“I don’t care about the realm,” Lucius said, his voice booming in the tight space, raw and unyielding. “I don’t care about a dying throne or the alliances you think we can trust. I care about Mic.”
“We have to think about this from every angle. We can’t save her without sacrificing everyone else. She wouldn’t want us to do that,” I snapped.
Lu’s jaw tightened. “All I can think about is what’s happening to her out there while we waste time quibbling over semantics. You’ve known it all along. He’s a traitor.”
“You don’t know that,” I shot back, though doubt curled at the edges of my mind. “And even if he was, he would never... hecouldnever hurt her. Not with the fated bond in place.”
Lucius let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “No, but he can deliver her to someone who would. He’d let them slit her throat if it meant getting into Johan’s good graces.”
I swallowed hard. I had to believe Jase had a reason. That there was more to the story. But Lu only saw the risk.
“And what about our brothers?” I asked, my voice quieter now. “You’ll forsake them without a second thought?”
“You save them,” he cut in. “I’ll save Mic. Take her back to Neverland. I can protect her there. We could have a life.”
“I want that too!” I snapped, sharper than I intended. Lu stilled. “You think I don’t yearn for the same thing?” I shook my head, dragging a hand down my face. “But there’s more at stake than just what we want. We have to be rational, not emotional.”
His eyes narrowed. “Oh yeah? And how well has the rational path worked out for you?”
The words hit like a blow to the gut. He turned to me, the accusation heavy in his gaze. “Where did all your careful planning get us, Your Highness? What did following the rules earn us?” He gestured around, pointing out just how far we’d fallen. “We’ve been playing the long game for years, and we still ended up here.”
I breathed through the sting. He wasn’t wrong. But I refused to wallow in my own self-pity. “If we divide now,” I started, willing the dire need in my words to come across, “we fail.”
Lu’s fingers twitched at his sides. His bear stirred under his skin. Ready to fight me for this.
“I’m begging you, Lu. Just one day. Let us meet with the Raven’s Hand. With our allies in Dunharrow. We’ll come up with a plan.”
He didn’t answer immediately. The tension between us was a taut rope, pulled to its breaking point.
“It’s a trap,” he said, stating the obvious.
“You think I don’t know that?” I snapped. “We don’t have a lot of choices. But running in blind is suicide.” I didn’t wait for him to argue. Instead, I flipped open the Book of Astrium and shoved it toward him. “Look.”
His gaze dropped—reluctantly.
Michaela’s face stared up at us, etched into the page, her presence immortalized in prophecy.
“She’s meant for Hiraeth,” I said. “You’re not solely responsible for her protection. She belongs here.”
His nostrils flared. “The picture shows seven bears, Nico. Gunner’s already dead. The prophecy is broken.”
I exhaled and flipped to another page—one he’d never seen. One Father had removed from the copies we’d studied. One that only existed in the original.
A rotting bear lay in the center, its corpse being torn apart by every animal of the forest. Above, vultures perched in the trees, waiting. Watching. I could visibly see Lu shudder.
“Father knew the House of Bruin would fall,” I said softly. “And he chose to ignore it. I won’t make that mistake. The prophecies always come true.” I tapped the page. “Always.”
For the first time, something uncertain flickered across Lu’s face. Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating.
Finally, he exhaled and raked a hand through his hair. “Fine,” he muttered. “One day. That’s all you get.”
I nodded, but my gut twisted. Because we both knew the truth. One day. Then he was going after Mic—with or without me.
We metin secret the following night. It had taken every ounce of self-restraint for Lucius to remain by my side while we arranged the meeting, but he stayed true to his word.
I’d let my magic run rampant, swaying the minds of the Raven’s Hand and the rebel leaders of Dunharrow—manipulating them in ways I wasn’t proud of. But after Johan’s attack, many had begun to question their loyalty to the cause, and I couldn’t allow those thoughts to take root.
I had envisioned myself as a better leader. But with Michaela missing and our brothers condemned, desperation had carved away my morals.