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“This is my cost to bear. Not theirs,” Talwyn replied. “You know this, Az. This is what is best for the Courts, the continent, the entirety of the realm.”

“This is the sacrifice of a queen,” Sorin said quietly.

“It is my choice what to do with the mercy I have been given,” she replied. Her voice did not tremble. She did not flinch or show an ounce of hesitation.

Still holding her jade green stare, Sorin said, “So be it.”

* * *

“You must maintain physical blood contact the entire time,” Saylah said, drawing Marks into the dirt around Sorin and Talwyn. They had moved to one of the training arenas in the mountains. Saylah had told them they needed to be somewhere the power could manifest. It would fight being taken from one source, and because it would be stronger than his prior magic, he might not be able to completely control it right away.

“It will be painful for you, Daughter of Henna,” Saylah continued, working her way around a circle. “A piece of you will be cleaved away. You must not lose contact with him.”

“Understood,” Talwyn answered. She was still shackled, Luan standing close to her.

The others were all gathered throughout the ring. Rayner had also caught wind of what was happening and had left Tula with the other children to be here. He and Cassius stood a few feet away while the Avonleyans stood on the other side of the arena. Sorin turned to Scarlett who was hovering near him. She was fidgeting, shifting her weight as her eyes tracked Saylah and the Marks she was drawing on the ground.

“You are anxious,” Sorin murmured.

Her eyes flicked to him before going back to her mother. “Of course I am anxious,” she clipped out. “If this does not work…”

“It will work,” he said softly. Then he gripped her chin and brought her gaze back to his. “And when it does, this is enough, Scarlett. She will no longer rule, and she will no longer have her gifts. She has given enough. Her debt has been paid. Swear it.”

Scarlett rolled her lips, but she gave a curt jerk of her chin. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head and pulled her close. “I love you, Sorin,” she whispered.

“All the way through the darkness, Love.”

“You two cannot be in the circle,” Saylah said, and Scarlett pulled back to look at her mother. “If you remain, the power could try to come to one of you instead of him. It will draw out the process.”

Sorin glanced at Talwyn, who was nodding at something Luan was murmuring to her, but her gaze connected with his. Still not a hint of regret or hesitation.

Scarlett pushed up onto her toes, kissing him softly and drawing his attention back to her. His hand slid into her hair, and she murmured onto his lips, “Soon we set the world on fire together, Prince.”

He crushed his lips against hers once more as her shadows brushed along his throat, curling around his ear. She pulled back, a wry tilt to her lips as she walked backwards from him. She did not break his stare as she stepped out of the circle and to Cassius’s side, her Guardian’s arm dropping around her shoulders.

Sorin tore his eyes from her to look at Talwyn, who had moved to the center of the circle and was waiting for him. When he moved in front of her, she raised her hands, and Sorin reached into his pocket for the key that would undo her shackles. No one said anything as he fitted it into the lock, the shackles falling open. He tossed them outside the circle of Marks along with the key, and Talwyn turned her palms up, just as Saylah had instructed. Sorin drew a dagger from his side, slicing across both her palms before doing the same to his own. Then he placed his hands atop hers, gently squeezing her fingers.

“Thank you for this, Talwyn,” he said quietly.

“It is the very least I can do,” she replied curtly, eyes fixed on their joined hands.

He saw it then. Her chest began to rise and fall more rapidly. Her breaths became small, controlled gasps as she worked to keep control over herself. A gust of wind tore through the arena, but the Marks around them were already flaring. Saylah had already spilled her blood along them. She was speaking an ancient language Sorin did not know, but his entire being was fixed on the female before him.

“Little whirlwind,” he said softly, and her eyes snapped to his. Tears pooled there. “Henna and Eliné would be so very proud of you.”

A tear spilled over, sliding down her cheek.

And then she flinched.

Sorin felt it. The prickle of power that hit his palm at the same moment that Talwyn sucked in a sharp breath. He tightened his grip on her hands as more power flowed, small trickles of it that crawled along his palm as if seeking. Their mixed blood was seeping between their fingers, dripping onto the earth.

“Do not let the connection break,” he heard Saylah warn. Then she spoke again in that ancient language, and Talwyn screamed.

He heard a roar echo around the arena, but he could not focus on it because his knees were buckling as power poured into him. He was gripping Talwyn’s hands, lowering to the ground as she sank to it, still screaming in utter agony. The ground was trembling beneath them, small rocks shaking and the dirt swirling, and that was fire sparking in his veins. He may have been completely powerless for only a few days, but his power had been slowly waning since he had been brought back from the After. He had not had a full well of power since before that throne room. But this? This was staggering.

The sparks became embers, and the embers became fire. Pure wildfire that sang as it raced throughout his being. No longer a trickle of power moving from her to him, but a crushing wave of it. It was unyielding. He was sweating, this heavier tunic suddenly sweltering with the heat flooding his veins. His magic had been great, the strongest fire gift in this realm, but this power? If this was Talwyn’s power, he could not fathom the power that flowed in Scarlett’s veins.

He could hear the commotion going on around them, but he couldn’t focus on it. It was a dull afterthought compared to the all-consuming power rushing over him, seeking a way out while simultaneously sinking deep into his soul.