“I don’t know,” he said.
“Then why did you say—?”
“Because I foresaw that you would find him and bring him forward. And that is just what you did.”
“I didn’t bring him forward. We were accosted and dragged into Froenz’s hall. And where is the Enneahedron?”
“Here.” Python took it from his pocket and held it out to her.
She hesitated, nonplussed by his willingness to hand it over. Charily, she took it from him. Relief and a fresh influx of much-needed strength passed into her from the smooth stone.
“You will take the Prince and become Radiant, correct?” Python asked.
“Is that why you lured me to this island?” she said.
Python’s expression was impossible to read. “I had to bring you before Froenz and the others.”
“The other dwarfs?”
“There were more eyes in that hall than you realize.”
“Why?”
“I had to convince them to support you.”
“Support me? Froenz was going to kill me.”
“I would’ve persuaded him otherwise,” he said. “It is in their interests to join with the Crown, as much as they hate Elves.”
She stuffed the Enneahedron deep into her front pocket. “I am not an Elf.”
“You areLjósálfr—light elf,” he said.
She shook her head, digging her hands into her hair, grinding her teeth. “What do you want from me?”
“To become Radiant and then take the Crown and then destroy the Elf King,” he said as if it were all so simple and obvious.
“Why don’t you kill the King?” she asked through her teeth.
“The gods have chosen the Elves to rule Alfheim. This cannot be changed. Your strength is our strength. That is what Froenz and so many others in the Resistance choose to forget. If we wiped out all of the Elves, Alfheim would die, we would all die. But if he”—he nodded down to Kaelan—“is the Prince foretold, then you and he can change this world for the better. So all those displaced and exiled can return to their rightful homes. I will do what I can to show the Resistance thatLjósálfarare different from the dark elves that rule here. They will not believe at first. They have been hounded, hunted, persecuted, and tortured.”
The semargl whined and nosed Python’s hip. He stroked its head again. “This must be done, Magdalena.”
“You want me to start a war,” she said.
“War has already started,” he said, gold eyes flashing. “Too long your kind has turned your backs on the plight of the other races, ignored the crimes of the King. That has to change. And it will. Yet, my visions... they are so dark now. I cannot see what is to come, but I know that you are crucial to this—”
“Then why did you allow Lavana to find me? To nearly kill me?”
“I sent Kirk to rescue you, didn’t I?” he said. “You survived. Your warrior survived. But the Crown must not know about the Resistance. If I had not helped Lavana, she would’ve brought the Crown’s warriors. She would’ve brought attention to those in hiding on the other side. If the Crown finds out that you are colluding with the Resistance, she will kill you. She and the King are already in conference. The King wants her to turn over all the refugees, and to turn back any others who attempt to enter her Lands.”
“You expect me to believe that the Crown is in collusion with the Throne? That’s insane. Why would she—?”
“To prevent war,” he said, “and . . . I am told . . . to save her own life.”
“But—”
“We need this war, Magda,” Python cut in. “Any deal made with the King will result in more of the same. There cannot be peace. The Throne must yield to the Crown and your kind—you—must seize control of the Realms and return it to those of us to whom it rightfully belongs.”
