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“But why does it have to be children?” Nava’s lips flattened just as a wave of anger, mixed with sorrow, flared through their bond. “No matter how frightening the decline of magic is—or the supposed end of the world at the hands of the gods—a child should remain with their family.”
“I agree.” Orion nodded. “But if children stay with their non-magical parents, they can’t be taught or trained properly. They might hurt themselves or others by accident. Some villages are so poor Nava, they lack education and sometimes they punish the innocent magical kids because of their powers, which they can’t control.” He’d prefer not to remember everything he had seen in his time. The innocents who’d suffered unspeakable torture. “It’s hard to grow up when you’re always the scary one. When people don’t understand you.”
Nava’s expression softened, and she reached for his hand, pausing briefly before taking it. “You never told me about this…”
“It’s not a good story to tell.” Orion’s chest felt tight all of a sudden. Why hadn’t he shared any of this with her before? Regardless of the reason, he wanted her to know now. “Once, the Crows commanded me to check up on several families. The rumor was that they’d harmed their children because of their powers. When I found them locked in dark rooms, barely more than skin and bones, I nearly lost it.”
“Gods…” Nava turned pale.
He ground his teeth. If only he could lose those memories, shake the echo of the rage that had consumed him, demanding he seek retribution. “And when I asked for the children to be released, the families demanded the price the Crown pays per head.” Shame forced his eyes away from her compassionate gaze. “Of course, I also took some children who were loved because I thought I had to.”
“And now you believe the drafts are wrong?”
“I believe the Crowns should invest in better education for their people. Also, I wish they wouldn’t treat their armies like disposable human camps.”
“I enjoy learning all this. It makes a bit more sense—I just don’t understand why the Vulcan showed us this book.”
Orion smirked, squeezing her shoulder. Nava was right. This was the legend behind the creation of the kingdoms. Not much use for closing the portals—nor for understanding who was sending the Zorren.
“Devon Black did this. Force him to hold the Vulcan again and get us the answers we need,” one of his shadows spat, and its venom rushed through Orion’s blood, awakening his power.
Orion took a breath to calm himself and clenched his jaw tight against the throbbing within his skull.
“I’m sorry about what happened,” Nava said, as if she were reading him like the open book beneath his hand.
The crawling sensation under his skin intensified alongside the need to disappear into the shadows of the room. To hide and lick his wounds. “You’ve done nothing to be sorry for.”
“Maybe I’m sorry for how you feel right now. Maybe it’s time we show Devon who the wicked one in this relationship is.”
Surprise pushed a laugh past Orion’s lips. “You don’t have a drop of blood in your body that’s truly wicked, Bee.”
“May I remind you that the life debt only existed because I almost killed him?” She let out a shaky breath. “Not that I’m proud of it. And I have grown to care for Devon—against my better judgment.”
“I’m not angry about him wanting to make sure you are safe. He understands your role as a Beekeeper. You found a Dark One who looks like me and is letting the demons in.”
“But we agreed it couldn’t be you,” she grumbled.
“Yes, and it hurts that he doubted me, but I would have done the same, and I will get over it. Devon needed to be sure he could trust me, and I understand that.”
He was done talking about it, to be honest. He flicked back to the page the book had originally opened on and pointed to the line of text that mentioned the Silver Kingdom. “The witches tied the four rulers and their descendants to their new kingdoms. It’s the very reason my father kidnapped me from our home on Grey Island.”
She returned her focus to the book. “Because your magic feeds the land…”
“Our magic. You are the future queen, Nava.” If only she didn’t look so defeated. It tore him from the inside out. He reached for her again, as if one simple touch might revive him, but she turned her face away from him.
“I do understand that.”
She hated it in the Copper Kingdom. How could she not? Everything she’d experienced here had been negative. The burning forests, the Zorren, the king—hell, even Orion had played a part in Nava facing trial after trial. The knowledge only made his stomach sink further.
“I understand why I chose not to come back of my own free will,” he whispered, grasping her chin and lifting her face to meet his. The answer was simple. The Arkimedes from a year ago had known Nava wasn’t ready for this. That she was too new to the world of magic—a world where her soulmate was a Dark One with a giant secret in the shape of a kingdom. “If you really don’t want to be a queen, we will leave once all of this is over.”
“Really?” Her lips parted, and she searched his face as if she was trying to find the lie there.
“Yes.”
“What about the kingdom?”
“Perhaps we can live somewhere in our land but far away from the castle and the king.” He paused, and the memory of a red-haired boy flashed through his mind. Cameron—Nava’s little brother.
