Page 32 of Between These Broken Hearts (Cursed Stars #2)

her, to preserve the vessel for Mordeus? Or was there something that they needed to keep her from doing in order for their

plan to work?”

“Exactly,” Abriella says. “If we can figure that out, maybe we can undo all of this.”

Skylar drums her fingers on the table. “Maybe they don’t want her to learn to wield her powers.”

I can’t help but study Jas. Her stoic expression gives away nothing of how she feels about them talking about her as if she

isn’t in the room. It’s almost as if she’s observing this conversation from afar.

“I don’t know if she could access them if she wanted to,” Natan says. “She has them buried so deeply, I couldn’t find any

sign of them when I looked.”

“I found them a few years ago,” Pretha says, frowning, “when she was fifteen. They were buried, but they were there.”

Natan considers this. “But that would’ve been before her scars began appearing?”

“Right,” Pretha says. “So we assume, what? That by the time you searched for her magic, he’d pulled on so much of it through

calling on the blood magic that there wasn’t a trace to be found?”

“Nothing recognizable at least,” Natan says. “Her magic exists in the limbo between their consciousnesses—that space where

she isn’t herself but she also isn’t yet him.”

“Meaning that theoretically she could access it,” Pretha says. “Perhaps that’s what they’re trying to avoid?”

Natan shrugs. “It’s still hers, so I would certainly think so. With work.”

“Is there any other reason they might want her out of the way all these months?” Remme asks.

What is it? Misha asks in my mind. You look like someone just kicked your puppy.

I stare at my hands, stomach twisting because I know exactly why Mordeus wouldn’t want Jasalyn conscious for any longer than necessary. It’s the same reason he put my brother into that cell across from her.

You might as well say it , Misha says through our connection.

I sneak a glance at Jasalyn. She’s watching me curiously, as if she doesn’t have any idea what’s so obvious to me. I could

say it. I could explain to the whole group that Mordeus knew she was trying to end her own life when she was in his dungeons,

just as he—or someone working with him—knows that she may very well end her life now. From everything I’ve learned about Jas

through her memories, I know she would do it to protect her sister. If the alternative is Mordeus taking over her body and

her life, I don’t think she’d hesitate.

I could say it, but it’s such a painfully private truth. And one that it’s not my place to expose—at least not in this setting.

I won’t do that to her , I tell Misha through our minds. Not here. Not now.

“Whatever the reason,” Brie says, “I choose to consider it a gift. Because we removed the ring, Jas is awake and well.”

“You never explained how my phoenix plays into all this,” Jasalyn says, shocking everyone in the room by speaking for the

first time.

I wonder if they forgot she was here or if they thought they could continue to speak about her without her saying a word.

Given how quiet and hidden she’s kept herself the last few years, probably the latter.

Abriella clears her throat. “We think your phoenix is the fourth element of his plan,” she says.

“Although Mordeus wouldn’t have known or understood it when he put this into motion, the gift of the phoenix is the gift of resurrection.

Through your gift and by taking over the immortal life you traded, he can rise from the ash.

” Abriella holds her sister’s gaze for a long time before letting out a breath.

“I believe that’s what the seers mean when they say, ‘Claim the princess and control the court.’”

The room goes too quiet, but I have to give Jas credit. She keeps her chin up.

My brother clears his throat. “Additionally, there are questions regarding Felicity and the Seven,” he says. I knew we’d be

talking about the Seven in this meeting, but I didn’t realize I would be part of the conversation. “We all agreed that Erith

and the future of Elora could wait until after Mordeus is dealt with and the shadow court is stable. However, now that we

know Erith is integral to Mordeus’s plans, we can’t ignore how he plays into this.

“When Erith’s people snatched her from Misha’s dungeons, nearly everyone expected that was the end for her.” He meets Misha’s

gaze for a beat, and I can almost feel their common bond over being two, if not the only two, who refused to believe I’d been

killed. “We’re grateful they didn’t kill her, but we need to think about why . They kept Felicity alive for a reason. If we want to both protect her and know how Erith’s plans connect with Mordeus’s,

we need more information.”

