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“She is. And I’m positive she’ll make it work, too. Nylah is training Vanya and Hazel, and collectively, their power is incredible. They’ve already saved ten people, as you heard.”
I bristled at the term. “It’s not like we’re drowning, unable to help ourselves.”
Rainier nodded without countering me.
“It’s a wonderful feat to be able to give that choice to ten people again,” I agreed after a beat. “But we’re talking about millions. Ten people, in the grand scheme of things, is nothing.”
“I understand what you’re saying. They’re just scratching the surface. I have faith they’ll figure it out.”
I nodded curtly. It was a great idea to be able to offer the choice to my people and allow them to return to the Luminescence. To have a kingdom freed from darkness was a dream I hadn’t dared to consider because it had always seemed impossible. Focusing on what could never be would only make a man miserable. But if there was a chance…
“I want you to take them with you when you go back to Palgia,” Rainier said.
“What?”
“The healers. Nylah and I have discussed it, and the only way I think they’ll be able to really figure it out is if they’re there with you. We can only do so much from here. I’m sending Fae in the morning to prepare the castle for their stay. I imagine it’s not very…welcoming.”
I thought about it. To have them come to Palgia with me made sense. Where else were they going to find an abundance of Conjurites to work with? I still wasn’t sure they could do what needed to be done to free them all, but did that really matter?
“Palgia is your kingdom, Rainier,” I finally said. “If you want to send them with me to stay in Palgia, I won’t go against it.”
“They’ll still be your guests, and the last thing we want to do is impose.”
It was nice of him to say, but he was ordering me, telling me he would send people ahead, telling me what they were going to do. Although Rainier might have meant well, did he have any idea how much he sounded like Falx? I didn’t have a choice in the matter, much like I hadn’t had it long ago.
Hazel flashed before me. She would be one of the healers, wouldn’t she? If she was in the castle, close to me…
“You and your people are always welcome at the castle.”
Rainier nodded and smiled. “Thank you. I think it could amount to something wonderful.”
“We’ll see.”
We sat in silence for a while, and my mind already spun with preparations that would have to be made. Falx’s castle hadn’t been arranged for guests—the few people he’d invited for banquets and balls had never stayed in the cold, heartless, unforgiving place for very long. It had forced them to choose to leave. Those who’d spent more time there had all been prisoners.
Like Hazel and Vanya. Rainier was going to have his hands full getting it all ready in just a few days. It would take a whole army, and a whole lot of magic.
Rainier had both at his disposal.
The darkness inside me rose up with jealousy—I was Conjurite, I had power, and yet Rainier was above me in station and in wealth. It was downright wrong. I wanted to battle him for it here and now.
Rainier frowned at me, and his magic rose to meet mine. For a moment, light clashed against dark.
I forced myself to reel it in. This wasn’t the place or time.
“What about you?” he asked.
“What about me?” His question had nothing to do with our little metaphysical standoff, and it confused me.
“What would you do if you had the choice?”
I studied Rainier’s face. He was open with me, and he genuinely wanted to know. I’d been so accustomed to serve a king with an ulterior motive, with selfish plans, that I still struggled to shake the habit of not trusting. But Rainier wasn’t like that. He was a king who really cared about his people, and now that Palgia was—in effect—his, he cared about those with Conjurite magic, too.
His honesty deserved a response from me that was equal to it.
“I would take it,” I admitted. “I would leave the Conjurite world behind in a blink.”
“Despite having chosen it?”
