“Wrong,” Cleo spoke up, disgusted by Ashur’s lies. He had hidden the Kindred somewhere, keeping it for his own gain. “He did confess. I heard it myself.”

Ashur turned a look of pure fury on her.

While she’d hoped Ashur might talk some sense into Amara, that seemed to be a wish in vain. Amara had the ruthlessness that Ashur lacked. She was the predator, and Ashur, be it today or a year from now, would succumb to being her prey again.

Even if it was only a temporary ruse, Cleo had to align herself with strength, now more than ever before.

She had to align with Amara.

“Not so peaceful now, are you, Ashur?” Cleo asked steadily. “Funny how that can change so quickly.”

“Put him with the other prisoners,” Amara told the guards.

“Amara!” Ashur snarled. “Do not do this!”

The empress’s expression remained calm. “You came here to proudly tell me that you’re the phoenix legend speaks of, but you’re wrong. I am the phoenix.” She nodded at the guards. “Take him away.”

The guards forced Ashur from the room as Amara sat down heavily in her chair.

“You lied about Ashur to the guards,” she said.

Cleo could barely believe it herself. “I did.”

“He could have taken everything from me: my title, my power. Everything. All because he’s my older brother.”

“Yes, he could have.” Cleo kept her gaze steady. “So now what do you plan to do with me?”

“To be honest, I haven’t decided yet.”

Cleo bit her bottom lip, trying to stay confident in the face of so much uncertainty. “Do you really believe that you’re the phoenix?”

Amara raised an eyebrow. “Does it really matter?”

A guard lingered at the doorway. When Amara’s gaze went to him, his shoulders straightened. “Empress, I have information for you.”

Amara flicked him an impatient look. “What is it?”

“The rebels have been captured. They await interrogation.”

Cleo felt faint. Was it Jonas and Felix? Taran? Who else?

“Cleo, I want you to come with me to question them,” Amara said. “I want you to prove to me that you may—just may—be able to earn a small portion of my trust once again. Will you do that?”

The fire god had made her a tantalizing promise. But would she turn her back on Jonas, Felix, and Taran if it meant that she could get her throne back?

And if not, was there a way she might convince Amara to release them before she had a chance to steal the Kindred back from her?

There wasn’t time to make such decisions now, not about something so important. All she could do was buy as much time as possible.

Cleo nodded. “Of course I’ll do that, empress.”

CHAPTER 29

MAGNUS

PAELSIA

Magnus and Gaius spent the entire day shackled like common prisoners in the back of a wagon that journeyed west from Basilia. Magnus knew exactly where they were headed, and when they finally reached Chief Basilius’s former compound at dusk, he wasn’t certain that they would ever witness another sunrise.

Amara’s small but impressive army surrounded the perimeter of the compound, and Magnus and his father were ushered through the gates by the guards. Once inside, they were half shoved, half dragged down a narrow, winding corridor and placed in a room with stone walls and no furniture. Guards attached new shackles to their ankles. There was nothing to do but sit and wait on the bloodstained floor.

The door had a lock on it, and it only opened from the other side.

Yes, Magnus thought, this definitely qualifies as a dungeon.

“I didn’t want this,” the king said after they were left alone.

“No? You didn’t want us chained up and left to Amara’s whim? I’ve heard about how Kraeshians deal with prisoners. It makes your treatment of them seem almost benevolent.”

“This isn’t the end for us.”

“That’s very amusing, Father. It feels like it is. You know what would be very helpful right now? A witch to help us out. But you chased her away too, didn’t you?”

“I did. And I don’t regret it. My mother is an evil woman.”

“I guess you came by that same evil naturally then, no potions necessary.”

Magnus had had a lot of time to think during the journey here. He thought about Cleo, mostly, and wondered if anything would be different now if he hadn’t sent Nic after Ashur.

Likely not. Because then Cleo might be with him and his father, and Magnus would be unable to do anything to help her. He hoped very hard that she’d finally accomplished what she should have done from the beginning and gone to Auranos to find allies, rebels, assistance of some kind.

She was much better off as far away from him as possible.

Time passed slowly, and night turned back to day as sunlight spilled into their dark dungeon room from a tiny window. The sound of a lock in the door jerked Magnus back to attention, and he shielded his eyes from more blazing sunlight as the door opened and several guards entered the room. Behind them strode the empress herself.

She nodded at him. “Magnus, it’s so lovely to see you again.”

“Well, I couldn’t possibly feel less delighted to see you.”

Amara’s cold smile held. “And Gaius, I’ve been so worried about you. I’ve heard nothing from you since you went on your quest to find your treasonous son and bring him to justice. Did it not go well?”