“And?”
“And it’s a heart.”
Leena’s face fell. “Any heart?”
“No.” His brow furrowed. “I believe it’sherheart. By giving it up, she’ll become one with Ocnolog and be able to control him.”
“Youbelieve?Kost, we need to be absolutely sure.” I hated that I sounded so harsh. He was going through way too much, and without Gaige there, without a partner to help him sift through old texts and decipher a centuries-old prophecy… The stress of his task was evident in his appearance. But we had to know. We had to stop her.
He leveled me with a tired look. “I know. I’m trying. I wish Raven could’ve traveled with me to fill you in. She’s been an incredible help. It was after discussing the prophecy with her that I was able to deduce the final ingredient.”
“Then where’s the confusion?” Leena went back to tangling her fingers in her bestiary.
“The prophecy speaks of a Charmer who will soothe Ocnolog by offering their heart. But there’s a line in the lyrics, something about ‘a hand that breaks,’ which is puzzling.” He ran his fingers along his jaw. Scowled. “I don’t know if that’s right. The spell itself that Yazmin left behind doesn’t mention anything about that prerequisite. Just a Charmer’s heart.”
“The prophecy is more of a children’s lullaby, right?” Oz asked. “Could just be language to make it easier to remember.”
“Maybe. Or it could be true,” Leena murmured. “Yazminhasbroken things. She’s violated our way of life. Attacking Charmers, using blood magic… She’s already met that requirement.” Leena shook her head and dropped her gaze to the floor. “We’ve long believed that Celeste blesses those on the right path. Maybe she’s been blessed. Think about it. She tamed aVrees. No one has ever done that before. And, she’s somehow managed to gather these near-impossible ingredients.”
“That can’t be true.” I kneeled before her and placed my hands on her knees. “Don’t lose faith now. Think of your beasts. Of Onyx’s blessing.”
Her smile was weak.
Calem stood and began to pace in what little room he had. “So, what do we do?”
“We have to get to her before the anniversary of Celeste’s death and stop her from completing her spell. The problem is Varek,” Kost said.
“But that’s why we’re visiting these ruins. So Noc can be recognized as king and sway his forces. If Varek is outnumbered, he’ll be less inclined to fight us,” Calem said.
Giving Leena’s knee another squeeze, I stood up. “He’d never willingly give up the throne. Even if the entire kingdom of Lendria depended on it. One way or another, we’re going to have to fight to get to Yazmin.”
“Precisely.” Kost ran his hands over his tunic, then moved to smoothing his hair. A glimmer of his old self. Nothing like a problem that needed solving to get some of my brother back. A flicker of hope ignited in my chest. “We need more soldiers,” he said.
“How many Charmers have agreed to fight?” Leena asked.
“More than anticipated. But even with Cruor, it’s still not enough to stand against the entirety of Wilheim.”
“Where do we find more forces?” Ozias asked.
“I have an idea,” Kost said as he tilted his chin my direction. “But you’re not going to like it.”
I let out a sigh. “I came around to the first idea I didn’t like.” Becoming the king of Wilheim didn’t exactly top my list of wants, but I’d agreed to it because it meant Leena would be queen. Together, we’d be mending a centuries-old rift that’d split our country into three factions: Cruor, Hireath, and Wilheim. Once Leena became queen, once our union was solidified, we’d be uniting all Lendrians. No more wars among ourselves. No more exiles in a land we all belonged to. So if there was something else I could do to make that future real, then my like or dislike of the matter was irrelevant.
“We ask Rhyne to be our allies. We need forces, and they have the numbers.”
Silence followed in the wake of his suggestion. My body froze, and a soft ringing started in my ears. Wecouldn’tgo to Rhyne. Amira’s homeland had waged a war against Lendria because they thought I’d killed her. They only stopped attacking when I was presumed dead. To willingly walk back into their court… To show them that, after all these years I’d eluded their grasp… It’d be war all over again.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
“When are you not?” Calem mumbled. I shot him a glare, and he shrugged.
Ozias cleared his throat. “I can’t see how that would go over well, given Noc’s history with them.”
Kost pursed his lips. “It’s Rhyne or Allamere, and we know how likely the mages are to help us.”
“Not likely at all,” Ozias groaned.
