She trusted me, and I—
I blink, just in time to see Oro’s sword inches from my chest, about to skewer right through my heart. I should let him.
In the last moment, I use every shred of strength to turn my body from flesh and bone to just a wisp of smoke, just like when I walk through walls, and the blade goes right through me.
But we both can see it.
He won. Had I not used my power, he’d have killed me.
The second son ... he won this battle. Againstme.
I stumble back and go right through the flames. I use them as a wall, blocking me, as I portal back to the castle.
My feelings, my memories, they’ve knocked me off my carefully constructed axis. I feel. Ifeel. I make it a few steps before retching. I slide my hand across my mouth when I’m done. Teeth gritted, I try to bury these emotions again, just as I did before. I’m able to fold away some of them ... but not all. I’m left with the regret, the self-loathing, the pain ...
I find my father slumped over on his throne. When he sees me, he can barely get his head up.
“What happened?” I demand, the first time I’ve ever demanded anything from him. His weakness meant I was out there alone. I, alone, have had to killthousandsbecause of his orders.
And he isn’t even strong enough to sit upright.
He narrows his eyes at my insolence, and I wonder if he would kill his only heir. The feelings within me lurch again, and I almost wish he would try.
Instead, he lifts his palm. At the center of it, sits a marking I don’t understand.
“What is—”
“I’ve been cursed,” he tells me. “I sensed it, and the augur read my blood. He confirmed it.”
Cursed?“What kind of curse?” Curses are an ancient practice, only mastered by few in our histories.
“One tied to an object.”
My voice is ragged, desperate, becausethis bastard cannot die. “What object?”
“On the island of Atlas, there lives—”
“A diamond.”
The word is barely a whisper, as I remember one of the many secrets Laila told me. The thought of her produces another painful flare of regret. I work to put it out.
He nods. “I could not claim it ... and it cursed me for trying.”
I blink. In recent years, I’ve become more familiar with the diamond called Infinite. It is said to hold otherworldly ability. The climb to claim it is treacherous. And ... even those who have made it to Atlas’s peak have been killed by the stone itself.
I don’t understand why my father, ruler of Nightshade, would take such a risk. Then, a thought forms. “You thought its power would help us win the war.”
The corners of his lips twitch. He looks like he’s almost at the edge of losing his mind, as he leans forward. “The war? This stone would winthe world.”
Now that my emotions are unmoored, a strange rage fills me, because I had stupidly hoped there would be an end to all this bloodshed. All this death.
But this ... it’s clearly just the beginning.
My father will never be satisfied. He doesn’t just want Lightlark. He wantseverything.
The reality of our situation becomes clear.
My father is dying.
