Page 99 of Tale of the Heart Queen

“That’s kind of what Coral told me.”

She nods. “The magic lives inside you.”

“But if I don’t ascend or have a child of my own, then it will be lost forever,” I say, repeating what Coral told me. “Then Heart will die.”

My mother nods. “That is the message Amara sends as well.”

“I can’t bring a child into this. Besides, I don’t think we have that much time.”

“I think you may be right,” my mother says.

“What did you mean that it might be better hearing it from you?”

Her lips press together.

“I’ve been sent not only to offer some clarity about past events but also to warn you.”

“Warn me?”

“Zerra knows the Empyrium seek a replacement.”

My mother’s gaze slides to me, the expression on her face clear.

“And she knows it’s me,” I say, finally confirming what Nadir and I already suspected.

“She has sought to kill you,” my mother says. “And she will stop at nothing to do so.”

I rub my face. “Yeah, I was kind of getting that from the fireballs falling from the sky.”

My mother smiles. “I’ve missed that dry sarcasm.”

I laugh. “I don’t think you enjoyed it much when I was twelve.”

She laughs too. “Being your mother wasn’t always easy, but I knew that ferocious spirit would do you well in the end.”

“So what do I do about her?”

“You will need to . . .”

“Kill her before she kills me?” I ask, and my mother nods.

“Can’t the Empyrium just take care of her?”

“It may be some time before they return,” she says. “They do not experience the days and weeks the same way you do on the surface. And by then . . .”

I mimic slicing a knife across my throat.

“So how do I kill her? Please don’t say the arks.”

“The arks,” my mother replies immediately, and I groan.

“Well, the good news is that I kind of stole most of them.”

My mother exhales a surprised laugh and shakes her head. “For some reason, I’m not surprised to hear that.”

My answering smile is rueful.

My mother inhales. “Most?”