Free Arise (Awakened Fate Book 4) by Skye Malone

clenching, I fought the urge to order them to stop.
    “You all know the stories,” Olivia continued. “What it means for a person like Chloe to exist. There have already been signs that the creature of legend is returning – the storms on the coast, the seismic readings from the seafloor. And that is why I’ve called you together. Harman doesn’t believe in this. You know that; I know that. But given what he has already tried to do to her, if he got his hands on Chloe again, there is no question that he would continue experimenting on her. Meanwhile, her parents will also insist upon exposing her to the treatments again. We can’t let that happen. Repressing what she is won’t resolve this – though I realize that wasn’t her parents’ intent – and experimenting upon her is intolerable. So we need to keep Chloe protected and stop what’s happening at the same time.” She paused. “And I’m open to suggestions.”
    The three of them stood there, staring like idiots and doing nothing useful.
    “What have you ruled out so far?” Robin asked.
    “Nothing. This is the first we’re discussing it.”
    Robin frowned. “Okay…”
    “Why not simply mask the magic coming off of her?” Phil suggested like we were all stupid for not thinking of it.
    “How?” Robin asked.
    “Put her underground.”
    My eyebrows rose and I saw Zeke’s do the same. Incredulous, Baylie sat up straighter, looking ready to interpose herself between Chloe and anyone who thought to make good on that idea.
    Dave cleared his throat. “What about–”
    “The original dehaians tried that,” Robin interrupted, shaking her head. “They lived underground for fifteen years and it didn’t work. In the Vlostine account, there’s clear evidence they even–”
    Phil made a rude noise. “I’ve read Vlostine. He was a moron. He wanted them to wear wire-rimmed skullcaps, for pity’s sake. But if you examine Dartinian’s records, they show that–”
    “Oh, come on!” Robin countered. “Dartinian was a hack who couldn’t even read ! He needed scribes to write down his theories, and he couldn’t tell if they got the words right!” She scoffed. “Underground. Honestly, Phil. If we go by the information from the archives of Longtiel, it shows that the original dehaians knew–”
    Phil gave a bark of laughter. “Longtiel? You must be joking. How many times have I told you, Longtiel wasn’t even considered reputable in his own–”
    “And Dartinian was?” Robin retorted.
    The throbbing in my head worsened. Seated on the logs, the others looked like they were developing headaches of their own, while behind Robin and Phil, Dave kept clearing his throat and attempting to speak, though he never succeeded in getting a word in edgewise.
    “Dartinian recorded thousands of dehaians living on land at that point in history,” Phil argued. “This is just one girl. The difference in scale makes this a viable strategy.”
    “We could try–” Dave started.
    “Scale is irrelevant!” Robin cried.
    I looked away. They wouldn’t stick Chloe in a hole in the ground. I’d make sure they’d regret it if they tried.
    And meanwhile, I wished they’d keep it down. The idiots could probably be heard for miles.
    Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on the sounds of the forest beyond their arguing.
    Birds shrieked. There was a river not too far to our left.
    “We have new technologies now,” Phil snapped. “We could shield her location in ways those dehaians couldn’t even have dreamed.”
    “Technology isn’t the issue,” Robin replied. “Magic is energy. It will permeate the–”
    “Energy frequencies can be disrupted,” he retorted.
    I grimaced, struggling to hear anything past their voices.
    A rustling came from deeper in the forest to my right. A branch snapped, and then another. More leaves rustled.
    I opened my eyes, looking toward the noise.
    “You can’t be serious,” Robin snapped.
    “Says the