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The possessiveness in his voice should frighten me more than it does. Instead, I find myself grateful for the shield of his body between me and Xavian, even as I hate myself for needing his protection.

Xavian lifts a brow as if amused. “If you think you are leaving with the only mage found so far who can help me find mine, you are surely mistaken.”

Kylian shoves me toward Eagan, who quickly moves to put himself between me and the kings.

“How about I offer you something else,” and the moment the words leave Kylian’s mouth my instincts scream at me. “I do not want the other kingdoms learning of her existence, as I am sure you do not want them learning any of this,” Kylian continues.

Xavian tilts his head. “I am listening.”

“I am offering you her sister.”

For a moment, I think I misheard him.

“She has a sister?” Xavian’s gaze shifts to me

“No!” I lunge toward Kylian with everything in me, forgetting the fact that I am small and mortal, because Sable is the only thing in this world that has kept me going.

Eagan catches me before I can even reach Kylian, hauling me back as I thrash, kick, and claw so hard my chest hurts. The idea of trading Sable is unthinkable.

“You will not touch her,” I hiss through clenched teeth. “I’ll kill you!” The words tear from my throat. “I’ll fucking kill you before I let you touch her!”

Kylian doesn’t even look at me. His eyes stay on Xavian, and the slight curl at the corner of his mouth tells me he expected this reaction. Maybe he wants to show me what happens when I disobey him.

“Is your sister like you?” Xavian asks, ignoring my outburst.

I grit my teeth, unwilling to answer, but my silence is an answer itself. Sable’s magic has barely awoken; she has always been better at ignoring it than me. Hers was only a flutter of energy until recently, and she’ll get stronger when her power manifests at eighteen, assuming something traumatic doesn’t bring it forth sooner.

My power erupted early when Madam Dahlia tried selling Sable to a brothel. I was fourteen, carrying a pail of water from the well, when I stumbled across Dahlia dragging Sable to her car. I tried to stop her, but when she said where she was taking Sable, I lost my temper.

The next thing I knew, the cold water from the well had turned scalding, the steel bucket I was clutching turned bright red, and I tossed it on her. Luckily she thought I had just finished boiling it for her bath, so she never suspected it was magic, but I knew instantly by the exhaustion that tore me apart for days afterward, and by how I could feel it like a live wire living under my skin.

“I take your silence as a yes. Is she your twin?” Xavian asks, but Kylian answers before I can, and I curse myself for ever telling him about her.

“No, she told me Sable is her younger sister.”

“Sable, huh? Well, that explains it.” Xavian’s eyes sparkle.

“Explains what?” Kylian’s attention sharpens, and I stop struggling for a moment, caught by the strange look in Xavian’s eyes.

“If your aunt was River Sable Raveena, then your mother was Liliana Alessia Raveena.”

I shake my head. I know where he’s going with this, but he’s wrong. “My mother always said she named my sister after her twin.”

“But magic is handed down to the firstborn only . . . unless twins are born. Only the oldest child inherits power. If your sister is the same as you, I’m willing to bet everything I own that she isn’t your sister at all.”

It can’t be true. Sable has always been my sister. I’ve protected her, cared for her, and loved her as my sister for as long as I can remember.

“She is your cousin,” he says, and the certainty in his voice makes my heart stop. “River’s child lived.”

CHAPTER 28

• Alessia •

I DON’T WANT to believe his words, yet now I can’t get Aunt River’s eyes out of my head, the same eyes as Sable—one blue and one green.

Now I’m questioning every aspect of my childhood that I can remember. I want to deny it until my last breath, yet that deep knowing settles in my bones, telling me he speaks the truth.

“Well, where is she?” Xavian asks, like he’s talking about some lost possession and not a living girl who might or might not be my sister.