Phaedra led him to the uppermost level of the palace and into a large room surrounded by a circular glass wall. Otherwise, it was open to the sky—always blue and always day, never night. The room was bare apart from a raised, golden platform in the center. On this platform lay Stephanos. He was surrounded by the Three—those that made up the council of elders that governed this world. They were the oldest and most powerful of the immortals.
“Why is he here?” the elder named Danaus asked, his voice as unwelcoming as the question itself. He was the member of the Three that Alexius trusted the least—one he would never tell about his shared dreams with Princess Lucia, nor his discovery that she was the prophesied sorceress. Danaus was always prying into his business and trying to learn more about what Alexius did during his journeys to the princess’s world and the never-ending search for the Kindred.
The elder was jealous of Alexius’s ability to take hawk form and enter the mortal world. Since the Kindred had been lost, the three elders could no longer take hawk form. For all their power and influence among the immortals, they were trapped here, and had been for a millennium.
“I wanted him here,” Phaedra said, her chin raised high. She wasn’t intimidated by any of the elders and never had been.
Then again, Phaedra didn’t know some of the same secrets that Alexius did. Perhaps if she did, her bravery would waver.
“This is a private matter,” Danaus growled. “And it must remain so.”
“It’s all right,” Stephanos said, his voice as frail as his appearance. “I don’t mind another witness. You are welcome to stay, Alexius.”
“Thank you, Stephanos.”
Stephanos’s chest moved rapidly with labored breathing. Since the last time Alexius had seen him, his previously dark hair had turned white and brittle, his perfect golden skin now pallid and deeply lined like that of an old man.
A face that had never looked older than twenty-five mortal years now looked four times that.
The sight of such sudden and unexpected decay soured Alexius’s stomach and both pity and revulsion swirled within him.
tried to harness her racing thoughts. “What? What will happen?”
There were dark circles under the queen’s eyes that hinted that she hadn’t slept well for some time. “I won’t let him destroy you for his own gain.”
“Mother, please . . .”
Her jaw tensed and she pulled away from Lucia’s grip. “He thinks I’m weak, that I stand by and watch him work his darkness without opinion or judgment. That I am only a dutiful wife who is of no consequence. But he’s wrong. I see my purpose now, Lucia. It’s to stop him any way I can. He doesn’t realize what it is he hopes to unleash upon the world. He thinks he can control that which is uncontrollable.”
Lucia found she now was now trembling.
“I need to get up.” Alarmed, but still weary, she struggled to swing herself out of the bed, but the queen pressed down on her shoulder to keep her prone.
“I must kill you,” the queen whispered. “To save you from what I fear is ahead. To end this as it’s only beginning. But I can’t—not yet. When I look at you, I see the tiny, beautiful baby that was brought to me sixteen years ago. I hated you then—and I loved you.”
Lucia stared at the queen, horrified by her words.
“Now,” the queen continued, “only love remains. Love is the only thing that matters in the end. What I’ve done has been out of love, Lucia.”
A wave of dizziness washed over her and Lucia’s gaze shot to the silver goblet. “The water . . .”
“It’s a very powerful potion.” The queen touched the drinking vessel, sliding her finger around the sparkling edge. “Undetectable to anyone through taste. Sleep, my darling. Such darkness will not touch you in your dreams. Sleep in peace. And when I finally find the strength to end your life, I promise I will be gentle.”
A potion—a sleeping potion . . .
“Sleep now, my dear girl,” the queen’s voice soothed.
Lucia’s gaze slid to the balcony to see the golden edge of a hawk’s wing.
“Alexius,” she whispered as the luxurious chambers around her faded away.
Chapter 13
ALEXIUS
THE SANCTUARY
Phaedra summoned him to the crystal palace and Alexius had no choice but to go to her immediately. He found her there, her beautiful face etched with worry.