“No,youwould lose,” I say, my determination and anger fueling me. “Because if you stabbed me, you would never forgive yourself.”
Something softens in her expression before she snaps her gaze away, pinning it to the window.
“I know the truth, Asha. You cannot stand the person you’ve become, but you’ve already gone too far to change.” Sadness etches deep into my chest as I push open her door and step into the corridor, leaving her staring at the window.
Chapter Three
Jasce
Where are you,Annora?
Jude and Reeve sit nearby, their expressions grim as they watch me wear a path in the marble in my throne room in Sharhavva. I feel their concern, their unease at my agitation, but I can’t bring myself to care. Not now. Not when Annora’s still out there.
Over the last month, I have hired teams of men to search for her, scouring every inch of our lands and beyond. I’ve called in every favor, threatened, cajoled, and promised the world to anyone who can bring me a scrap of information, and yet, I still haven’t found her.
At night, I toss and turn in our bed, the mattress cold and empty without her. I reach for her in the dark, my heart leaping at every imagined rustle or sigh, only to find myself alone. Always alone.
The door bursts open, and one of my spies enters, bowing hastily before me. “My Lord, I have news of Lady Annora.”
“What have you learned?”
“She’s been seen in Bakva, My Lord.”
“And my brother, Aleksander?” I force the question, even though I already know the truth. Where Annora is, Aleksander is there too.
“Lord Aleksander is in Bakva as well,” the spy says.
Fury races through my veins. “I knew it. That fucking bastard took Annora.”
Concern sparks in Jude’s eyes as he stands and moves closer to me. “Why would he take her? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Her magic.” The truth hits me as soon as I say the words—the truth I should have realized before now. “She has Lyra’s magic, and Lyra could summon a Phoenix.”
Jude’s eyes widen. “Fuck!”
I turn to the spy. “Find out everything you can about their whereabouts and what Aleksander is planning. I want every detail, no matter how small.”
The spy bows again before backing out of the room.
I look at my brothers. “I’m going to get her back.”
Jude places a hand on my shoulder. “We will get her back, but we need to be smart about this.”
Be smart?Be smart?When every fiber of my being screams to go to Bakva, to burn it to the ground, to burn my brother to ash.
“You cannot kill him,” Reeve says, as though he knows what I’m thinking.
“I can, and I will,” I say through my teeth.
The sunlight filtering through the windows glimmers in Reeve’s eyes as he folds his arms and speaks in an even voice. “He probably bound their magic, which means you cannot kill him without harming her.”
White-hot anger floods through me as I slam my hands against the war table, scattering maps, and papers. “I don’t care. I’ll find another way.”
“There is no other way,” Reeve says, his voice steady. Too steady. Too controlled.
I whirl on him. “Then, what do you suggest I do? Let him keep her? Let him use her magic for whatever game he’s playing?”
“Nobody is suggesting that.” Jude steps between us, hands raised. “But rushing to Bakva will only make things worse.”
