Heraphia listened to my stumbling explanation of it all, asking questions and intuiting what I held back. By the time I finished cleaning myself, a sly grin graced her face.
“You know what this means right?”
“No?” I questioned, wrapping a bath sheet around myself and stepping out of the tub. The glug of the draining water echoed off the stone walls.
“You should stop overthinking it. This could be such a good thing, for everyone, if you let it.” My best friend came up behind me, using her fingers to untangle the mess of my silver locks. From that position, she whispered in my ear, low enough that even if someone were trying to listen to our conversation, catching her words would have been impossible.
“Vaeron is strong, physically and with his magic. You can use your bond to end the war.”
I picked up a comb and set to work on the ends of my frazzled hair. “How?” I mouthed the word into the mirror, brows furrowing.
“Kill the Koron and Korona.”
My fingers opened of their own accord. The metal teeth clanged against the marble counter, the sound cutting off like a symphony silenced mid-note.
It wasn’t a strategy—it was treason. We’d already committed it once by declaring ourselves Elessarum. The only reason we were still alive, stillusinstead of shells who could See, was because of our power.
My sharp intake of breath didn't stop Heraphia from continuing. “You and Vaeron rule instead. I’m sure the Elessarum would help. Lyriasthe is here, and she has much less restricted movement than us. She could get word to the leaders, tell them of a plan…”
What Heraphia proposed was a sacrilege. We could all be beheaded and our bodies left to rot in this world, our soulsunable to move on, if we were even caught letting such thoughts breathe.
A chill dug into my bones. “Do not speak further,” I hissed under my breath. Heraphia stilled, brows dipping over her aquamarine irises. “I will not risk your life. Not when you’re all I have left.”
Clearing her throat, she took a step back and crossed her arms. “I will do whatever it takes to bring peace now. Won’t you?”
Heraphia didn’t know about my dream. Didn’t know the Goddess had told me there would be a price.
“Violence is not the answer,” I snapped, dropping my bath sheet and pulling on fresh clothes. “It goes against Elessarum values.”
But even as I spoke the words, I realized I no longer held the same conviction I once had. I’d learned firsthand that words inflicted as much pain as swords. And had I not been doing so all along, with my cruel remarks toward my mate? Not to mention that I’d bitten him—and also used my magic to blast away my attacker.
I’d abandoned those nonviolent principles weeks ago to save myself, and I felt no remorse after. Nor could I muster any now.
Should I surrender them altogether?
The dangerous thought prowled through my mind like a predator testing its cage’s bars.
“What are two lives to spare tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions if the Koron and Korona get what they want?” she pressed, the words spilling out of her mouth too smoothed, too practiced, even as her hands trembled against her upper arms.
The desperation that had leaked through my friend since my arrival should have been a warning bell. Because I’d ignoredit, I’d left her drowning in this dark abyss—a place she never should have gone.
And I had to pull her out of the water.
“Even if I wanted to be noble–” The realization that technically, through my bond with Vaeron, I was Herra Räviel, hit me then. I shuddered. There would be time to examine that thought later. “Even if I wanted that, those actions would mean I was no better than the people we hate.”
Heraphia shrugged. “I’m not sure I believe that anymore. Or that the Elessarum leaders would dismiss such an opportunity.”
“You’re holding something back,” I stated, throwing my hair into a messy bun on top of my head and securing it with a leather band. The heat was oppressive, and the adrenaline coursing through my veins didn’t help.
A devious smile tugged at her lips. We’d been sisters long enough that even without our highly attuned intuition, we knew each other’s tells. “They are increasing recruitment based on what we Saw. A forceful conscription to match the Demons’ swelling ranks.”
Bile rose in my throat. “How do you know?”
“Lyriasthe and a few others told me. That’s all the servants can talk about. They’re the worst gossips in the palace. You wouldn’t believe how much they overhear because the nobles treat them like they are invisible. Before you arrived, they’d join us in the evenings after we’d been taken care of and whisper of scandals to make us feel better.”
I gaped at her. “Why not since I’ve arrived?”
“Because the Issaraeth has been around more and they were afraid the Korona was spying on them. I didn’t correct them since no one else knew. But now that your mate is all anyone can talk about…”
