His gaze snapped to hers. “A rebel?”

“I don’t trust her. She sees too much. She knows too much, just as Stephanos did. I worry that your friend is becoming a liability to my plans.”

She said it lightly, but a gnawing concern began to build within Alexius’s gut. If Phaedra proved herself a problem for Melenia, then he worried deeply for her. Phaedra did not guard her thoughts or her words. She spoke her mind too plainly and she acted spontaneously and without thorough consideration of any risks. Such behavior could earn her enemies. Powerful ones.

Perhaps it already had.

“Why must your plans remain secret?” He asked the question that had been plaguing him for months. “To find the Kindred, to break the chains keeping us trapped within the Sanctuary, it benefits all of us. Why not tell Timotheus or Danaus of the princess? Of the road?” He hesitated. “Is there something more you seek that they would not approve of?”

“Don’t worry about such things. And don’t worry about your princess.”

“I need to go to her,” he said again. “Now. It cannot wait.”

“No, you don’t need to go anywhere. Not yet. Not until I’m ready for the final piece of this puzzle to snap into place.”

“The final piece of your puzzle means her death.”

“You agreed to this, Alexius. You agreed to what would save your kind, save the world. Do you really want to change your mind now?”

“What I want is to find another solution.”

“There are no other solutions.” She came toward him and took his hands in hers, squeezing them tightly. “I understand, I do. I understand what it’s like to love someone forbidden to me. To pine away for him. To ache for his touch and know that a future together is impossible. I know to what lengths someone is willing to go to help the one they love more than anyone else.” His eyes met hers, hope flooding his heart.

She fixed him with a cool smile. “And I know how dangerous it is to have thoughts like these.”

“Melenia . . .”

“Say nothing more. I need you to regain your objectivity and your devotion to me and my cause. The princess’s life will be sacrificed for the sake of the Kindred. Their magic is all that matters.”

“I need to talk to her.” The words stuck in his throat.

“No, you don’t.” Her grip on him tightened and he couldn’t pull away. He felt a draining sensation spreading through him. She was draining his magic, his ability to shift form, to enter the dreams of mortals. To do anything but breathe and exist.

It would be all it took to keep him away from Lucia.

There was a reason why Melenia was the most powerful immortal of them all. She could do this.

“Not all love is eternal,” she whispered to him as he weakened and fell to his knees before her. “Not all love has the power to change worlds. What you feel for the princess is a passing fancy, that is all. Trust me, Alexius. I’m only doing this to help you.”

He’d promised Lucia he would come to her in her dreams. He’d come here to try to find a way to save her life.

On both tasks he’d failed.

Yet he knew that Melenia spoke the truth, that he was thinking irrationally and was in danger of becoming a liability to her plans. The life of one sixteen-year-old sorceress was not worth the destruction of everything and everyone.

Lucia would have to die. And one day very soon, he would be the one to do it.

There was no turning back.

Chapter 22

LUCIA

AURANOS

“Is my magic evil?”

It was the first thing Lucia asked when her father had come to visit her bedside before he left for the wedding. She needed to know the truth, and her father was well known for his candor. Magnus would easily lie to protect her feelings. Perhaps he already had. And Alexius—did she really believe anything he’d told her? Had he even been real? Now that she was awake, she’d begun to doubt what she’d seen. What she’d felt. The thought that he might only have been a dream was now a heavy weight that lay on her chest.

“No, it’s not evil,” the king replied, kneeling beside her bed and grasping her hands tightly in his. He smiled brighter than she’d seen in ages. “It’s incredible. It’s wonderful. You are a sorceress, Lucia. A beautiful and powerful sorceress. You’ve been blessed by the goddess with a great gift.”

His words were so sincere they brought tears to her eyes. “No, it’s a curse. Mother believed so.” “She was wrong. Your mother was wrong about many things. If anything, your elementia will be a challenge to you, but one you shall easily master. I have a new tutor at the ready. She and I have been waiting for you to wake up. She will visit you later today to begin your lessons.” He stood so he could lean over and kiss her forehead. “Know this: I am so lucky to be able to call you daughter. I would not feel this way if I had any doubts about you, Lucia. I have none at all.”

Tears burned in her eyes at his beautiful words.

“To wield this power is your destiny. One cannot avoid their destiny. One shouldn’t even try, since it will only bring pain. Embracing it is the only sound answer—the only answer that will give you peace.”

There were times when she’d had misgivings about her father, especially his tendency toward cruelty. She’d seen how he’d treated the citizens of Limeros, servants, and even Magnus himself over the years. She was well aware of his wider reputation.