Instinctively, my hand went to the top knobs of my spine. Basil and I had matching birthmarks there. “No.”
“Raithe, there should be a hand-held mirror in one of the drawers of my desk. Fetch it, please.”
Disbelief eviscerated my ability to speak while Raithe retrieved the item. I refused to take it when he handed it to me.
“Look at yourself,” Gregorios insisted. “Your body has been claimed by the hands of Scorpio as her divine heir to this queendom. One day soon you will also bear the primal glyph of water on your forehead, should you successfully wieldhudroin a ceremonial trial. For you, Roselyn, are the next Chosen princess and future queen of Scorpio.”
My fingers explored the small indentation on the back of my neck. I never questioned how odd it was that Basil and I looked nothing alike yet had perfectly matching scars in the same location. “There is a mark on my spine,” I murmured in a daze. “All this time… is it truly possible?”
“It is a common place to insert a travel stone for younger folks,” Gregorios said. “Surgical experts recommend the area for children because once inserted, the growing bones morph around it, and it’s unlikely to be felt by the wearer, nor cause issues long-term. However, since you have no recollection, my guess is it was inserted when you were a babe. Your family never mentioned anything?”
“My grandparents could never afford such stones.”
“Perhaps not now. What about when you were born? What were their circumstances before you were alive? What of your parents?”
“My brother and I never knew them.”
“So how can you claim to know what is and is not possible?”
I clenched my teeth together. “Because… because…”
“A parent will do anything to keep their child safe.”
“Not all parents,” Raithe grunted, reminding me of his presence.
There was so much Basil and I didn’t know about our grandparents’ life before us—their son, our parents. Who was our father? Our mother? Couldtheyhave been responsible for implanting travel stones in us? I didn’t want to believe it.
“I have a natal chart,” I said numbly. “My grandparents… I don’t understand why they would lie to us all these years.”
“I wouldn’t put too much stock into her words, Gregorios,” Raithe remarked. “She is quite talented in the performing arts. Not to mention, her betrothed is also an apostate.”
“You son of a—” I advanced on him with my palm extended. He lazily caught my wrist before it pummeled his face.
“Bitch?” he finished for me. “Sweetheart, you have no idea.”
Sweetheart.Unwelcome memories of our first encounter rushed to the surface: catching sight of him in the crowd, dancing suggestively for him, his body holding me from behind…
My skin burned, and not entirely from my glyphs. Stars, I needed to get a grip. I’d seen attractive men before, though I often gravitated toward those with more approachable features. This guardian—Raithe—was off-limits and maddeningly infuriating.
“Jere isn’t my betrothed,” I said finally. “I never accepted.” It took a moment for the rest of his accusations to catch up to me. “He’s one of them?”
“He’s how I found you.”
I didn’t know Jere well enough to determine if it made sense, other than his foul personality. “Wait until his mother finds out.”
“You’re saying you didn’t know?” Raithe asked dubiously. “What about your other?—”
“I’ll remind you, Raithe, she is a Chosen now like us,” Gregorios reprimanded. “Do not let Maryn’s loathing of our kind poison your heart as well. This woman is your princess, your future queen.”
Except I wasn’t. I couldn’t be. “I need to return to Gemini.”
“And why is that again?” Raithe quipped.
“Because my brother has been captured by…” I closed my mouth at the challenging raise of his brow. He was baiting meto reveal exactly who held my brother captive. The Scorpion seer would undoubtedly be less inclined to offer any assistance if he knew I was tangled up with the apostai. “When Raithe found me,” I tried again, more carefully this time, “my brother was in trouble. I only agreed to come here willingly if he promised to help find him.”
“Did he now?” Gregorios seemed surprised.
“Well?” I demanded of Raithe. “I’m here. Will you hold up your end of our bargain?”
