The Traitor by A. Lombardo (i can read with my eyes shut TXT) 📕

to you.” Kai took a moment to watch Rayna laugh with her sister. “Before I can return home to Diu, I must convince Davi and his people to come here. I fear for my father’s safety. Something bad is happening in Diu, and I must get to the bottom of it before my city . . .” He let his voice drop off, noticing Liam’s raised brow.

Liam glared at him. “Funny, I thought Katori was your home now.” He sighed heavily before continuing. “You have responsibilities here now, but I am sure Lucca gave you this lecture already. I am only two years older than you, but even I know as the grandson to an Elder, you need to set an example. You made a vow to give up the outside world. Hiowind is your city now, or Matoku if you so choose.”

The truth was Kai was still not sure where he belonged. He came to gain power and find his mother, but Diu was his childhood home, and part of him knew he would always feel connected to the people and the memories of his past. Why did he have to choose? He looked to Rayna, still talking with her sister; she had uprooted her entire life in Diu to explore Katori. How did she embrace the move so easily?

Heat swelled in his veins. “I will not turn my back on Diu.” His tone carried weight, and he stepped into Liam’s space. “You do not understand. Nobody does. I will not hesitate to do what is needed.”

Liam matched Kai’s glare, and his bronze complexion accented his anger. “It is no longer your place to interfere with the affairs of Diu. Or are you still their prince and would-be king? Your loyalty is either to Katori and our secrets, or to Diu and their petty disputes over power.”

Kai took a step forward again, and with it, a knot formed in his stomach. “Why does my loyalty mean choosing?”

“You cannot keep one foot in Diu while you try to make a home in Katori.” Liam narrowed his gaze. “Someday, you will have to choose. I will do whatever the Elders ask, and if they insist, I will start clearing the tunnels for the return of the outcasts, but don’t ask me to agree with your real motives in going to Diu.”

He could not believe what he was hearing. Why did Liam continue to question his loyalty? “Don’t make me choose.” Kai felt his heart thunder in his chest. “I will not be a prisoner of old Katori beliefs that were never my own. I will live where I choose and help whom I choose.”

“You sound like Keegan more and more.”

The mention of Kai’s birth father was a stab in the back. “How can you possibly compare me to him?” Kai spat. “That monster tried to kill Rayna. We are not the same.”

Refusing to speak any further, Liam stormed off and rejoined the restoration group.

♦ ♦ ♦

Sleeplessness was no stranger to Kai. Alone, he traveled toward Alenga’s ancient city between Hiowind and Matoku. A brisk breeze tousled his blond hair as moonlight danced down the warm white stone pathway beneath his bare feet. Past decisions and new questions rattled away in his mind. Once again, the burden of everyone else pressed on Kai’s heart.

He never asked to be Katori—all he ever wanted was his mother back. Although he had fulfilled Alenga’s prophecy of rescuing her, she still slept. Had he made a mistake? There could be no room for doubt—Alenga’s visions were real. They had to be. Or were they merely dreams of what he wanted to happen? Did his imagination create the perfect outcome to satisfy the fantasies that arose out of his childhood abandonment?

But if his dreams about saving his mother were real, then he would have to face the fate of his father and the role his vision implied. How could he be destined to kill Iver, the man who raised him? Blood father or not, Kai loved him and refused to accept his destiny. There must be a way to change fate—after all, another vision helped him save Drew from dying.

Still, he walked alone because his restless soul gave him no peace.

Smoke, ever his loyal companion, appeared at the tree line and joined Kai on his journey. Their shared bond gave him the comfort he was not entirely alone to face the future. They walked in silence through the newly changed landscape of the unearthed structures from the past. The old city, Alenga’s city—once lost to Katori, now rediscovered.

Kai marveled at the massive city, which seemed to spring up overnight. Liam and his Stoneking masters continued to remove the mountain of dirt and stone that once hid Alenga’s ancient city. The Kodama planted new Bodhima trees covered in cosmos vines, which towered overhead. Crystal clear water danced in fountains and gushed along narrow illuminated channels, breathing life into the hardscapes. Stone obelisks, statues, and gazebos decorated the newly planted gardens, each a little different than anything seen around the other cities of Katori.

Surrounded by a garden in full bloom stood the enormous ancient Agora. One corner remained dark and partially covered in rocky black soil. The rest looked new; pink coral stone accented in white ivy embellishments and illuminated with golden yellow crystals, which Kai presumed were empowered by Lumens.

The waterfall that once concealed the entrance now flowed freely around the structure in a narrow channel randomly lit with tiny blue crystals. Kai crossed a small bridge and entered through what was once the round stone door. Three grand archways now stood open. Inside, moonlight poured into the large pool located at the heart of the Agora.

Unsure what possessed him, he once again returned to this sacred place to pray Alenga would speak to him like the night he slept here before discovered by the others. But since they had