Free Guardians of the Boundary (The Conjurors Series Book 3) by Kristen Pham

even consider returning to Earth as long as that threat remains.
The Fractus come for us, daring to try to kidnap even our children. Several of
our People would still be locked in the Black Castle if Valerie had not set
them free.”
    The others nodded, even Cerise.
Valerie glanced at Kanti and Cyrus, who beamed at her.
    For the first time, Cara spoke
up. “It’s like Ceru and I have been trying to show you—not all of the Conjurors
are bad. It’s time to set aside prejudice and join forces.”
    Cyrus’s eyes were round as he
stared at his sister. Cara was obviously a respected voice in the group.
    “We will take your message to
the People, and I will come to tell you of our decision,” Elden said.
    The representatives, other than
Cara, began to trickle away. Valerie’s anxiety returned.
    “Can you tell us where to find
the Globe’s Byway?” she asked Elden. “Even a day could make a difference in
stopping the Fractus from returning to Earth in force.”
    Elden cocked his head,
considering her words. “I will tell you under one condition. If you find the
Globe’s Byway, you will bring it to me and my people. We will decide whether it
should be destroyed ourselves. We created the Byway, so it is our right to
decide what happens to it.”
    It made Valerie nervous to leave
such a big decision in the hands of people she barely knew.
    “To earn trust, you must first
give it,” Gideon said softly in her ear.
    Slowly, Valerie nodded. “You
have my word. We’ll bring it to you.”
    “It is in the vanished garden of
Babylon, behind a great waterfall,” Elden said. “No one, not even any of my
people, has been able to visit this site, the most beautiful of the gardens we
created for this planet, in many years. We hope that means no Fractus have been
able to find it, either.”
    The mention of Babylon tickled a
memory in the back of Valerie’s mind from her first trip to the Globe.
    “That’s the place you found with
Dulcea and me two years ago!” Cyrus said, his eyes glowing.
    “You’ve been to Babylon and you
didn’t tell me?” Cara squeaked.
    Elden silenced them both with a
regal wave of his hand. “Am I to understand that you have already found the
garden once?”
    “Yes,” Valerie said. “And we’ll
find it again and bring the Byway to you to protect.”
    Elden gripped her hand and
squeezed once. “I will trust you to keep your word, vivicus. And when you do, I
believe you will have the support and magic of my people at your side if you
need it.”
     

Chapter 8
    Valerie and her friends spent
the night in Arbor Aurum in a hollow tree, and the next morning, Cara led them
to one of the long ropes woven from a golden material that formed ladders that
fell over the edges of the floor of the city. Gideon had decided to stay in the
city for a few more days to meet with friends.
    “Come home with us for a while,”
Cyrus begged.
    Cara smiled. Even though she’d
only been gone a few months, she seemed more mature. “Soon. I’m really helping
here. Ceru and I have been working as kind of ambassadors to the People of the
Woods, helping them see that not all Conjurors are bad.”
    “Why do they trust you?” Kanti
asked, curious.
    “I was able to help them save a
species of flower that was dying off. No magic could help it, but luckily
science could. We developed a fertilizer that is making it thrive,” Cara said
proudly.
    Cara and Cyrus came from
Messina, a country where the use of magic was forbidden. As a result, their
science had advanced even more rapidly than Earth’s, and Cara was a star
student.
    “And channeling a little extra
light with my new lightweaver powers may have helped too,” Cara added. Only a few
months ago she had been horrified by her magic, and Cyrus lit up at the news
that she was choosing to embrace her potential.
    “I’m so proud of you, baby sis,”
Cyrus said, beaming.
    Cyrus gave her a hug, which,
after a surprised pause, she returned. “I miss you, Cy.”
    “Stay