The Destiny Detour

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Drake nodded slowly, as if he had an idea.

"What?" Daniella demanded before Rosaliy could. "What are you thinking?"

"No," he said. "Surely someone smarter than me has had this idea already."

He was going to leave it at that, but the two women staring at him convinced him otherwise. He winced and explained himself. "Now, I have no idea what I'm talking about, but the Flifary were channeling magic from the sun."

"Dalor was using the sun to power his ridiculous weapon," Rosaliy agreed.

"The sun comes up in a few hours," Daniella added.

"Arlana!" Rosaliy exclaimed, just before realizing she had been the last person in the room to come to this conclusion. "That's brilliant." She beamed at Drake.

"It's an assumption made from halfway paying attention to what goes on around me," Drake disagreed.

Rosaliy would have argued with him, but she was too excited. "I need to speak with Sorceress Athena right now."

She planted her feet on the ground and nearly tumbled over. Drake caught her before her knees gave out completely.

"It would be wiser to bring the Sorceress to you," Daniella scowled. "I'll go."

"Did she just offer to be helpful?" Rosaliy asked Daniella's departing back.

Drake was also staring after her. "She feels terrible about the things she's done. Maybe she needs to set one thing right."

Rosaliy could not wrap her head around that, nor could she try. She did, however, have so many things to tell Drake, except suddenly her mind was completely blank, and his closeness was increasing her heartbeat and making complete thoughts impossible.

She gripped his arm for stability and tried to look him in his clear blue eyes without getting lost in them. "Drake, I—"

Her door burst open. Matias sauntered in. Iketa with a rogue jaguar would have been more welcome at that moment.

"I thought you might be here," he sneered in Drake's direction.

"You can't just walk into someone's room," Rosaliy snarled.

Matias glared at Drake. "He did."

"He knocked," Rosaliy spat back.

"He did knock," Drake agreed.

Matias shot him a cold glare and looked like he might say something else, so Rosaliy interrupted. "Why are you here?"

"Making sure he—"

"No," Rosaliy cut him off. "Here. At Crystal Palace."

"I helped Jade lift the spell on the palace," Matias replied importantly.

She hated to ask, but she had to. "What spell?" she sighed, plunking down on her bed. Standing had been a failed experiment.

And then she was subjected to his rendition of how he had rescued an entire palace from the brink of death while fighting to keep from succumbing to a sleeping spell himself. She would have to ask Jadelynn for the real story, she supposed. She wished her spell neutralizer would work on her now. She was feeling decidedly ill.

"Matias, you need to leave," she told him flatly. "My head feels like it's going to explode, and I need to get cleaned up. I'm sure my skin tastes like a block of salt."

"I could lick you and find out," Matias offered.

"Did you really just—" Drake was laughing too hard to finish that thought.