I shook my head. “That will never happen, Joth.”
Disappointed, he clicked his tongue. “It will. But first you must kneel.” He swiped one hand downward, and immediately I fell to my knees. The same power held me there now.
With his other hand, he made a cupping shape, then smiled down at me. “My hand appears to be empty, but it is not. In fact, it contains something I believe you will think is quite valuable. This is Simon Hatch’s heart. I know you care for him. Despite your assurances otherwise, I suspect he is the reason you were never able to fully connect with me. But if he is no longer alive, then I will have your full loyalty.”
With sudden desperation, I looked up, ready to beg at any price, if necessary. “Please don’t.”
He compressed his fingers slightly, and I could almost hear Simon’s cries from here.
Taking his hand in mine, and thus stopping his use of magic, I quickly said, “I will be your queen. But you must let the people at Woodcourt live, all of them. Do this, and I will accept you.”
Joth smiled and pulled me to my feet, then kissed my hand. Keeping hold of my hand, he said, “Soon we will reconnect, and I will restore magic to you, though I hope you understand I will be selective in the powers you can have, and how you can use them.”
“Restore them now,” I said, absolutely serious. Despite what it might mean for me, magic might be the only way I could still win.
“Soon, my dear. We have another job first.” As if on cue, the doors to the throne room opened, and Amala led in Loelle and Darrow, but this time, she remained in the room, closing the doors behind her.
Joth waited a moment, then asked, “Were there not four of you who came?”
“Yes, Harlyn Mindall was here,” Amala said. “But when I returned from delivering Kestra, she had disappeared.”
“Find her,” Joth said. “Go and find her and bring her to me, or you will take her punishment.”
“Don’t do anything to her,” Loelle cried. “Please, my son—”
“You should consider me your king, not your son,” Joth said. “Because you are now only a servant with no particular importance to me.”
Loelle tilted her head. “Oh?”
“Among his other powers, Endrick could heal himself,” Joth said. “Your powers do not benefit me any longer.”
“My powers?” Loelle stepped forward. “Is that all that matters to you?”
“Of course not.” He leaned back in his seat. “What matters is that you chose a side. You are working with the Coracks again, using that power of healing on my enemies.”
“If the sick or injured are set before me, I will heal them first and ask which side they are on later. If any of the restored half-lives are injured here, I will heal them too.”
Joth’s smile became ice. “I restored those with the magic I wanted. They are of no benefit to me anymore.”
My heart stopped as I realized what he meant. Loelle was slower to put the pieces together, but gradually, her understanding showed on her face. Joth must have followed Endrick’s pattern of obtaining powers through the deaths of those whose magic he wanted.
Hence, those he had chosen for me to restore. That was always his purpose.
Loelle shook her head, still in disbelief. “Please tell me you didn’t.”
Joth stuck out his hand unapologetically. “I have acquired the powers of all our people of Navan, except those in my service inside Woodcourt. And you.”
Loelle stepped backward with widening eyes. “I am your mother.”
“Yes, but I do not need you anymore either.” Joth put his arm around my waist, pulling me close. I tried to put any possible gap between us, though every time he noticed, he pulled me in again. “Soon, Kestra will be my wife. She will become the mother to a new race of Navan. Each of them born with magic of their own.”
I looked over at him in horror as Darrow said, “Kestra is my daughter, King Joth. I request a moment in private with her to assure myself that she is marrying you of her own choice.”
“That is not necessary, because you see, the marriage is not her choice. That will change eventually, once I restore her magic. All I need now is her loyalty.” Joth turned to me. “Prove yourself, Kestra. There is someone who needs to die, and I need you to do it.”
“Who?”
Joth smiled. “You’ll see.”