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Adira let out a sigh. “Why did Destin need me?”

“For many reasons. To find the crowns was a true desire, for he did not know where they were hidden, and hoped you might find them. But he did need you for more than all that.”

“He tried to keep me from Kage,” Adira said. “I can see it was because he wanted me close, he sort of asked me to marry him. But why did I matter in his scheme if I was here to break his self-imposed degeneration?”

Gaina’s mouth twitched, and a bit of sadness pooled in the paleness of her own gaze when she murmured soft words to the stone. “He fought to restore your magic—that was the part he wanted—but strived to keep you from restoring your memories.”

“It’s why he didn’t want us to use the Well,” I said with a touch of venom.

Gaina nodded and went on, “The talk of marriage, he admits was not to do with you. It was to do with when he believed you’d become his beloved.”

“That’s . . . awful, Destin,” Adira said as if he were seated across from her.

“He holds a great sense of shame,” Gaina said, glaring at the stone, and muttered a soft, “As you should.”

“But he seemed to need me,” Adira said. “He spoke a great deal about being a curse breaker. Why, when it was his curse?”

“Pretenses were kept for some of it,” Gaina translated. “Destin tells me he needed your body and strength. He is ashamed to say he planned to complete what is known asandifél, a corrupted ritual where one soul will devour another and take its place in a host.”

Perhaps I did not have sympathy for Destin. Anger burned like bits of broken glass in my veins.

“Host, meaning?” I asked, but I was certain I already knew.

“There is a tether that could’ve stitched the bits of soul in Arabeth’s heartstone to Adira, until it slowly faded Adira’s being and restored Arabeth’s entirely. She would, in a way, be reincarnated. But what you did not know, Destin of House Thornvane—or perhaps refused to admit— is that such a spell is a cruelty,” Gaina said sternly to the stone.

The stone light flickered against Gaina’s heart. The speaker listened, a frown to her mouth. “Grief is powerful. Destin was blinded by it and did not think how painful it would be for both Arabeth and Adira.”

“What would’ve happened to Arabeth if he succeeded?” Adira asked.

“She would’ve been in a state of unrest. A rebuilt soul, alive only because a spell drew her back from her natural fate. She would never have been what she was in life. Powerful as mage folk are, we have no business manipulating the peace of a soul in the land of the dead or the living.”

“But what about Kage?” Adira looked to me. “Destin corrupted him, yet he kept him alive, believing they were brothers.”

“Ah.” Gaina held up a finger, pausing to relay the question. “This is the challenging side of theandifél.Such a spell cast requires a darkened soul from the blood of the dead. One soul steps into darkness, while another emerges from it. Had you not stopped it, we know our Golden Boy would’ve had his soul devoured by dark magic.”

“But why did it move so slowly?” I asked. “Why not just get rid of me if he needed Arabeth’s bloodline to fade?”

“He says the spell could not complete the manipulation until he had the host with powerful enough magic to tolerate such a fierce transfer. A blood sacrifice was clearly favored by the magics across Terrea.”

My temper flared. “So, that was why he picked Adira? Heknewher, he knew she was a blood mage, a mage strong enough to tolerate a whole damn soul being forced into her.”

Adira stroked the scar on her throat. “He tried to take me before I made it to the tree.”

“What?”

Gaina held the stone close, as though Destin’s whispers were agreeing.

“I’d made it to the shore,” Adira told us. “At first, I thought he was trying to talk me out of going, but he attacked me, trying to drag me back. I remember his ramblings about Arabeth, but I did not understand what he meant. I got away with a sliced throat.”

Gaina nodded. “He is telling me, as he watched you sail to the Sacred Mountain, it was then he devised the degeneration. He would take Beth’s stone, and await your return.”

“I was dying,” Adira whispered, still holding her neck. “I went to the tree dying, Kage.”

Much as I despised the sacrifice, without it perhaps I would be mourning her at a tomb instead of holding her in my arms now.

“Upon Adira’s return,” Gaina went on, “Destin knew she would’ve been drawn to you, Golden Boy, if he did not create an alternate past where many memories were lost. He took her from your mind, so you would not stand in his way.” She shook her head, practically stroking the stone. “Lost love, you should’ve known better.”

“Quite true. He should’ve.” My father grunted, fingers clenched over the top of the table. “Destin was soulbonded with Arabeth, as you are to Adira, son. He should’ve known even if his dark spell had degenerated memories, the connection between you both would’ve burned brighter than any manipulation.”