Page 20 of Fate of the Sun King

“I used my magic on her,” I say, and Willow’s mouth falls open. “It was the only way to stop her. I called on my magic and just… obliterated her.”

I recall the vivid details of my dream, thinking of the grotesque husk of her body lying in the grass. I’d blocked it out all those years ago, horrified by what I’d done, but I remember now. “Tristan and I agreed we didn’t want to worry Mother and Father.”

Willow nods with her mouth pressed in a thin line, but I catch the flicker of hurt in her eyes.

“I’d sort of forgotten about it in the passing years,” I admit. “So many other things happened, and we never spoke about it, so it kind of sunk away.”

“Until now,” Nadir says.

I nod. “Until I just had a dream. And I think she must have known. She said something about knowing who I was. What I was. It makes sense that someone else knew.”

“It would,” Nadir says. “Someone beyond your parents and Cedar. How else would Atlas and my father have found out?”

“Atlas told me that he’s friends with Cedar,” I reply, and Nadir snorts.

“Maybe. But why would Cedar have kept that secret for almost three hundred years only to share it now? Cedar definitely isn’t friends with my father and would never have given him information he could potentially use against him.”

“We need to find out,” Willow says.

“Why?” asks Tristan. “Is this the best use of our time? We need to get Lor to the Mirror.”

“Don’t you think this is important?” Willow asks. “Whoever knew told two powerful kings and clearly has an agenda. If the Mirror is the key to getting Lor her magic back, that person will emerge from the woodwork when she does. They had something to gain from all this, and we need to know what, for all our sakes and her safety.”

I nod slowly. “But how do we even begin to uncover who it might be?”

“We’d need to go deeper,” Nadir says. “Maybe find someone who was in Heart that day.”

“What if we went to the settlements?” I ask, the idea stirring a wild longing in my chest.

Nadir shakes his head. “That’s too much of a risk right now.”

“But what Willow says makes sense. If I do get my magic back from the Mirror, then wouldn’t it be better to already understand as much about the entire picture as possible before that happens? How long would it take?”

“We could be there and back in a couple of days.”

“So what’s a few more days while we figure out a plan?” I press my mouth together before whispering, “I need this. I want to see it.”

I watch several thoughts cross his face. He’s trying to keep me safe. He’s trying to approach this from the most logical place, and I’m making that impossible with my request. But I couldn’t see the settlements last time we went to Heart, and if things go poorly with Atlas and the Mirror, I might never get the chance.

“I’ll send a message to Etienne. His last report said my father’s soldiers have evacuated for the most part, but I’ll ask him to do another sweep. We’re not going anywhere near there unless I’m certain it’s safe.”

I blow out a breath. Nadir told me about his friend who watches over the settlements, sending reports. Thankfully, one of those missives stated that the king had stopped testing those women and let them go. It’s the one positive side effect of my confrontation with the king. He had no further reason to search in Heart for the Primary—now he knows it’s me.

“Thank you,” I say.

“I’m not agreeing to anything yet,” he says.

“They’re coming too.” I gesture to Tristan and Willow.

“Of course they are,” he adds dryly.

He rolls his neck, attempting to loosen the tension I’m sure is partly due to me. Or maybe it’s all due to me, but I’d like to think I’m not the sole source of his problems.

“Before we even consider this, we should try releasing your magic again. You are too vulnerable this way. While we wait for word from Etienne, we’ll keep working on it.”

I give him a sharp look, thinking of our encounter this afternoon. Like the last time he channeled his magic against mine, it had been one of the most intense experiences of my life. Did I like it? I certainly didn’t hate it, but that dance feels like it’s wobbling the rickety bridge I’m trying to keep between us.

“Not the way we’ve been,” he says quickly. “Another way.”