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I met the general’s gaze. “How so?”

He did not look at me as he answered. Instead, he stared hard at the table.

“It cannot be a coincidence that Ravena attacked us with the crimson mist, and two days later, we face another attack.”

“Yes, but she got exactly what she wanted,” I said. Ravena had killed innocent people before—namely her entire coven—but even that decision had been strategic. She gained nothing from killing a handful of villagers and farmers. “She didn’t steal a spell book only to return and kill innocent victims.”

That magic was meant for something far worse.

“Why are you assigning morals to our enemies?” This time, Noblesse Razan spoke. “They do not care who they kill so long as they win.”

“Win what?” I asked. “You do not even know what she is fighting for.”

“It does not matter. She has attacked our home, and for that, she must die.”

I ground my teeth.

“How do you expect to find her if you do not know what she fights for?”

“You already said she wanted the spell book,” said Noblesse Iker.

“The spell book is a tool,” I said. “Nothing more.”

“The woman wants power,” Tanaka said. “I fail to see how that will help us.”

“Men want power,” Ana said. It was the first time she had spoken, and everyone at the table turned to look at her. “Women want to exist without fear.”

“This is ridiculous,” said Razan, offering a mocking laugh. “You have made this far more complicated than it needs to be.”

“Then tell us how to find her,” Adrian said.

The humor drained from Razan’s face, and he fell silent, but Ana’s comment had made me consider Ravena’s fears. I knew what she feared most.

Me.

“Perhaps the focus should not be on finding her so much as fighting her magic,” I said. “As we learned with Ciro, though powerful, none of you are immune.”

Silence followed my statement. None of them liked to be reminded that they could die so easily.

“How do you suggest we fight magic?” asked Daroc.

“You can’t,” I said, and for a moment, I stared at Ana, remembering how she had used magic when Gesalac attacked.

“Magic belongs to women.”

“If that is the case, why do you not have magic?” Razan said coolly.

“Enough,” Adrian snapped, and his voice echoed in the room.

I looked down at my hands, hands that had once summoned magic with a simple snap of my fingers.

But in this life, I was powerless.

I had no great ability.

I gave Adrian a mortal weakness.

“If you have nothing to offer, we have had enough of your council,” Adrian said. “Leave us.”