The ground swallowed me whole.
“So everything between us was a lie.”
All the moments I’d treasured—the whispered promises, the stolen nights, when he’d called me brave—had been part of a plan. He’d positioned me like a chess piece. Trained me to shatter runes. All of it building toward this.
“No,” he croaked. “I meant every word in that letter.”
Always the same old lies.
“You heard what I said at the summit. Humans shouldn’t have to suffer like this. The Rite, the servant marks, how they treat our race like cattle—it has to end.”
“So you murdered everyone.”
“I removed my obstacles.”
“And you used me to do it.”
“I gave you purpose.” His eyes blazed. “You freed the realm. You tore down a system that’s oppressed humans for centuries. You should beproud.”
Proud.
“I need time to consolidate power,” he said quickly. “To rebuild the court. Then I can change everything. And you helped make that possible.”
My insides chilled. Once, that face would have undone me. Those blue eyes brimming with sincerity, the anguish, the way his voice broke would have shattered my resolve completely.
He was doing it again, weaving that same spell he’d used to make me feel like we were destined to be together. Except this time, I was part of some righteous missioninstead of a weapon he’d aimed at anyone between him and the throne.
“Have you found my sister?”
He nodded. Then he reached into his tunic and drew out a small, tarnished mirror. The silver frame was dulled with age.Rheya’s mirror.The one she had taken from the jewelry box.
I lunged for it, grabbing the handle. “She’s alive?”
“Very much so.”
My knees nearly buckled. Rheya was alive. After weeks of imagining her dead, she was alive.
My heart thudded so hard it hurt. “Was she hurt?”
“She’s fine,” he said smoothly.
“Where is she?”
His expression shifted. “She’s safe.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Vaeris studied me for a long moment. “She’s in Skalgard.”
Relief crashed through me. “I want to see her.”
“Of course. I’ll take you to her. We can leave now.”
I looked at him. “No.”
His smile faltered. “No?”
“I’m not leaving Kairos.”
