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“No… not yet. I have to come and get you, first, remember? Where are you?”

Max paused. “What’s my name?” he asked.

“Your name?” I understood. “Right… do you really want to hear your full name again? It’s more ridiculous than mine is.”

“Just tell me my name.”

“Alright. Your name is Maxwell… Axl Rose… Ethera.”

Another pause. “And you say you hate your name?—”

“—I’m sorry?—”

“—I was named after a rock star dad liked. I don’t even like Guns n’ Roses!”

“Hey, what’s wrong with Guns n’ Roses?”

“Nothing! I just would’ve liked a say in the name they picked for me.”

“I don’t think that’s how that works. Did I pass the test?”

“Yeah, you did. I’m still not going to tell you where I am, though.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because I’m going to do you one better.”

Something was happening. I felt our connection stretch, then quickly contract. “Max? What are you doing?”

Max didn’t reply. There was a pulse of power from the other side of our link, I felt the rush of magic wash over me and through me; a pulse powerful enough to distort the car’s electronics momentarily. Even Lucien turned his attention toward me, his eyebrows furrowed.

We both suddenly felt the car jolt, causing Lucien to grab hold of the wheel more tightly and wrestle the car back under his control. When he finally managed to steady us on the road again, he slammed the brakes, making the car lurch forward as it came to a stop.

“What happened?!” I shrieked, as I recovered.

Lucien turned his head. I turned mine too. There, sitting in the back seat of the car, was Max. He was looking right at me, and he had a smile on his face. But then he saw Lucien, and all the blood drained from his cheeks. He backed into the corner.

“What is he doing here?!” he yelled.

“Max!” I said, “Calm down, okay?”

“No!” he said, raising my aunt’s amulet toward Lucien. “He’s one of them! Why are you with him?!”

I unclipped my seatbelt and turned around in my seat. “Max, I need you to listen to me, okay? He’s not one of them.”

“Yes, he is! He’s their son. I’m going to send him into the fucking Ether!”

“No, you’re not. Max, the only reason I’ve made it out of that place is because of him. He had nothing to do with what happened to mom and dad, okay? Please, you have to believe me.”

“How can I? After what he did!”

“He didn’t do it!”

Max shook his head. “You’ve been lied to. These people killed our family, how can you be with him right now?”

“I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t get a chance. Look, please, put the amulet down and let’s talk about this. He’s not going to hurt you.”

Lucien knew not to speak. I could tell he wanted to, if only to help, but opening his mouth would have only made things worse. Lucky for all three of us, Max seemed to relax, at least a little bit. He slowly lowered the amulet, which I hadn’t realized had been glowing in his hand. Max took a deep breath, exhaled, and settled into his seat.