The back of Lucenna’s eyes stung from the bitter envy but also joy that they succeeded in at least that. “Freedom is but a dream in Magos. The Archmage ruling now is more ruthless than his predecessors.”
“The Enforcers that came for you,” Lord Norrlen started. “They said any who should interfere in your capture risked war. Why would the Archmage go to such lengths to obtain you?”
Lucenna gritted her teeth, and purple electricity coiled around her body. “Because my Essence is rare, and the most sought after in Magos.”
Dyna smiled. “You’re a Transcendent.”
Lucenna stared at her, surprised that she knew about that as well. How much had she learned from Azeran’s journals? “Yes, I am…”
“I realized it the first time I saw you fight against the Enforcers.”
Cassiel’s brow furrowed. “What is a Transcendent?”
“It’s those born with the Essence to transcend the elements of all three guilds,” Lucenna said. “That ability is extremely rare and highly valued, for it can be siphoned or passed on by birth. Transcendent newborn girls are sent to live in Castle Ophyr. They are to one day marry into the royal family and provide the next generation of rulers with the ability to transcend.”
Rawn’s eyebrows rose high. “That is why the Archmage wants you.”
“That part I understand,” Cassiel said, his jaw clenching. “The makings of thrones and power is a game rulers play to make sure they keep it. Who are you to marry?”
Lucenna twisted the pink gemstone around her finger. The ring was a tiny shackle that she couldn’t bring herself to part with. It was the embodiment of the future decided for her at birth, but it also held a pledge that had embedded in her heart. A face rose from her memories with a smile that reflected the warmth of his amber eyes. An old longing stirred inside of her.
“I’m promised to Prince Everest of House Terra,” she said, dropping her hand. “Heir apparent to the throne of the Magos Empire. He is to be the next Archmage … and I’m to be his queen.”
Lucenna smirked at their stunned reactions. It sounded strange saying that aloud. Her, the future Queen Consort of Magos—and the one who hoped to dismantle it all.
“My twin brother Lucien and I were born with the ability to transcend,” she told them. “Our birth marked history, for it was completely uncommon for not only two to be born in the same year, but for a male to be born Transcendent without a Transcendent mother. The Archmage took us from our family, and our House gained more wealth, land, and my father ascended to Head of the Lunar Guild.”
The icy wind tugged at her hair as a breeze passed over them, and she rubbed her arms. “We were raised lavishly in Castle Ophyr, but we didn’t understand that we were prisoners in those walls. We were blind to what was happening outside in the rest of the kingdom, and I dutifully obeyed the Mage Code. Until one day, Lucien and I witnessed the execution of a Sun Guild sorceress. Her crime was practicing magic. Before they could siphon her, she shouted she was free and invoked a wave of fire upon herself, taking her own life.”
Closing her eyes, Lucenna could clearly remember the shout of liberty as a magnificent tsunami of fire consumed the sorceress in a protest that was both beautiful and heart-wrenching.
“That had been the first time I had seen a sorceress use magic. I questioned why she had to die because of it. Our Essence is ours. What right did men have to take it from us?”
“Thus, you began to use it,” Rawn said.
She nodded. In secret, Lucien taught her spells. The more executions she witnessed, the more spells she learned to honor them.
“It came easy to me.” Lucenna invoked a blaze of fire in one hand and shards of ice in the other. “But I only feared it because I knew once I gave birth to heirs with my ability, they would take it from me. That was my future.”
Everest wasn’t like the other mages. He was kind, gentle, and irrevocably had won her heart, but their union came at the cost of her power. She would have given him anything except that.
“But you’re here now,” Dyna said. “You escaped.”
“Yes, with some help. The rebellion is alive in the empire. They call themselves the Liberation.” She clenched her fist, extinguishing the spells. “For years, they have been helping sorceresses escape. They are planning another uprising to overthrow the Archmage and dismantle the Mage Code. My brother and I joined the cause.”
Lucenna brushed her fingers over the crevices of the carved runes on the pendant around her neck, its weight reassuring. “Azeran created The Luna Medallion to hone his power. It would aid the Liberation against the Archmage, but the Moonstone is missing. From the history records, Andrez claimed Captain Ida took the stone during the confusion of the war. So, my mother and I accepted the mission to find Mount Ida.”
A slow smile spread on Dyna’s face. She glanced at her companions, and they gave her varied expressions of astonishment and wariness.
“The Liberation staged our escape to fall on the eve of my wedding.”
Memories of that night surfaced in Lucenna’s mind. Everest had caught her trying to scale out of her bedroom window. She had been afraid of him at that moment, afraid that his true character might appear at her disloyalty.
Everest didn’t question her or call the guards. Instead, the prince kissed her and let her go with a promise.“When it’s finished, I will find you.”
Somehow, he must have known she’d joined the rebellion and didn’t accept the Mage Code. What did he think of her now?
“Your brother didn’t escape with you?” Cassiel asked.
