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“I know. Aron Lagaris did.”
Jonas shot a look toward Aron’s body, and his gaze snapped back to Magnus’s. “He killed my brother and my best friend.”
“And now he’s dead. He received the same end I originally planned for you. Although, I must admit, I planned on making you suffer quite a bit longer.”
“It was supposed to be my blade that took his life!”
Magnus offered him a thin, humorless smile. “Get over it.”
Suddenly, there was a scream from outside the tent. Many screams and terrified cries that no longer sounded like the familiar sounds of battle. It only took a moment to discover the reason why.
“Fire!” someone yelled.
A line of flames began to snake around the circumference of the tent, as if the earth itself had been set ablaze.
Magnus pulled his sword away from Jonas’s throat and moved swiftly to the flap of the tent, pushing it aside.
urned to the flap of the tent, but escape was blocked by someone new standing in their way.
He was tall, with bronze hair that swept his shoulders. His eyes were the color of copper. He was easily twice Jonas’s age.
Phaedra eyes widened at the sight of him. “Xanthus.”
He smiled at her. “It has been a very long time, Phaedra.”
“Too long.”
“You knew I was here, didn’t you?”
She nodded slowly. “Yes.”
“But you told no one else.”
“The others think you’re dead. And you’ve done a very good job of keeping yourself hidden all these years.”
“But not from you.”
“No, not from me.”
“I have missed you, sister. So much.”
“And I’ve missed you. Even though I hated you for leaving. For doing what she told you to do.”
Pain entered his copper-colored eyes. “I never meant to hurt you.”
“I know.” She jumped into his arms, hugging him tight. “You can make it up to me. Leave this place. You can help me . . . help us. We need safe passage out of this camp.”
Jonas tried to follow along, but he was lost. This man—Xanthus. He was the road engineer the rebels had targeted. But he was a Watcher too? Phaedra’s brother? How was any of this possible?
“I was told you would come here,” Xanthus said, still in Phaedra’s embrace.
“Who told you?” She pulled back and looked up into his face, touching his cheek. But then her face paled. “She’s evil, Xanthus. Why can’t anyone see that as clearly as I do?”
“Melenia does what she must to save us all,” Xanthus said. “And it’s now, Phaedra. We’re so close.” He clasped her face between his hands. “And I’m so sorry. I wish you could be here when it happens. What we’ve waited so long for.”
“Where else will I be? I’ve sacrificed my immortality, just as you did. We can be together again. The past is the past. Let’s leave it there.”
Xanthus’s eyes narrowed. “I’m afraid not, my sister. You know far too much. I’ve been given very specific instructions from Melenia. And I am at her command—I always have been. I always will be.”
