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“Most things are, but as I see it, you don’t have much choice. You’ll have to seal things with these two eventually, better do it soon.” She used her wooden spoon to point between me, Bael and Ambrose, a stern look on her face.

I cleared my throat, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. “Er, no. Not both of them, just him.” I pointed to Bael.

Ciara frowned, looking confused, then shrugged. “Whomever it is. Don’t waste any more time. A war is obviously brewing and you’ll need all your magic to take back the kingdom. Unless, I suppose you want to give up the crown all together.”

“No!” Ambrose and Bael said loudly, at the same time as Scion said, “There’s an idea…”

I glanced at Scion, surprised. “I thought you of all people would want to fight for the crown. What happened to all that stuff you told me in Inbetwixt about being raised to rule?”

He sat up, looking slightly embarrassed. “Things are different now.”

I opened my mouth to ask what Scion meant by that, but Ambrose spoke over me. “Giving up is not an option.”

“Are you certain?” I asked, glancing around the table. “Maybe Scion is right.”

“No,” Ambrose said through gritted teeth. “He’s not.”

“I never wanted any part of this anyway,” I said, following my own train of thought. “No one has ever pretended that I would make a great queen.”

“Not yet, perhaps,” Ambrose argued, “but you don’t understand?—”

I wasn’t listening to him. “Maybe we’re fighting a losing battle. Idris is technically the heir to Aisling. If things had turned out differently, he would have been the king anyway centuries ago.”

“Exactly,” Scion said, seeming to gain more energy with every word. “Maybe he’s the worthy one, did you ever think of that? We’re not even supposed to be a part of this.”

Ambrose gritted his teeth, anger flashing behind his dark eyes. “Of course I fucking thought of that, but I’m telling you it’s not the solution. We are not giving up.”

“We don’t have to do anything,” Scion shot back. “There hasn’t been a ‘we’ in decades. You can do whatever you like, but we don’t need to be a part of it.”

“You know why that’s no longer an option,” Ambrose growled.

“What would happen if we did stop fighting?” I asked, following my own train of thought.

Ambrose looked slightly haunted for a moment, then he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter because it will never happen. I’ve given up everything for this.”

“Well I haven’t,” Scion snapped, giving his brother a dark look. “You might have nothing left to lose, but I do.”

“Yeah, you do because you’ve already completed your mate bond,” Bael said, speaking for the first time in a while. “But what happens when you wake up one day and realize you’re happy?”

I glanced at Scion, and held my breath, desperately wanting to hear his answer. Unfortunately, I never got the chance.

Ambrose stood abruptly, his chair clattering backwards against the stone floor. He slammed both hands down on the table, and I jumped startled by his sudden movement.

“Stop this,” he growled. “We are not running away. I spent thirty fucking years making sure we’d all get here so there might be a better future for Elsewhere, and I’m not going to let anyone get in the way.” He glared at me. “Not even you.”

16

AMBROSE

CHEAPSIDE, EVERLAST CITY

“Where the fuck are you going?” Scion yelled as I grabbed the book off the table and stalked toward the door.

I ignored him, answering by yanking the door open and marching out into the street, slamming it forcefully behind me. The sound of wood against stone echoed through the quiet of the night, leaving a still silence behind.

The silence was…unsettling.

Aside from me, there didn’t seem to be a single living soul on this street. Even the echoes of battle from the far-off castle couldn’t reach this spot, leaving my heavy breathing as the only sign of life.