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I had never claimed to understand what Numair was living through. To know his father was tortured every single day. To never know if Erik was still alive. Until he was sure he wasn’t.

He had paid for the luxury of keeping Erik alive with a betrayal of his own. Betrayal that cost Lara’s life, Inara’s and Damen’s freedom.

I pray to Evanae that no emotion shows on my face, but the walls of the palace grow more oppressive with each passing second. I crave for a breath of desert air, but I might never leave this place ever again.

I clear my throat, shutting that line of thought. “Your plan had too many uncertainties.”

“A miscalculation on my part with such glorious results,” Magnar says and picks up his glass. He twirls it between his fingers, letting the last rays of sunlight play on every facet cut into the crystal. “I must confess, you surprised me. That’s not something people tend to do.”

“I’m glad I could be of entertainment to you,” I say. “Now, if we can wrap it up, I have an execution awaiting me.”

“You aren’t listening.” Magnar leans on the arm of his chair and meets my gaze head on. “I will never hurt another life binder.”

I clench my teeth. Any more pressure and they will shatter. I wish I had something sharp in my hands, but my swords are too far away. “You knew.”

“I knew.”

“How long?”

“Since the moment, you healed Numair.”

“Binding is a crime in the Empire of Usmad.”

“Don’t play stupid with me when I know you are anything but.”

“All right,” I say and mirror his poise. “You are a life binder. I’m a life binder. The last two in the whole empire. Sands, the whole world since King Anadar massacred the Originals.”

Magnar nods.

“And it changes what?”

“Everything. After all, you want to save this desert as much as I do.”

I lick my lips, running out of arguments. “Why do you think I’d work with you?”

“Because you won’t be able to say no.”

43

My father had obviously planned this conversation out. There’s nothing for me to do but to follow the path and see where it leads.

“Help me satiate my curiosity,” Magnar says. “When did you understand what you were?”

I close my eyes, shaking my head. “When I was five.”

“Five?”

The notes of surprise amuse me enough to pull my lips into a sarcastic smile. “I’d been playing in the garden and fell asleep. I woke in the middle of the night with vines cradling me in a blanket that I bound in my sleep.”

“So young and powerful. So much time lost,” my father mutters under his breath. “I’ve underestimated you yet again, but never again.”

I should hate him. I should despise my father. Yet when I hear pride in his voice, I can’t erase a stupid grin from my face. I’ve managed to surprise the most powerful man in the Empire of Usmad even when he has taken everything from me.

For now, I say to myself.

“Follow me,” my father says, standing up. “I want to show you something seldom few have seen before.” When I don’t budge, he adds, “It might even get those manacles off. Aren’t you curious?”

I could say I stood up because I know no matter how much I’d kicked, screamed, and refused to obey, my father would still get what he wanted. Or that I take the first step because the only way to be sure Valdus and I stay alive is to submit to Magnar’s will. It all would be lies. I do it because I am curious. I’m dying to see what it is that my father hides from all the prying eyes of the world.