“I cannot be a king,” I tell him. “I can’t even hold my temper. Isn’t that why you requested my presence? What I did. I’m not proud of fighting her father. I knew it wasn’t a fair fight.”
He grins. “The power of love is strong, but also very dangerous.”
“You are not fully to blame. Ahmal knows the laws of Mother Fate. He should have sent Mara back home.”
“Wait, you’re...”
“I am not defending you, Aaron.” His voice sharpens, cutting through my surprise. “What you did was reckless. I’m only saying I understand why.” He grins again, knowing. “The lioness is incredibly stubborn. But strong. I don’t think you give her enough credit.”
The truth of it stings.
“Is it out of fear from your own upbringing?” he asks, seeing through me with unsettling clarity.
I groan. I don’t want to say it out loud, to expose this, but I’m tired of hiding.
“Yes,” I admit, the word feeling like it’s torn from somewhere deep. “I watched my mother struggle. It hurt to watch her have to be strong with no help. When we got to Wintermoon and found out who we were, things changed. But it still lives in me. That struggle. That helplessness. I never want to see Mara struggle. I can’t handle it.”
It’s the truth I’ve been running from. That my need to protect Mara isn’t just about her, it’s about me.
“Trust in your mate bond, not your fear,” he says. “She is stronger than you know.”
I look to him and nod.
“I have been waiting for an answer from you for a year. Now, you only have a week to think it over.”
I frown at him but nod.
Amir turns from the water and starts walking toward the royal cabin. He stops. His back stays turned, his posture suddenly rigid.
“I know the Witching Glen has been reaching out to you.”
My magic sparks at my fingertips, responding to the sudden fear that floods through me. I clench my fists, trying to contain it, to hide my reaction.
“I don’t know exactly what they stand to gain from you in particular. But I’m about one week from destroying the Witching Glen.”
He starts walking again. “Whether they live or there’s a great reset is completely up to you.” He disappears into the cabin.
One week. Eric, Wintermoon, my own life—and I’m the one with the say.
I close my eyes and reach for Mara through the bond, desperate for her presence.
It comes in glimpses, flashes of sensation and sight. The conjuring room in the faculty library. Bookshelves lining the walls. Tiana sitting on a plush sofa, hands wrapped around a mug, her expression serious. And Mara across from her, listening intently to something I can’t hear.
My eyes snap open, cold dread washing through me.
Shit. Mara didn’t listen to me at all.
She’s with my sisters.
Ah fuck.
12
Mara
My nerve nearly fails me the moment I step into the library. I stare at the large double doors at the end of the hall, trying to dig up the nerve to do what I came in here for.
My tail sways behind me, betraying the anxiety I’m trying to hide, and then it hits someone with a solid thwack.
