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Astra snorted. “I’d certainly take the payoff at this point. Though they’re forbidden from touching, so I’m not sure it would be all that gratifying. She’s afraid to eclipse him, he’s afraid he’ll expose her. It’s all very tragic.”

“Sounds familiar.” He leaned forward, his eyes hardening as his thoughts solidified. “Leona and Solan… what do you know about what happened in The Flare?”

Astra shook her head as she leaned back from the desk, readjusting her simple dress. “Only what the history books report, which isn’t much. Just another enemy bloodbath on a long list of Solar Kings and Lunar Queens who couldn’t tolerate the other.”

Lux dropped his eyes to hers. “What if they were not enemies?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about it. There’s only one thing that I know of that might drive two smart, confident leaders to such madness. And I don’t think it’s hatred.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Are you suggesting?—”

“Leona was your mother’s sister. Your mother is a sane woman by all accounts. Could she really have just lost her mind one day and sacrificed herself on the Solar Throne?”

Astra’s brows furrowed, a rush of orange fury like the sunset canyon above his head flowing into her veins. “Sacrificed herself? That’s not what happened.”

“Oh?”

“Solan killed her, stabbed her in the heart.”

His expression mirrored hers. “Is that how you learn it here?”

“Is that not how you learn it in Mercury?”

“No.” He stood, pacing in short lines in front of her desk. “We were told that the Lunar Queen went mad, begging Solan for a truce, for partnership. And when he said no, she slit her own throat on the throne in a final act of madness in an attempt to start a war between the Inner and Outer Courts.”

Rage flashed across her bones. “No. That’s not…

no! Leona did go to Solan, but it was because he asked for a meeting to discuss a ceasefire.

To open up the trade routes in the Courts Between.

Leona thought it was a trap, but Selenia thought it was a genuine offer.

No other Solar King had ever offered it.

They thought perhaps it was time for the fighting to end.

And then he had her bow before him as a sign of her commitment to the truce, and stabbed her in the heart as her eyes dropped to the floor. She didn’t even see it coming.”

Lux stared at her as she spoke, running through everything he thought he knew. “What if we’re both wrong? The truth is always the third version of the story, right?”

“It’s possible,” she sighed, her eyes heavy at the late hour. “We really need to speak with Ehlaria. She’s survived hundreds of these wars, she would know.” The clock on the wall chirped a delicate melody, drawing her attention. “I should get to bed. Big day tomorrow.”

“I’ll walk you back,” Lux said, his face shadowed by something like concern.

“Back… two doors down?”

She laughed, but saw the fear settle in his eyes. “Archera would never let anyone get into the palace, Lux.”

He shrugged. “I’m here, aren’t I? You’re the only one who batted an eye.”

The thought ran her blood cold. Shards of ice prickled through her veins as his implication settled across her chest. “Point taken,” she whispered, letting him stroll beside her.

“Mirquios would have my head if he came back and I’d let some asshole in the forest take you down.”

“Lucky for you, I was there to save us all.” Astra let the sarcasm coat the regret in her voice, still struggling to accept the life she’d ended, no matter the stakes. She leaned against her door as he frowned.

“I was moments away from getting the upper hand,” Lux insisted, his amber eyes flaring with irritation.

“Sure, sure, Commander. We’re all very frightened of you.” Her teasing only fueled the fire in his eyes, a twisted rage darkening them.

“ Never forget,” he murmured as he leaned close to her, holding her captive against the bedroom door. “As long as my heart beats Solarian blood, I am only ever one moral crisis away from destroying you.”

Her breath caught between them, the smoke of him enveloping her. “Lux?—”

His mouth turned up in a crooked smile, a thunderous laugh washing over him. He was so close to her, she could hear the breath drawing into his lungs as he pushed away from the wall.

“Goodnight, As.”

* * *

“You’re better than this, Fire Queen,” he whispered, his voice catching as her eyes fluttered open, fixed on his lips. Astra pushed back against him, surprised to find herself in the meadow, under his weight once more.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she hissed.

“No,” Lux agreed, lips hovering over her jaw. “I shouldn’t.” The burn of his mouth on her skin was as tempting as it was terrifying. Scarlet lust ran up her spine, setting fire to the space between her arched back and the meadow.

If he was here, if he wasn’t leaving…

She let her fingers crawl over his back, dark linen scratching against her skin.

He sighed, and the worst part of her hoped it was an invitation, not a warning.

His hips pressed into hers, a quiet sigh slipping from her lips before she could get control of herself, but he was only pushing himself away from her, rising quickly to his feet. He offered his hand again, and this time, she took it. A crackling heat sang between their fingers.

“What am I doing here, As?”

She blushed, alight with an acute misery in her chest, the adrenaline demanding she move.

Closer. Away. It didn’t matter as long as she did something with the sparking fire in her muscles.

“I don’t know.” She fixed her eyes on the wavering walls of the garden, moonblossoms unfolding in the early Autumn air, floating to the grass below.

Lux nodded, his lips pursed.

“Get some sleep. Without me.”