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Scarlett jerked her head up to meet Juliette’s eyes. “He knows? How long has he known?”

“He bears the Mark, yes?” Juliette asked, holding up her left hand, showing Scarlett the back side.

The Mark. The unfinished tattoo on his hand.

“He is— I did not know…” Scarlett trailed off.

“Of course you knew, Scarlett. There is a difference between knowing and acknowledging. Just as there is a difference in your knowing and acknowledging your purpose in this world.”

“I am not a queen,” she snarled at Juliette again, growing tired of the cage she kept trying to shove her into.

“Why? Why does the title scare you?”

“I am not the one for this, Juliette,” Scarlett cried. “I do not know the first thing about leading, about ruling.”

“You would not be alone. Others would be with you. Sorin would be with you. If you ask him,” Juliette argued.

Scarlett huffed a harsh laugh. “Being alone does not scare me.”

“No, it does not. But what of being required to depend on others? As you did when you and I and Nuri worked in tandem? What of being required to rely on others so deeply once again? Letting them in on the scheming and the planning? What of allowing someone to rescue you instead of doing the protecting? You fear letting others close. You fear loving others that deeply once more far more than you fear being alone,” Juliette said softly.

“Do you have any idea what I went through after that night? Nuri withdrew from me. You were gone. I wished he had just killed me alongside you!” Scarlett cried.

“I know, Scarlett. Iknow,” Juliette said, squeezing her hands. “But it had to happen this way. For me to get here. Foryouto get here.” Scarlett was silent as she stared into the eyes of her friend, her sister, who stared back unblinking, her eyes glowing with challenge. “You do not back down from anything, Scarlett. I have never seen you back down from a fight or admit defeat. You think he broke you, and maybe he did. But look at what rose from those ashes. Look at the strength, at the power, at the beauty of those shadows and that darkness on your soul.”

“Give me a different task,” Scarlett begged. “Anything else. Please!”

“I am not the one who gives such assignments,” she answered with a shake of her head.

“Oh, yes. The fucking Fates,” Scarlett drawled, rolling her eyes.

Juliette smiled, amused. “You reject the Fates, sister?”

“I reject the idea that my life is to be decided for me.”

“Just because you have a destination, is it not your own choice of how to get there? Or what to do once you’ve arrived?”

“It is my choice not to go there at all,” Scarlett snapped back.

“Then you are prepared to accept the consequences of that choice and all those that choice will affect?” Juliette asked, pushing herself up to a standing position. She stood, looking down at Scarlett now.

The balance. Juliette had always been the balance between Nuri’s innate wildness and her own lethal intensity.

“Talwyn is more suited for this!” Scarlett answered, rising to her own feet. “She was raised here. She has trained for this. She is prepared for this.”

“She cannot do so alone, although she wishes she could. You and she are very similar, you know,” Juliette said, her tone turning bored as she turned and began wandering around the cavern.

“I am nothing like her,” Scarlett spat. “She is not my family.Youare my sister. Nuri is my sister.”

“Talwyn is not as she appears,” Juliette replied with a knowing smile, “but, like you, she cannot complete her tasks alone. Like you, she has done what she has needed to survive. In the end though, you will need each other.”

“I need no one,” Scarlett seethed.

“No, you do not. However, wouldn’t it be nice to have someone with whom your soul can rest and you can take a breath?” Juliette replied, her knowing smile turning into a smirk. When Scarlett only glared at her, she continued. “Should you choose not to fulfill your purpose, you choose to turn your back on those who cannot defend themselves and sentence them to my same fate.”

“I cannot do this!” Scarlett screamed at her friend.

“Why?” Juliette insisted, coming right up to Scarlett’s face. “You can do anything! Overcome everything! Why does this scare you?”