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The pale flames along the walls flicker as Kylian passes.

“But the truth is this. A kingdom endured not because its king lived, but because its mage’s bloodline did.”

My heart stutters in my chest, remembering my mother saying something similar to King Torren before she died.

Xavian’s eyes focus on me intently. “When the Arcanum burned, twelve mage lines were meant to die, but only seven did, and their lands rotted, split, and sank without the magic anchoring them.”

Kylian stares at the map silently from across the room as he considers Xavian’s theory. “After the mages were burned, our fathers’ men leveled their entire community. Every house and hut went up in flames, and anyone hiding inside of them would have perished. And so you’re saying, of the five surviving kingdoms—”

“Ah, possibly six surviving kingdoms if the sirens live,” Xavian cuts in.

“Of the six possible kingdoms,” Kylian says slowly. “You think there are descendants of each kingdom’s mage who slipped through the purge unseen. And when the kings before us died, and we didn’t . . .”

The magic stirring beneath my skin responds to his words, like it knows its own history better than I do. My throat tightens as if my body is trying to swallow a scream. If kingdoms lived and died by bloodlines, then my mother’s last words were not just about hiding from guards. They were about keeping an entire kingdom breathing through my veins. About a responsibility I never asked for and cannot possibly bear.

“Protect her, Alessia. You both need to remain hidden. They can never know, or they’ll come for you, too.”

Now those words hold more meaning than ever. She knew her kingdom relied on my survival to ensure its existence.

The thought makes me feel sick because I did not ask for that burden.

“I recognized her the moment I laid eyes on her,” Xavian says, and his gaze shifts to me with an intensity that makes my skin crawl. Kylian pulls me flush against his chest, like a predator sensing competition. A warning to Xavian that whatever I am, whatever power flows through me, belongs to him now.

“What do you mean you recognized me?”

Xavian tilts his head. “You look exactly like your mother.” His brow furrows. “Her eyes were different, though. One blue and one green.”

My eyes widen with disbelief. “Wait, one blue eye and one green? That wasn’t my mother.”

“Of course it was. River Raveena. Mage of the Emberfall Kingdom.”

“River was my aunt, and she didn’t have any children,” I say, brows furrowing in confusion.

“Your aunt?” Xavian muses. “Most interesting then.” He seems to ponder for a moment. Then his eyes flick to Kylian, and he says with a hint of dark humor, “For a moment, I was hoping she was Draven’s bond.”

Draven’s bond? His words make no sense.

As if Kylian can read my thoughts, he says, “King Draven’s father, along with mine, were the ones who wanted to hunt the Arcanum in the first place. River was the only mage who didn’t abandon her post during the war, so Draven’s father used her to track the other mages down. At first, they hoped she could convince the mages to return, but when they refused—”

“I know what happened when they refused,” I snap. As if I could ever forget their screams.

“Eventually Draven’s father intercepted a letter your aunt was trying to send to Purgatory Island. That was seven years after I met her.”

“How did you find my aunt stranded in the ocean if she stayed with her kingdom?”

Xavian sighs heavily. “I’d searched every kingdom for my missing mage, spent months at sea. Purgatory Island was the only place I hadn’t truly checked, and the energy there alone called to me.” Xavian’s eyes are far away as he speaks. “She was on a ship carrying prisoners to Purgatory when they were attacked by Avelvorn pirates. The wreckage was sinking fast, and she offered to help me find my kingdom’s mage if I got her and her unborn child to Purgatory Island.”

“I’m telling you, you’re wrong. My aunt had no children.”

Xavian nods. “But she was pregnant. When I got her to Purgatory, we were docking, and she managed to escape me. It took days to find her, and when I did, she said her baby was stillborn.”

Aunt River was pregnant?

“I always thought her child survived, that one day I’d find her. But now you’re here, her niece, which means I was right. Sangremere lives because you do. Which means there are four more mages to be found.”

My stomach clenches at his words. Four more like me. Four more people will be hunted for blood they didn’t choose, for power they might not even know they possess. Xavian turns slightly toward me, and his voice is soft enough to sound polite. “So that makes you very important to me.”

Kylian steps into his line of sight with a growl that vibrates through my bones. “You will not touch her.”