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King Melchior said it casually, but it didn’t feel like an empty threat. Regardless, Adrian stepped forward, ignoring everyone except the king.
“I came on behalf of my brother,” he said. “I won’t go home without him.”
“A very noble captain, indeed,” Vito said.
“Yet somehow disrespectful at the same time,” Hugo added.
“We are discussing how to help your brother now,” King Melchior told Adrian. “The suffering of humanity affects the spiritual realm quite deeply, you know.”
Adrian’s jaw ticked as if he didn’t know how to respond to a king. Maybe he didn’t.
“You want to protect your brother,” King Melchior continued. “I understand.”
“But I don’t, Your Majesty,” Luc interjected, coming forward. “When I found him, his heart was black. I saw it with my own eyes. How could he not be sentenced with the others?”
King Melchior cocked his head at Adrian and stood. With powerful steps, he came down from his throne and stepped forward to stand directly in front of Adrian. Adrian froze to hisspot as the king stared deep past his eyes, perhaps directly into his soul.
“Yes…” the king said after some time. “This boy had a dark soul at one point. But that’s no longer the case. Even the humans can become purified should they find the right path.”
“I’m not sure what path he could have found,” Luc said. “The day he hired me, his heart was black. He went from arsonist to murderer, from murderer to kidnapper, from kidnapper to traitor. His plan this entire time was to steal our most treasured artifact. How could he find a way to purity?”
“Why don’t we let him tell us?” The king cocked his head again, smiling at Adrian. “Just what changed your mind between the sea and the Den of Sirens?”
Adrian stayed silent, his back to us. The king’s eyes shot to me.
“Oh…so that’s it then,” the king said, his eyes now on me. “To find purity, you had to see it first.”
Jacques stepped forward, grabbing Adrian’s forearm and pulling up the sleeve.
Adrian stepped back, raising his other hand up. “I’m flattered, mate, but I’m afraid I’m only interested in women.”
Jacques grunted and yanked on Adrian’s arm again to read it. Wait – could he read the past of humans as well? Humans weren’t reincarnated, so why?
Jacques slapped a hand to his forehead, pulling his hair back with one hand in frustration.
“That explains why your aura around Esmeralda is so strong,” Jacques muttered.
“You couldn’t see that before?” Luc asked.
“I can see auras and I can see the past, but notat the same time,” Jacques threw back. “Blood had to be sacrificed before I could see his life paths.”
“Life paths?” I asked. “Humans have them as well?”
Jacques nodded. “How else do you think they’re judged?”
“I still don’t even understand how someone’s entire past can be written on their arm.”
“With very tiny lettering,” Jacques said flatly.
“But how did he become purified?” Luc snapped. “What does Ast— uh, Esmeralda have to do with it?”
The king stepped between Adrian and me, glancing at us both.
“The human heart is influenced rather easily,” the king explained. “Since their hearts are mixed—darkness and light—they can be swayed in either direction when they see something pure or something evil. Those with a truly evil heart will despise purity. But there are those who have not been lost to their darkness completely, and they see the darkness in themselves once they come in contact with something pure.”
Suddenly, Adrian’s words echoed in my head.
I hate being around you… it makes me feel like a demon.
