The Crimson Vault (The Traveler's Gate Trilogy Book 2)

needed something to fight for, some other clear villain that he could hate and work against without guilt.

Why not? A voice whispered in his head. She’s the enemy.

Lights and colors swarmed his mind, where his Elysian power normally rested, as though a dozen dams had burst within him at once. So much that had once eluded him became clear. Simple. He had the answer to all the world’s problems, and he had to share them. No, he didn’t have the answer. He was the answer.

“Simon, there is more going on here than we know,” Alin said seriously. “That’s why I need you here, with me. I think, whatever happens, that you and I are going to be important.” In his gleaming gold armor, with his golden hair shining in the torchlight, Alin looked every inch a king. And, for once, he was talking to Simon as an equal.

"the room responds to you. That's the trick. I had to try a dozen times before I figured it out: if you try to respond to what the rain garden shows you, you'll never get there. You have to lead and let the room respond to you."

Either way, it is theoretically impossible for two Incarnations of the same Territory to exist simultaneously."

"We would need to protect the innocent people," he said. "Test them. Make sure they're strong enough. If we use all thirteen swords, we can spread out. Finally, the strong will not oppress the weak. Everyone will be strong." He means killing everyone, doesn't he? Simon sent to Angeline, thrusting Azura at Valin's chest. He means

From Lysander’s outstretched hands, a scream seemed to tear the world in half. Simon’s thoughts boiled up, as though everything he had ever wondered was pressed against the inside of his skull at once.

Then he attacked.