Silken Rapture: Princes of the Underground, Book 2 by Beth Kery Read Free Book Online Page B

were the things Aubrey held dear to his heart.
    Although really, they all boiled down to power. That was the quality Aubrey admired most.
     
    A Londoner might have immediately recognized the familiar outlines of the Underground on the map where Blaise focused his attention, but then become confused by the addition of a number of anomalous tunnels and unfamiliar labeled landmarks. There was a world beneath the city streets that would amaze a typical Londoner. Sanctuary was the hub of that secret, subterranean world.
    “Morshiel won’t bother to return to the British Museum tunnel. He knows I wouldn’t leave the crystal there. We’ll increase our guard along the Bakerloo line. My gut tells me that’s where Morshiel and the revenants will strike next,” Blaise said, giving the map a brisk tap with his forefinger.
    “That quake we experienced weeks ago must have somehow loosened it from the deepest veins of the earth. You and I both know how much vitessence that crystal gives off. Morshiel would do anything to possess it. Surely he’ll send a scouting party to the British Museum at the very least,” Aubrey replied from where he sat on the couch, long limbs akimbo.
    “No. He won’t.”
    “How can you know that with a certainty?” Aubrey asked amusedly.
    Blaise shrugged and turned to stoke the fire. Aubrey’s structure for evacuating smoke underground was the least of the wonders of his friend’s ingenious design of Sanctuary.
    “Morshiel and I came from the same mother cell,” Blaise said flatly as he shoved the poker into the flames.
    Aubrey made a predictable scoffing sound. “Perhaps, but you are as different as a human is to a raptor.”
    Blaise glanced over his shoulder. “Which one am I supposed to be in your analogy. Both are deadly beasts, aren’t they?”
    Aubrey rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You miss my point entirely. I’m just saying that you might not always perfectly intuit Morshiel’s plans just because you’re clones. You’ve had centuries to differentiate yourselves, after all, and have done so markedly. Consider this,” Aubrey said, holding up his hand in a bid for reason when Blaise tossed the poker into its holder with a loud clang and turned to his friend. “What if Morshiel suspects that you might leave the crystal in the tunnel in order to lure him? And he sacrifices a scouting party of revenants because he desires knowledge of the crystal’s whereabouts so greatly?”
    “No,” Blaise repeated as he paced like a caged lion in front of the fire. “Morshiel knows I would never take even the tiniest risk in the matter. He knows I wouldn’t play games with that crystal. Have you been excavating in the vicinity where the crystal was found, like I asked?”
    “Yes, the crystal definitely came from that location. It wasn’t relocated there by Morshiel.”
    Blaise paused. “And is there any indication there could be more of them?”
    Aubrey shook his head. “It is a single anomaly…a rare miracle. Have you spoken to Saint? Did he tell you how he knew the crystal would be there?”
    Blaise shook his head. “He somehow sensed the unusual electromagnetic pulse. Or someone did.”
    “What is it, Blaise?” Aubrey asked, his eyes narrowed.
    Blaise shrugged. “Something is amiss with Saint. He’s not being honest.”
    “You don’t trust Saint?” Aubrey asked, obviously stunned. Blaise understood why. All of the Sevliss princes were as close as brothers, despite the fact that they were scattered across the globe. Blaise trusted the five other princes more than any other creatures on the planet, for they were more than brothers. In a sense, the six of them were their own unique race. None of them were certain of their origins on this planet. All of them had come to consciousness as they were at present, recalling no childhood. Each of them possessed a Magian overlord, a super-powerful being who had created each prince—to what purpose, none of them understood.
    One thing was