“I needed to keep you safe. From Armageddon. From the ghouls. From everyone. I knew what they’d do if they found you.” Her hands tremble beneath mine.
I give her fingers another gentle squeeze. “That’s not going to happen.” Fear rattles in my stomach. Honestly, that could totally happen. Focus, Myla. Remember what the igni said. You need answers and sitting around scared won’t get you any. I refocus on my task, my brain whirring through information. “Besides you and Walker, who else knows I’m the Heir?”
Mom lets out a long breath. “Verus. She saw it in a vision.”
I bite my thumbnail. “Everyone calls Verus the oracle angel.”
Walker shakes his head. “Her visions don’t always come to pass. Sometimes she fights against a particular future. In other cases, she works to ensure it happens.”
Rising to my feet, I plunk into the high-back leather chair across from the couch, my forehead knit in concentration. With all my energy, I sift through everything I’ve learned. “I don’t get it. The angels attend Arena matches. Why didn’t they have me awakened and angelbound before?”
“The awakening part is fairly easy.” Mom forces a smile. “You breathe in angelic stardust and it’s done. But you didn’t get near angels very often, except for Arena matches. And Walker guarded you there.”
My eyes grow wider with understanding. “So that’s why you had a coronary whenever I was called to serve. If I got too close to an Angel, one could toss stardust my way and activate my Scala powers.” I picture the white cloud at the Adair’s Scala initiation ceremony. The air tasted so sweet. That was the moment I awakened.
Walker steeples his fingers under his chin. “On the other hand, being angelbound is incredibly hard to do.”
Mom nods. “You can’t fake your way around it with magic or angelic influence. The Heir must feel genuine, intense love for someone with angel blood. Most often it’s a parent.” She shoots me a sad smile. “But you never met your father.”
I half-roll my eyes and let out a high-pitched ‘ooooh.’ “So that’s why you didn’t want me anywhere near angels, thrax, or the Scala.” It seemed completely insane at the time, but actually, she had a pretty good plan going there. Most likely, I’d never have gotten angelbound if I hadn’t met Lincoln.
Mom’s mouth forms a thin line. “Out of all the threats against us, angels were the worst. I lived in terror that you’d get angelbound.” She wags her head. “The way you hated thrax, I thought you’d be safe at that winter tournament. You loathed Prince Lincoln in particular. Then when you released demons at a royal dinner, I thought it was to antagonize him further.”
My mouth curls into a sneaky grin. “No, Lincoln was my partner in crime on that one.” Thinking about him gives me a nice jolt of positive energy. “So years go by, then the angels raise the question of the Scala Heir.”
Mom groans. “Yes, Verus asked my permission to do that. Like a fool, I agreed. I figured some simpleton would crawl out of the woodwork for the title, and that could only deflect attention from you.”
My head tilts to one side. So, Verus set all that up. I’ll have to come back to the topic of her sneakiness later. “I get why you did it, Mom. But the ceremony awakened me, not Adair. My powers should’ve started after that.” I remember the lightning whenever I felt strong emotions for Lincoln. Hey there, I was the one who set off those lightning strikes. It was all Scala power. Excitement balloons in my chest. “And that’s exactly what happened. I think I set off a lightning bolt or two.”
Walker clicks his tongue. “If the ceremony didn’t name Adair, it was an amazing forgery. Her eyes changed blue in front of everyone.”
Mom rubs her forehead with her fingertips. “When Walker told me about it, I hoped there were two Scala Heirs.” She exhales slowly. “Wishful thinking.”
I close my eyes. Think, Myla. My brain nervously churns through facts about Adair. A minute passes before my eyes pop open again. “Gianna.”
Mom leans back on the couch. “Who’s Gianna?”
I scratch my temple, my mind still whirring. “She’s a Great Lady of the thrax who’s a powerful conjurer. The House of Striga is known for witchcraft; they breed enchanted horses. Gianna stood right beside Adair throughout the ceremony, whispering to her. I bet she was casting spells to change Adair’s eyes. And then to fake her Scala powers.”
“So foolish.” Mom’s mouth melts into a disapproving frown. “Lady Adair knew all along that she wasn’t the real Scala Heir.”
“She’s the type.” I stare hard at my palms, trying to think through what’s an already unthinkable morning. A new question emerges in my mind. “Did Verus also ask your permission to send me dreamscapes?”