ONE

We sat in what had to be the most secure Faculty Lounge/Conference room on any plane ever. At one end of the massive, rune-covered, black marble conference table sat Dex. At the other end, filling the lounge with an undercurrent of dread, was the Morrigan.

In between them and opposite from where I sat were LD and TK, both of whom were dread multipliers, especially TK. The walls of the Lounge were some combination of off-white with burnt sienna accents which did nothing to hide the incredible amount of runes inscribed onto the walls.

This was probably due to the fact that I could now see these runes clearly. Previously, I could mostly make them out, but now they were becoming clearer to my understanding.

One of the walls was a large pane of glass allowing us to see what was going on outside, while preventing anyone from looking into the Conference room. From what I could see, the space outside this room was some sort of medical facility. It made sense. I knew we were on School grounds and if there was ever a place that needed its own medical team, it would be a school for battlemagic.

Especially when those battlemages were students.

I wondered if this was an actual Faculty Lounge or some sort of nullification area, designed to allow the future instructors of the School to sit here in relative peace with no fear of being attacked by a stray cast from an overachieving student who decided to cut loose in one of their classes.

Despite the undercurrent of dread, courtesy of the Morrigan and TK, this room still held an overwhelming sense of tranquility, if that was possible. I understood that the dread was contextual due to the present company, but the tranquility was an actual feature of the room.

If I had been sitting in this room alone, the only feeling I would be experiencing would be one of calmness—it felt like an oasis of peace in a desert of ambient magical chaos.

I let the silence settle on me as I ran a finger along the smooth surface of the table, my finger catching on the runic symbols that were part of the marble, creating valleys and peaks of power that fluctuated with orange energy.

I could hear the low rumbling of my hellhound who sat under the table next to my legs. He was in what I called ‘passive maim mode’ which placed him somewhere between sleeping and fully aware.

Somewhere on the School grounds, my bondbrother Monty was under lockdown. The exposure to the White Heart held by the necromancer Venice Fontaine had affected him, pushing him towards the darker side of mageness.

I knew he hadn’t gone totally dark, but some of his actions during his fight with the Fifth Pillar gave me serious doubts about the state of his mind.

He wasn’t totally dark, but he was definitely dark adjacent.

Right now, he was being seen by members of the White Phoenix who were working on some method of helping him resist the pull of darkness.

The only positive thing that had happened was that we dealt with the Fifth Pillar permanently, which unfortunately escalated the Grand Council’s cold war against us, into a searing surface of the sun hot war against us.

They were not happy we were still alive and let us know they were going to change that sooner rather than later.

Still, I had questions and this was the time and place to ask them. I focused on Dex who returned my stare with an extra dose of menace. I knew it wasn’t directed at me, but rather the situation.

I also knew there was a bigger plan unfolding around me, and Monty and I were playing this game with incomplete information.

That was a perfect way to get erased off the board, which was why I was here asking questions. That and also as Monty’s Aspis, I hadn’t exactly kept him from danger.

I saw a meeting with Kali in my future and shuddered at the thought of that painfest. In my defense, Venice had her own agenda which she hadn’t shared…yet. That was unfinished business I had every intention of finishing.

First things first.

“Ask,” Dex said, bringing my focus back to the present. “We’ll share what we can.”

“How is it not the same White Heart?” I asked. “It’s not the same White Heart? I don’t understand.”

TK looked over to Dex, who gave her a slight nod.

“Aye, may as well give him the truth,” Dex said. “He’s going to need it now. Besides, I think he’s grown enough to handle it.”

“Are you certain?” TK asked. “It may be better if⁠—”

“No,” the Morrigan said. “He is ready for the truth. Tell him.”

“Upon your word then,” TK said with a slight nod. “If you deem him ready, I will not challenge your stance.”

“You were the only one to do so and still remain among the living,” the Morrigan said. “Your growth in power and wisdom pleases me, TK. Please share the truth with Deathless.”

I knew for a fact that the Morrigan knew TK’s real name—she was the Morrigan after all. There was no way TK could keep her name from a goddess. The fact that even the Morrigan honored TK’s desire to keep her name hidden spoke to the mutual respect they shared and TK’s power.

“The truth?” I asked, looking at TK. “What truth?”

“The White Heart you and Tristan encountered in the past was not the true White Heart, but rather an aspect of the White Heart you recently encountered on the ninth ring.”

“What?” I said. “William said⁠—”

“William’s sizable ego wouldn’t allow him to be wrong,” she said. “What he was dealing with in Shamballa was closer to a Gray Heart—not the true source, but a simulacrum of sorts. He was misinformed and misguided.”

“What about the other Heartstones?” I asked. “Are they real or are we going to find out they aren’t the true Heartstones either?”

TK narrowed her eyes at me, ratcheting up the dread factor by several levels. I made a mental note not to anger anyone currently sitting around this table.

I wasn’t in the mood to end up as a smear on one of the walls.

“There are only three Heartstones,” she said, keeping her voice even. “The Black, the White— both of which you have encountered—and the Blood, which I truly hope you never encounter.”

“Why wasn’t this shared earlier?” I said. “Did Monty know?”

“It wasn’t shared with you, due to your not being powerful enough,” she said. “As for Mage Montague⁠—”

“I wanted him to think he was dealing with the White Heart when he confronted William,” Dex said. “He discovered the information regarding the true source of the White Heart when he was ready for the knowledge—in the Eternal Archive.”

“He didn’t mention it,” I said. “Why wouldn’t he mention it?”

“You tell me, boy,” Dex said with a low growl. “Why wouldn’t he tell you about a powerful artifact with the potential to offer him so much power he would go dark to obtain it?”

“Because I would lose my mind if I knew the truth,” I said pensively. “He knew I wouldn’t go along with it if I knew he would end up like this. We weren’t ready for the Fifth Pillar.”

“No, you weren’t,” Dex said. “The fault doesn’t lie solely with you, boy. I should’ve seen the play from Venice. I didn’t expect the Fifth Pillar or the Grand Council to go this far. They sacrificed their Fifth Pillar to remove Tristan.”

“Is he that much of a threat?”

“Yes,” TK said. “Not just Tristan, but the potential power of Mage Montague, Deathless, and his hound forced their hand to sacrifice the Fifth Pillar. Think of it as giving up a rook to obtain a pawn that would become a queen. The Grand Council thinks long term. To them, it was a worthwhile play.”

“What happened to Monty?” I asked. “What is the White Heart doing to him?”

“Right now, we focus on the fact that he survived the White Heart,” Dex said. “What pushed him past the point of control?”

“Treadwell,” I rasped, my throat feeling as if I had been gargling with sand and glass. “Treadwell pushed him over the edge.”

“Where are we?” I continued. “I know this isn’t Haven.”