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I turn to Kylian. “You still think they exist, don’t you? Last night you said to keep the curtains closed, that something could be watching.”

“Pirating is still an issue at sea,” he mutters.

“What about the fae? They survived. I’ve seen a few in Purgatory.”

“Yes, Glimmersun was the old fae kingdom. But the fae have never been big on respecting boundaries. They are social creatures who love traveling. So when the tide took Glimmersun, many were already in other kingdoms. Most eventually were taken in by the Elven King.”

I nod slowly, pointing to the next kingdom, watching Kylian prowl behind me.

“Gravemaw,” Kylian growls. “Was the fourth largest kingdom. Home to the orcs.”

I frown. “Are there any left?”

“No. Not one. But it’s no one’s loss. They were horrid like the goblins, uncivilized.”

“And the last one?”

There’s a beat of silence before Xavian answers. “Highreach belonged to the humans. I don’t think the mages intended for their kingdom to sink, but once Glimmersun was submerged, the glaciers behind it went under as well. The sea rose even more, and Highreach was too close to survive. Every kingdom scrambled to relocate the humans to Purgatory.”

“But wasn’t Purgatory a prison?” I ask. “Why would the humans agree to go there?”

Xavian turns his gaze from the map to us. “By the time we were relocating humans after the flood, the island wasn’t a wasteland of exile anymore. That’s part of what drew me there. When the mages first abandoned their posts, none of the kings looked at Purgatory. It was a dumping ground. But every prisoner drop I made during the war, the island seemed different. More alive. Thriving even. The energy there had shifted. I could feel it vibrating through me before even stepping foot on the land. I just couldn’t find proof that the mages were there,” Xavian says, turning his gaze from the map to me. “So imagine my surprise when I caught sight of the most miraculous thing.”

I look away guiltily, remembering the sunflowers in the town square. The locals were stunned when the flowers sprouted from the mud after a tropical storm ravaged the island.

“There was a mage, stranded at sea, seeking passage on my ship to return to Purgatory. Your mother, pregnant with you, I assume.”

My heart drops. He caught my mother returning to the island? Pregnant with me?

“Wait, when was this? You said nothing about finding confirmation of the mages location.” Kylian’s patience feels paper thin as his nails bite into me.

“Given what you know now, would you have told your father, Kylian?”

Kylian lifts his chin and looks away.

“I didn’t think so.”

The lump in my throat grows as I think of my field of sunflowers and my mother burning for my mistake. “So it was my mother who led you to Purgatory, nothing else?”

His smile turns sharp. “Yes”

“So, it wasn’t my fault.” My knees feel like they are on the verge of giving out. I’ve lived for years with the belief that I was the one who got my mother killed. She always said we had to hide our power, to not let anyone see. I didn’t know about the world she kept hidden from us beyond the wall.

Xavian paces toward the map, dragging one finger over the dusty surface thoughtfully.

Kylian’s voice sharpens. “My father waged war on many kingdoms because he thought they were harboring the mages, and you knew for years . . .” He almost sounds bitter. “It makes sense how Purgatory grew to flourish. I never understood how all our kingdoms had suffered bloodshed and war, yet Purgatory seemed teeming with life.”

“That it was,” Xavian agrees.

“And everyone else just died?” It’s hard to believe that entire civilizations disappeared beneath the waves.

Kylian answers with a grim steadiness. “What’s left is what we’ve become now.” His gaze shifts to Xavian. “After the purge, what made you think there were mages who survived? Why did you keep looking for them?”

Xavian’s smile thins as he answers. “Did you never question why only five kingdoms survived, why we had time to evacuate while the others drowned?”

“Of course I questioned it.” Kylian moves to put distance between us again, slowly drifting around the edge of the room, his fingers trailing over ancient scrolls. “I assumed luck or a flaw in their curse.”

Xavian nods. “You’re right. No one questioned it beyond that. It was easier than admitting the surviving kingdoms still relied on their mages.”