“What?” Sloane asks. “You can do that?”

A brief flash of uncertainty lights
Olivia’s features before vanishing. “Yes. I think so. I’m pretty sure.”

Remembering what it felt like when Levi
died, how easy it was to let go of the power I wasn’t even fully aware of and
shove at it him in an effort to save his life used to be such a painful memory.
Every time I thought of that moment, I felt the sting of failure and loss all
over again. Sloane’s acceptance of my actions that day did a lot to heal the
wounds I feared I’d have forever, but traveling to the Aerling world with
Olivia taught me even more about that experience.

Even though she had explained to me how
she ended up taking Mason to the Aerling world in that frantic last second
while the Sentinels were trying to capture us, I didn’t fully understand until
she walked me through leaving this world and going to the Aerling home. We
weren’t taking any Aerlings back with us, but it still required giving up
power, releasing it to benefit those we were chosen to protect. Giving up power
to protect, that’s what Escorts were made for.

Reaching forward, I grip Olivia’s
shoulder. “You can do this.”

Her answering sigh says she appreciates
the confidence, but she still looks nervous as she takes my hands in hers. I
don’t really know what to expect, or how long this might take, so I just hold
still and put my trust in Olivia like I have so many times before.

Nothing happens for the longest time. I
can feel Sloane next to me even though my eyes are closed, and at some point I
hear Mason come over to the group as well. No one says a word and everything
remains still, like we’re somehow outside the normal world. I don’t know how
long we’ve all been standing here before my fingertips start to warm. Not sure
if it has anything to do with Olivia, I keep my mouth shut until the heat
begins spreading up my forearms.

“Is that you?” I finally ask.

“Shh,” Olivia whispers.

Must be her. Fully intending to keep quiet
after that, I’m caught off guard when the heat suddenly rushes up my arms and
slams into my chest. I stumble back, shocked by the impact and breathing hard.

“Sorry!” Olivia says as she rushes over to
me. She grabs me by the shoulders and helps me stand up straight. The feeling
is already fading, but I’m still a little weirded out by it. Olivia frowns
apologetically. “Tāwhiri made that seem way easier than it was. I didn’t
mean to attack you with his power. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I reassure her. “Just felt
pretty strange.”

“On my end, too.” Olivia laughs. Running
her hand through her hair, she blows out a long breath. “Okay, so now I need to
explain how to manipulate Tāwhiri’s power. It’s a little trickier.”

Stepping forward, Sloane takes my hand
again. Concern lines her features. “Hayden has almost no training as an Escort.
No offense, but this will be incredibly dangerous if he doesn’t know what he’s
doing.”

“I know, but I won’t send him up there
without everything he needs. What’s left of Tāwhiri’s power is bound to a
specific purpose, but more strongly than what was left loose to monitor and
block the entrance. It won’t be as easy to manipulate, and you’ll need to have
a lot of preparations in place before you make a move. If you’re not ready for
it, the Father will overpower you and escape.”

“What sort of preparations?” I ask.

I’m not sure if it’s just everything we’ve
been through the last few days, or what Olivia just did, but she suddenly looks
tired. Gesturing for us to follow, she heads for a cement picnic table and
drops onto one of the benches. “You already know about the squad of Aerling
soldiers we left guarding the Father. They’ll help contain him as you’re changing
the way the power works. Before that, though, you and Sloane both need to be
ready to rebind him.”

“Like what Mason did to Robin?” Sloane
questions.

“Robin is a Caretaker, barely more than a
human,” Mason says. “Containing the Father will take more than that. Sloane,
you’re going to have to be ready to place air bonds around him like I’ve done
with Robin, but you also have to be ready to combat any power he throws at
you.”

Sloane’s eyes are huge as she stares at
Mason. “How do I do that?”

Mason and Olivia glance at each other,
both of them grinning. It’s Mason who turns back to Sloane with an answer. His
eyes are gleaming as he says, “Time for a crash course in creating a shield.”

He motions for Sloane to follow him, and
they both walk away from the car and any structures. I have no clue what
they’re doing, but I’m sure it will be interesting. I don’t get a chance to
watch when Olivia recaptures my attention.

“Sloane won’t be able to do this on her
own. She’s not strong enough,” Olivia says seriously. “She’ll need your help.
You’re going to have to share power with her so she has enough to combat him if
he decides to fight back.”

“If?” I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t
strike at us.

Instead of answering, Olivia simply shrugs
one shoulder lazily. “You just need to be prepared for whatever he might do.
You and Sloane will be okay sharing power, right?”

I know I will be.
Not
sharing power
with her is what’s difficult when we’re together. Every time she takes my hand,
I want to feel the rush she gives me. It’s not just the feel of her power,
either. Last night when we were practicing sharing power, I realized giving
part of myself to her was just as intoxicating. Something about combining our
power is right on such a basic level that I crave it. It’s like there’s
something more to it that I can’t pinpoint, but is important.

“We’ll be fine,” I say. “I just need to
know how to manipulate Tāwhiri’s power so I can get the Father back to
Earth.”

Olivia accepts my assessment without
question. I wonder if she feels the same thing I do when she combines her power
with Mason’s. There’s more hidden in that seemingly simple act, but neither of
us really have time to think about it right now. Pushing it aside for later, I
focus on what Olivia needs to tell me. By the time we finish, Mason and Sloane
are wrapping up their crash course as well.

A few minutes later we’re all gathered
next to the car when Sloane asks, “All this power, once we take it from them…”
Her eyes dart between everyone in the group. “…what do we do with it after
that?”

Mason shrugs. “I have no idea.” He looks
over at Olivia, but she doesn’t have the answer, either.

None of us do, but that’s not exactly a
new thing, right? Shaking my head, I say, “We’ll figure it out when we get
there, I guess.”

That’s the best any of us have for now.