“Things are changing. This state could be crawling with Luxian soldiers hunting for Tezya, Sie, and Dovelyn. If they found you… if you had run into one of them…”
“Well it’s a good thing I’m just a human then,” she snapped. “They want nothing to do with me. They aren’t going to just randomly kill me because—”
“They could though!” he roared. “They could kill you in an instant, and you wouldn’t stand a chance. They’d kill you just like they had your mother for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Savannah straightened, her back going rigid. “That’s hardly the point.”
Brock added gently, “Regardless if you aren’t a target, Sav. If what you’re saying is true… if the King is capturing humans, they could have taken you too if they found you.”
Savannah rolled her eyes. “Guys, I’m fine. I made it back in one piece, didn’t I? Can we stop talking about your lack ofconfidence in me defending myself and instead focus on what I’m trying to show you?”
My jaw tightened as I scanned the newspapers Savannah stole, and I couldn’t shake the feeling it had Athler and the King written all over it. “We should question Arcane,” I replied slowly.
“Why?” Dovelyn asked.
“Because if what he said during the trade was true…” I shook my head.
Wells’ eyes flared. “You think he already made the mass compulsion serum?”
“I don’t know, but the only reason the King would want humans would be to experiment and run tests on them, so if he really is the one stealing them, then we’re fucked.”
We hada few hours before the big meeting would begin so Dravenburg thought it would be pertinent to start with Arcane.
Scotlind, Wells, and I were standing outside his tent—makeshift-turned-prison—when the guards went to fetch him.
Arcane arched a silver brow as he exited. Chains were loosely clamped over his wrists, but otherwise he was free to walk. “Here I thought you all forgot about me.”
Wells didn’t say anything, but I could see him fidgeting with his fingers.
“We need your help,” I said, knowing Wells was planning on not speaking for as long as possible.
“Oh,” Arcane mocked. “With what?”
“We want you to examine a ring we found.”
He tsked. “Is that all?”
“No,” I said, gritting my teeth, bracing for what he’d ask in return. “We also want to know your progress on the mass compulsion serum.”
He huffed a laugh. “Why would I help you withanyof that?”
“Because I know you hate the King as much as we do, so you will.”
Arcane smiled. “TheKing…” he let the word roll off his tongue slowly. “You know, I’ve been waiting for you to trust me, Tezya.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, Ar?”
“It means you’ve always called him the King ormydad orDove’sdad, but you never once referred to him asyourdad.”
I stilled. He knew. With all the commotion that happened, I hadn’t thought about it. When I told the camp I was half Tennebrisian, Arcane wasn’t here, and growing up, after our mother died, Dovelyn and I thought the less people that knew the better, so I never told him.
“How did you find out?”
“You mean besides the fact that I’ve been stuck in this tent and that gossip around here has been mildly easy to come by?” He met my stare, and even though he was smiling, I could tell there was some hurt behind it. “I’ve always known, Tezya.”
“How?”
“You forget I’m the oldest. That I was around a lot longer than Dove, and I knew your father too. I was around when mom and him had their affair. I knew things changed the moment you were born.” He shrugged. “It was easy to put two and two together.”
