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Lily frowned, dropping her gaze. Imordials were chosen vessels by the Flares and would reincarnate back into their familial line. Their purpose was to carry the gods through the living plane, spreading and representing their influence.

But being born with a god did not make one worthy of the title. By twenty years old, most vessels had already come into their power. Not Lily. That required pride in her heritage and the willingness to flaunt herself across Eizreth like royalty—something she had neither the pride nor the desire for.

She wasn’t an Imordial and never wanted to be one. She was perfectly happy pretending the Wraith didn’t exist.

Keara on the other hand sounded like a force, restrained only by the limits of her body. Defying traditional Ashin customs, she had pushed her power beyond what was allowed—no different from those she had fought against. When the Hazevale’s conquest for immortality sought new territory, she left her homeland of Ashbourne to fight against them when the other major kingdoms would not.

And here hid her reincarnation, ready to run from them.

A knock sounded at the door before Xavier entered her room. Lily greeted him through the mirror with a nod and a tight smile. He was back to his preened self—dressed in a gray, collared shirt under a dark green waistcoat and a pair of matching tweed trousers that complimented the light shade of his eyes.

“I’d say you look very handsome, but when do you not?” Lily yawned. “A little early, isn’t it?”

Xavier placed a hand in his pocket, cocking a brow at the pulled shades in her room. “Nightfall’s in an hour.”

“Is it really?”

“Mhm.” He crossed the room, trailing a finger over the curling wallpaper. The room wasn’t large by any means, only fitting a trunk, a small bed, and the vanity, but whenever Xavier entered using a minimal amount of words, it always seemed so cramped.

Lily sighed, leaning back in her chair to stare at the ceiling. “Alright, let me have it.”

“Hm?”

“The lecture,” Lily said. “Let’s get it over with. I need to get dressed.”

“When have I ever lectured you?” Xavier asked, looking at her bed with disapproval. He sank into the mattress, and the grin he put on warped into a grimace. “How do you sleep on this?”

“It’s not as if yours is much better,” Lily mocked with a smile before turning back to the mirror, plucking a lip rouge at random.

“How would you know? You were only in it one time.”

“True,” she said, gliding the matte red color over her lips. “Come to think of it, I think that’s when the lectures started.”

“No,” he drawled, “that’s not fair. We both agreed we liked this version of us better.”

“Also true.” After a night of celebration and several glasses of hard liquor, Lily had woken up naked, physically and emotionally uncomfortable on Xavier’s stiff mattress. Fortunately, he came to the same conclusion when he rose—that they made better friends than lovers.

Lily pressed her lips to distribute the color, debating if she wanted to feed Xavier’s patient prying. “I’m fine, honestly. Just a little worked up from this morning.”

“You’re allowed to not like going that high up in the city.”

“You’re right. I don’t, but I want to be there for you and Rey. You deserve this break, and I want to make sure no one takes advantage of you.”

“Us. You’re as much a part of this opportunity as Rey and I are.”

Keeping herself separate made the risk of having to move on easier. It was second nature at this point to lie about her origin, but the guilt from doing it to Xavier and Reina always sat heavier.

She kept her smile, turning to face Xavier. “I appreciate every opportunity you’ve given me, but you know I wasn’t looking for a smuggling job when you found me in Kester.”

“I remember,” he said, leaning forward onto his knees. “You wanted to visit the upper side that you’re so afraid of.”

“That was before I learned just how…”

“Selective they are,” Xavier said, finding the word for her.

Lily was born and raised on the Alokyian Peninsula, and as a daughter of a physician limited to using old world medicine, she’d heard tales of the immortals in the clouds who could cure any illness. When she ended up in Kester, the town at the base of the mountains marking the empire’s territory, with Xavier and his mentor offering her a chance to see the topside of Reave in exchange for work, she took it.

Except she was doomed from the start.