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Inarus continued, “Since the ashflower didn’t work, we will need to brainstorm a new way to remove the Brand. With Zayne’s help, I’m sure we can find an alternative.”

Eleanor didn’t correct his assumption that the ashflower was spent.

Inarus’s focus returned to Eleanor. “How do you feel? May I look at your wrist?”

“You may.”

Inarus approached her.

I acted on instinct, pulling my dagger and lunging between them. “Don’t you dare.”

Inarus laughed. His cackle cracked.

Eleanor huffed. “Isaidhe could approach.”

“It’s all right,” Inarus said. He lifted his hands, a sign of peace. Yet my gaze strayed to the diamond. “I mean no harm to you and your sister.”

I refused to trust him, but I stepped back, allowing him to inspect Eleanor’s wrist. His fingers hovered around the cuff, but he did not touch her.

“How long has it been since I lost consciousness?” she asked.

“Two weeks,” he answered.

Two weeks!I rushed to my twin. “Do you need food? Water?” I had both in my pack.

“Your sister no longer eats or drinks,” Inarus answered for her. He addressed her again. “My lady, the binding has strengthened.”

Since Ninti had lain on it, the root seemed thicker. Eleanor seemed to be growing stronger too. Her Brand didn’t appear to shrink or grow, its influence seemed constant. The throne was nurturing her, more effectively than before.

“Interesting…” Inarus said. If he had a theory, he kept it to himself.

Ayla and Ninti.My worry nagged at me, but I couldn’t leave without giving them away. “What happened?” I asked my sister. “After we were separated?”

“The Brand brought me here,” Eleanor answered. “This is where the Branded are called. It’s where Inarus makes his Shades.”

“I saw the barn.” I glared at Inarus. “For sixteen years, you have been branding fae, sending them to their death.”

He didn’t flinch. “I’ve done what I had to do.”

“And to what end?” I raged. “Shades making Shades, all for the sake of giving you a larger army.”

He didn’t respond.

“Why did you do this?”

“My work is beyond your comprehension. It is my calling.”

I huffed. I definitely didn’t trust him. That arrogance. His magic stank with corruption.

Yet Eleanor remained calm. “I never saw the barn. When I arrived, Inarus brought me directly to the throne. By then, the Brand had sapped my strength. Inarus reduced my Brand’s controlling nature, but by then, the damage was already done. The Brand is nearly impossible to remove, even by its creator.”

I followed the rooted tendril from throne to wrist. “Is that when you bound yourself to the throne?”

“Actually, I tried to become queen,” Eleanor corrected me. “Inarus’s plan was that once I was queen, I would have the power to cure my own Brand. So I attempted the ascension rite, but it went wrong. The throne wouldn’t even let me sit on it—it can’t accept someone bound to another.”

I pointed to her wrist. “And this root happened instead?”

She nodded. “The throne is trying to heal me, but it’s too weak. Originally, I came to help it, but now it’s the other way around. I thought I would die attempting this—But then Teyr sent me a vision of the ashflower. I knew you were coming for me.”