It’s only a few minutes, but it feels like hours pass as Lincoln walks through the dense jungle, checking for broken twigs and whatever else he does when he’s in hunter mode. “This trail is only for Father. I don’t see any signs of the remaining Demon Patrol.”
I scan the surrounding ferns. It all looks alike to me. “Well, he did say something about the patrol finding him.”
Lincoln pauses just outside of a small clearing. “Ah, here we are.”
I follow Lincoln’s gaze to find a young version of Connor stomping about the greenery, his face contorted with frustration. He’s an imposing man, tall and broad-chested with wild blond hair.
Connor cups his hand by his mouth. “Come on, lads! Don’t make me keep calling! I’ll drive all the demons away.” He kicks at the jungle floor with his boot. “If I haven’t already,” he mutters.
A piercing whistle cuts through the air. I know that sound. It’s the distress call of a Demon Patrol.
“Damn, they’re in trouble.” Connor takes off into the green undergrowth, racing over roots and under low hanging branches. We try to stay as close behind him as possible. Somehow, Sakura manages to stay a few paces behind us despite the fact that she’s dragging around the world’s soggiest Kimono. We rush through the undergrowth, and then Lincoln freezes in place. “Stop, Myla.”
I pause, careful to scope out the scene. The jungle abruptly ends in a cliff. Tiny rocks and leaves cascade over the cliff’s edge, making small crackling noises at they plummet to the ground below.
“Help!” cries Connor.
“He’s here,” says Lincoln. Together, we inch closer to the cliff’s edge, finding Connor about a yard down the rock face, clinging for his life, his fingertips gripping a small ridge of stone.
“Someone! Help me!”
A familiar outline steps out of the jungle. Aldred. He looks younger. His pot-belly may be smaller and his hair thicker, but he’s still the same rotten bastard I always knew. Like our visit to Hildy’s memory of the Wastelands, Aldred doesn’t see Sakura, Lincoln or me. Instead, he steps up to the cliff’s edge and peers down at Connor. “You never could resist a distress whistle.”
Connor grips the rock’s edge, trying to keep his footing. “That signal was you?”
Aldred sits down by the cliff’s edge, swinging his left leg over the side. “I had to do something. We need to talk.”
“And you think luring me over a cliff will inspire a conversation?” Connor shakes his head. “You’ve gone daft, man.”
“No, I’ve found a new friend. Although, imagine my surprise when I discovered she’s your acquaintance as well. She’ll be here soon, paying us both a visit.”
“Stop talking nonsense and help me. I can’t hang on all day.”
“In a minute,” says Aldred. “I’d like to have a little chat first. You’ve been avoiding me for years, Connor. Making trouble for my house with your feisty wife.”
“I’ll rip out your tongue for even speaking of Octavia. You aren’t fit to contemplate her, let alone say her name. And yes, she and I have been working to reform your foul house.” He huffs as he adjusts his grip on the rock face. “If you want to watch me die, that’s your choice. But I won’t trade my life for leniency against Acca.” He looks up at Aldred, fiery determination in his mismatched eyes. For the first time, I see something positively Lincoln-like in him. Who knew Connor had a spine that anything but bend over and kiss ass?
“Go, leave me to die,” adds Connor, his voice firm. “Octavia will still take you down.”
Aldred makes a tsk-tsk noise. “Is that any way to treat someone who knows Octavia’s awful secret? Even the sweet Queen isn’t aware.”
Connor pauses from his struggling. All the blood drains from his face. “What do you know, exactly?”
“The same thing you told our mutual friend, Sakura.”
Connor’s mouth falls open with shock. “The blood witch. She told you?”
“Yes, she shared every last detail. By the way, Sakura’s a marvel isn’t she? She can uncover secrets even Faustina couldn’t imagine. You were a fool to trust her with yours, though. She told me how our sweet Octavia is under an unbreakable curse. She can never bear children.”
My mind reels with this news. I’d heard that Octavia and Connor waited a long time to have Lincoln. Sure, there were rumors that they had trouble getting pregnant, but Octavia said they simply waited until they were ready.
“You bastard!” snarls Connor. “You put that curse on her.”
“Sadly, no. Although it would have been a capital idea. I just found out about it, that’s all. And I have excellent news for you. Sakura has found a way to break that curse. You’ll have a son. One child. Strong, smart, and brave. All the best from both you and Octavia. A future king for all the ages.”