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“I didn’t know when I was going to have another chance. You’ve been holing yourself up in that palace like a scared little child.”
I bristled, but shoved down my defensiveness. “So you don’t have a plan right now? You’re just going to keep me here until what? You get more of the Anti-Order back on board?”
“SHUT UP, ELIX!” she shouted at me, taking me aback.
Is she having a psychotic break?She wasn’t acting anything like she had been before, and I wasn’t sure how to manage her.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, changing my tune as I realized I wasn’t dealing with a mentally-sound being now. “Why don’t you sit and talk to me so I can understand some of this? You can’t blame me for being a bit defensive when I’m the one being kidnapped, Lysandra.” I offered her my most winning smile. She eyed me warily, but I saw the fire diminish in her dark eyes. I jumped on the moment. “Do you know if we have any more siblings? I’ve been thinking about that a lot since we last saw each other.”
Lysandra started to laugh, but to my relief, she flopped down on a high-backed wing chair that matched the sofa perfectly.
“A few,” she replied with a smirk. “But none as close to the kings as you are.”
My heart sank. “Is that why Agnan chose my mother?”
Lysandra snorted. “That’s why all the mothers were chosen,” she replied tersely. “Everything Agnan does is calculated. He didn’t just impregnate out of lust.”
My irises flicked over her face, her use of time tenses confusing me.
“It wasn’t his fault that most of the mothers were too weak to raise the children and instead opted to put them in orphanages for him to find later.”
Sweat broke out over my brow. “All the children he took were his?!” I sputtered, my skin crawling in disgust at the implication.
“Don’t be absurd,” Lysandra barked. “Of course not. He selected others also, but he did initially go in search of his own children. If the children had stayed in the castles, theOrder of Souls would have already been successful.” She smiled mirthlessly at me. “Your mother was the only one who was strong enough,” she added. “Glynda.”
I gasped. “How do you know her name?”
Lysandra blinked once and laughed. “I told you, Elix. I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.”
“What about the other siblings?” I pressed, my head spinning with this revelation. “Where are they? Why aren’t you looking for them?”
“You are the only one with any real connection to a king right now,” she sighed. “Don’t play dumb, Elix. I know you’re smart and powerful. You would have to be.”
I drew in a sharp breath and fought against the chains again. They seemed stronger this time, as if she had put more effort into ensuring I was kept down.
“There’s no sense in fighting against them, Elix. They’re not coming off this time,” she told me, as if reading my mind.
“There’s no sense in you keeping me here,” I told her boldly. “Nothing has changed since the last time you took me. In fact, I’m even more committed to Jace now than I was before.”
To my amazement, a slow, cruel smile formed on her pretty face.
“Good. I’m glad to hear that,” she informed me, causing my eyebrows to raise in alarm. “You should stay with him and live a long and happy life.”
My pulse turned erratic now. “I don’t understand what’s happening,” I admitted. “That’s not what you said the last time we talked.”
Lysandra shrugged nonchalantly. “Can’t a fae change her mind?” she asked sweetly, batting her eyes.
“That’s a pretty big shift, Lysandra,” I told her warily. My subconscious screamed a warning at me, but my conscious mindwas having a difficult time reconciling what it was trying to tell me.
“I want you and King Jace to be together,” she decided. “I’ve realized now that you will never conform to the idea of killing anyone.”
Her words should have offered me comfort, but they only put me more on edge.
“Then what am I doing here, Lysandra?”
“I want us to have an understanding,” she explained. “Once you become queen.”
I scoffed. “I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen now,” I informed her bluntly. “I’m Agnan’s daughter. Dark magic runs through my veins. I can’t wear a Goldhaven crown.”
