by AR Colbert
“Why haven’t you ever said anything?” Sean asked her.
Abby shrugged. “It seemed like the kind of thing I shouldn’t speak of.”
Sean released a breath and pulled Abby in for a hug. “It feels good in a way. I like that you know. But I’m sorry we’re going to have to erase your knowledge again.”
“I don’t know,” Dom said, tilting her head slightly in Abby’s direction. “I really think our secret might be safe with her.”
I grinned. “Welcome to the club, Abby. You reacted a lot better to it than I did.”
“But my answer is still no to the blade,” Millie said firmly. Devon tried to take her hand to calm her down, but she shrugged him off.
“With all due respect, Millie, I love you, but you’re not in charge of me. I’m an adult.”
“You can’t even get into Agartha!”
“She can.” Tate took my hand. “As the interim ruler, I can allow anyone in who I deem acceptable.”
“You think I’m acceptable?” I asked, grinning up at him.
He smirked. “Most of the time.” A small squeeze of his hand sent another wave of power coursing through my veins. “But Osborne is livid. He’ll do whatever he can to get the decision reversed. He doesn’t think I’ve had enough training to rule, so we’ll need to move quickly, just in case they remove me from power.”
“None of that explains how you expect to keep her alive in a lake of literal flames,” Millie said.
“Water.” I looked at my aunt. “I’m Atlantean. I’ll just make water.”
“You can’t just make water,” Sean said.
“Keepers may not be able to do it, but I bet the Deliverer can. Besides, I think we’re one step closer to figuring out this whole prophecy, now that I’ve found the one who ignites my heart.” My cheeks warmed as I spoke the words aloud, but another squeeze from Tate’s hand left me feeling a little more sure of it.
“Everly.” Dom stepped forward, her brows pulled together with concern. “It doesn’t work like that. The prophecy is referring to your soulmate, and it’s not possible for Tate to fill that role, no matter how much chemistry you think you have.”
“Soulmate or not, he ignited something. And I don’t mean that in the way you think,” I added, noting Gayla’s smirk. “Nothing about me is normal. My aura is white. My powers are unheard of. I can talk to owls for crying out loud!” I threw my hands back toward the window where Al blinked from his perch on Millie’s shop sign. “Is it so hard to think that maybe my soulmate breaks conventions, too? And on that note, is it possible that I come from a lineage of rule breakers?”
“What do you mean by that?” Millie put her hands on her hips.
“The prophecy refers to me as the daughter of sea and sky. My mother is of the sea, but my father… what if he’s not what we thought? Tate mentioned that some Agarthians can manipulate the wind and clouds in the sky. And Rasputin was Agarthian, right?”
“Rasputin?!”
“Yes.” I put up my hands to calm my aunt. “He has done nothing to hurt me. Nothing at all. He kept calling me darling, and he legitimately looked proud when he saw my powers back at the hotel. Is there any chance my mother may have run into him at some point, and… uh… bonded?” The question sent a chill down my spine. I hated to even ask, but I had to know.
“No,” she said, vehemently shaking her head. “Tilly wouldn’t dream of getting close to that disgusting man!”
“Besides,” Dom added. “Rasputin already had a soulmate. He can’t sire any more offspring.”
I hoped she was right. I would never want to call Rasputin my father, but I wasn’t fully convinced. “Anyway, I think we need to open our minds to the fact that the impossible is actually quite possible when it comes to me and this prophecy. So I’d like to go with Tate. I’d like to at least take a look at this flaming lake and see what I can do. And maybe we’ll be able to find another piece of the tablet while we’re in Agartha as well.”
Devon stepped forward and put his hand on Millie’s back. “Look at them, Mills. It’s real. As real as you and me. You know he won’t let anything happen to her.”
Tears filled her eyes as she finally relented, giving us the smallest of nods. “Okay. But please, Everly. Please be safe.”
“I will.” I leaned into her embrace, staying still for as long as she needed. This wasn’t goodbye. It was just the next step in our journey.
I bid adieu to Gayla and Dom next, telling them to behave while I was away. Then came Sean.
“Look out for your dad,” I whispered as I hugged his neck. “Give him some grace. He’s done bad things, and he’s definitely in with the wrong crowd right now, but I think he’s broken. Let’s try to piece him back together before we write him off entirely.”
Sean pulled back, looking a little glassy-eyed, himself. “Thanks, Ev. Be careful.”
Finally, I came to Abby. I grinned at the girl. “I can’t believe you knew something was up this entire time.”
She smiled back at me. “I can be surprisingly crafty when necessary. Now go get that blade, girl. Show ‘em what you’ve got!”
“Alright,” I said, joining Tate’s side again. “I guess we’re doing this.”
“I’m glad.” he pulled me in close before turning to Devon. “Can you get us to Kentucky, by any chance?”
“Kentucky?” I whirled around to face him. “Agartha is in Kentucky?”
Tate grinned. “Only the entrance. Let’s go—I can’t wait to show you my world.”
I didn’t know what we would find, but I knew I would be safe with Tate. I had never been more sure of anything in my life. I took his hand and a deep breath. Devon stepped up beside us, and in a wink, we were gone.
To be continued…
Follow Everly and Tate to Agartha in Episode 10: The Center of the Earth. Or sign up for AR Colbert’s newsletter and be the first to know when each new episode is released.
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Lost Keepers is an ongoing series following the adventures of Everly Gordon and the powerful beings in her world. Each installment is a fun-sized short novel, similar to an hour long episode of your favorite TV show. The episodes are released on the 8th day of every month, so you never have to wait long for the next book!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AR Colbert is a wife, mother of two, and life-long daydreamer from central Oklahoma. She believes in the magic of a good story and would love nothing more than to spend the rest of her days getting lost in books. Her other hobbies include baking, cheering on the Oklahoma State Cowboys, and obsessively scrolling through Zillow.
You can follow her online on Goodreads, Facebook, or Bookbub to learn about new releases.
Other books by AR Colbert:
The Ember Society Series
From the Dust
From the Earth
From the Embers
From the Flames
