Knights of Light (Book 2 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 12

For a few days, it was back to business as usual as Valerie continued to train with the Knights and plan how they would infiltrate the Black Castle to find Jet and Kellen. After a particularly long day, she returned to her dorm to find Dulcea, Henry, and Cyrus waiting for her. Their faces were lit with excitement.

"Kanti's awake!" Henry said, and all traces of the worry that had creased his forehead for days were gone.

"Guess she didn't need Prince Charming's kiss to wake up after all," Cyrus teased.

"Is she okay? Do they know what happened?" Valerie asked.

"All we know is that sometime this morning she emerged from whatever that cocoon thing was," Dulcea said. "She's healthy and fine, and we can talk to her through my mirror after dinner."

Henry was so excited that he could barely eat any of the delicious food in the dorm's cafeteria. "I was ready to go and see if a kiss would wake her, even though I doubted that would help. I was planning how to sneak past her parents and everything. But now she can come back here and everything will be the way it's supposed to be."

Cyrus grinned. "Even I miss her snarky comments."

Valerie was giddy with relief as well. Finally, things were starting to turn around for them. Now they just needed to bring Jet home safely and find her father.

A short while later, they all crowded around Dulcea's mirror with big, expectant smiles on their faces. The glass shimmered, and a figure appeared in a long, blue cloak with the hood pulled low, obscuring her face.

"Hi, guys," Kanti said, her voice a little shaky but definitely hers.

"We can hardly see you," Henry said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I'm going to come back as soon as my parents will let me out of their sight. If I don't get out of here soon, I'm going to explode."

"Do you know anything about what happened to you?" Dulcea asked.

"I'd rather tell you all in person."

"But you're okay, right?" Valerie asked anxiously.

"You'd tell us if something's wrong," Cyrus said, more as a statement than a question.

Kanti's shoulders relaxed a little. "It's a long story, but I'm really okay. I'm much more worried about who's keeping Cy's big head from growing so large it can't fit through a door."

Everyone laughed, including Cyrus.

Henry touched the glass. "I've missed you so much."

She touched it from the other side and whispered, "Me, too."

Valerie was heading up to her room for bed when Cyrus jumped on her platform.

"I'm a hundred pounds lighter," she said.

"Me, too. It wasn't right without the whole gang together," Cyrus agreed. "But I need to talk to you about something."

"Sounds serious."

"I have an idea about who your dad might be. That Mer guy said you know him, right?"

"Yes, but I don't want to go around asking every Conjuror I've ever bumped into if he's my dad."

"Maybe you don't have to. I remember one person we met who said that his family was lost to him."

"Leo!" Valerie said, her eyes shining. Cyrus nodded. "Cy, you're a genius!"

"He must be a good person, because they allowed him into Illyria."

The only people who were allowed to have immortality and be keepers of the Akashic Records were those who had done something truly selfless. The Akashic Records held the history of every piece of information in the universe, so only someone who had proven his worth would be trusted with such powerful knowledge. And she had connected with Leo as soon as she met him. She practically danced with excitement.