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Though he smirked as he said it, it was the truth. Tolek believed I could pull the moon to earth if I tried hard enough. That the stars would turn to ice if I said it was so. And he was comfortable enough in my skill to sit back while I fought or debated or discovered.

But he’d always been protective of me and was only beginning to allow those fears to show overtly. I wouldn’t discourage his vulnerability by making him feel wrong for it.

“Thank you, Vincienzo.” I turned my head to kiss his hand softly. “I rather like living, and I hope to not careen to the floor of that hole today.”

He attempted a laugh. “Let’s not joke about that.”

“You?” I gasped. “Dismissing a joke? I never thought the day would come.”

“I have something I’m not willing to gamble over.” He brushed his thumb across my cheekbone, his demeanor shifting easily from playful to serious as his eyes heated.

“We’re ready!” Trev called from across the chamber where he, Malakai, Vale, and Jezebel had been feeding the rope through a series of hooks, setting up the pulley system in case I couldn’t climb back up myself. We weren’t sure what the bottom of the pit would be like, how sound the walls were or what sort of hand-and-foot holds existed. Santorina, Esmond, and Gatrielle had tied a pouch of ointments around my belt—just in case. Now, they all gathered to the side, voices low.

“Me, too,” I answered, looking around at everyone assembled, reporting to their stations as planned.

Tol’s eyes hadn’t left my face. When I looked back at him, heat still burned in his gaze. He ducked his head, capturing my lips in a warm, desperate kiss that flipped my stomach over. I opened to him, because—and I would not say this aloud—if there was a chance this next emblem trial took my life, I wanted to go with the taste of him on my tongue.

“Go, love,” he breathed when he pulled away. “I’ll be here if you need anything. And when you’re back with that emblem in hand, I’ll get on my knees and worship you better than any Angel.”

Heat was still flaring through me from the kiss and his words as he stepped back, a knowing smirk on his lips, and he let me go. I approached the edge of the pit and faced the darkness below.

Ric wandered over again, hooking the ropes to the back of my harness and tugging aggressively. “Remember,” he whispered, the edge in his voice straightening my spine, “do not wear the crown.”

“Why?” I asked, moving my lips minutely so no one would notice.

“It holds power we don’t understand, Ophelia.” He tightened the strap around my right shoulder. “The thing our Angel created was always strong, but since it broke, it’s been unstable.”

“How so?” I fought the instinct to scratch at my wrist.

“The heart of the labyrinth is where Thorn forged his crown,” Ric reminded me. “It’s where he bore it, where he was pulled from the earth to ascend, and where we found the relic thousands of years later. But the pit was not always this deep.”

My stomach turned leaden. “The crown’s power hollowed out the ground here?” That magic swarmed in the pit below, a swirling mass of darkness and shadows calling to me.

“Legends are only legends. But on the off chance they’re true…” Ric stepped back, and it was clear his quiet warning was over. “Be smart, Revered.” He clapped a hand to my shoulder. My chest tightened at the comforting, fatherly gesture, but I wouldn’t allow the hole in my heart to bloom right now. My father would want me to be focused. He’d want me to do as I’d practiced.

I flicked a glance to my friends, clearing my throat. “Why are you only telling me?”

“Best not to worry them.”

I nodded, turning my attention back to the pit’s captivating power. With Ric’s words in my head, there was one more person I had to speak with.

“Cypherion,” I called over my shoulder.

He was at my side in a second. “Yes?”

“In case…” I looked away from the pit, up to Cyph. “If something happens when I’m down there, I need you to promise me you’ll be here.”

“Ophelia—”

“Not as a Second,” I continued. “Not in a formal capacity or a ruler. But be there for them.” For Tolek and Jezebel and Rina. And then, because the longer I watched the pit, the more I was reminded how dangerous those first two trials had been, I added, “It doesn’t matter what position you hold, Cypherion. You hold us all together regardless. You may not think you’re capable of being my Second, but it’s those little things that show that you are.”

He was quiet for a long moment, watching the tempting pull into the pit, too. “It’s not that I fear I’m incapable. It’s that I fear I don’t know myself enough to stay true when it’s demanded of me.”

Because of his father, no doubt. I hadn’t realized how deep those fears had rooted themselves.

“I think being open to discovering more about who you are deep down and the potential that person can reach is one of the biggest favors you can do for yourself, Cyph.” Each day I felt myself sliding further along that journey. Learning more about what I could withstand, what I wasn’t willing to lose. “Perhaps the best parts of us are forged under the harshest of circumstances.”

Cypherion gave me a smile, tucking me into his side with a quick hug. “You’re going to do just fine down there, Revered.”