Hale leans back in his chair, his chest expanding as he draws in a deep breath. “Which is why it’s time for me to go back

to Elora and return to the oracle.”

Remme straightens in his chair. “With everything happening, you shouldn’t be in Elora. You’re more vulnerable to the Seven there.”

“I can go,” I say. “I’ve been before. I know how to do it.”

My brother’s gaze softens when he looks to me, and the regret I see there slices into my heart.

Have you two talked yet? Misha asks in my mind.

No. I avoided all of them this morning.

“I appreciate the offer, Lis,” Hale says, “but if you want to help, I have something else I need you to do. We need you to

go to the Eloran Palace.”

My stomach sinks. “I already told you, I can’t—”

“I’m not sending you to kill Erith,” he says. “In fact, all of our intelligence tells us he’s been away from the palace for

almost a year.” He looks to Jas. He doesn’t have to say it for us all to understand the significance of the timeline. He’s

been missing from the palace since Jasalyn got her ring. “We need you to get us any information you can.”

“Everything that happens in the Eloran Palace is recorded in the Chronicles,” Natan says. “For a group that has destroyed

as many ancient texts as they have, they sure are diligent about maintaining their own histories, and the beauty of the Chronicles

is that it’s fueled by truth magic. There’s no way to cheat history there.”

My gaze bounces between Abriella, Hale, and Natan, then back. “The only people who can access the Chronicles are—”

“The Seven,” Hale says with a nod. “Or in your case, someone who has taken on their form completely.”

I swallow. I said I would help. Now isn’t the time for cowardice. “Whose form will you have me take and how will we make sure we aren’t both seen while I’m there?”

Misha holds up a finger and then pulls a small envelope from his pocket. “This hair belongs to Sol. She’s—”

“Second only to Erith. I know.”

“She’s been trying to get a private meeting with me for months. Something about the future of Elora and my court.” He places

the envelope on the table and slides it toward me. “I got this at our preliminary meeting. If you choose to take her form,

I will call her to Castle Craige. That way you don’t have to worry about two of you being spotted at the palace at the same

time.”

I stare at the envelope. I’ve been avoiding the palace for so long. Going there now feels like walking right into the belly

of the beast.

“While you’re there,” Abriella says, “keep your eyes open for the Grimoricon.”

At first that word means nothing to me, but then I remember the dream I had where the witch asked Jasalyn for the Grimoricon

in exchange for the ring. I’d offered Brie that information when Misha had me in a cell—proof that I was who and what I said.

“You think it’s at the Eloran Palace?”

Brie nods. “We assume the witch passed it off to Erith, and I imagine there’s no more secure place for them to keep it than

the palace. It might prove helpful in researching everything that’s happening here.”

“You’ll let me know what to look for?” I ask. I only know of the book from that memory of Jas’s, but I’ve never seen it in

any of her memories.

“I’ll meet with you later and explain the book and its... idiosyncrasies.”

“I’ll do it,” I say. The table goes quiet, and I scan the faces around me, noting the varying degrees of respect, worry, and

curiosity on each. I take a shaky breath. “I’ll search the Chronicles and gather as much information as I can about what the

Seven have planned with Mordeus.”

“You shouldn’t go alone,” Natan says. “Even in Sol’s form, this is enemy territory. If someone were to discover your true

identity...”

Skylar leans back in her chair and props her feet on the table, crossing them at the ankle. “So spying, stealing, and killing.

I’m down.”

Across the table, the red-eyed male growls and glares at her feet.

“Seriously, Sky,” Hale mutters.

She rolls her eyes and removes her feet from the table.

Hale shakes his head. “They likely have the palace warded against you after the stunt you pulled five years ago.”

She grins. “I’m damn proud of what I did that day. A couple minutes sooner and I would’ve caught every one of the Seven in

that blast.”

“His point is that we need to send someone who can move around the palace without sending up alarms,” Remme says.

“I’m going with Felicity,” Misha says. “End of discussion.”