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“Brekt?” A sharp pain stole my breath, having said his name aloud. I hadn’t spoken it in so long. It was almost foreign on my tongue.

“In Bellum. During the big attack, we came head-to-head. I was quite terrified in that moment.”

It was hard to imagine Ollo being scared. He sat tall beside me, his posture strong.

“What happened?”

“Nothing. He looked me over, decided I wasn’t his enemy, and we both moved on. I didn’t know what to think of it then. I still don’t.”

“He was good, Ollo.”

“So you say. Was he kind to you?” Ollo was staring at the photo, not meeting my eye.

“He was thoughtful, not always kind, but respectful and wanted to make things better for me. He had a playful side, too. Liked to play games and tease?—”

“I get the picture.” Ollo elbowed my arm, making me shift in my seat. “No need for rhapsodizing.” He put a hand behind his head and dropped the photo in his lap. “I don’t see it, but if you say so. Hard to picture this guy being playful.”

“It’s funny—you’re very open and good-hearted, yet he was the more sentimental one. He didn’t mind me … rapo-da-zing.”

Ollo laughed, smooth like honey. The way my heart sped was like a knife in my gut—like a betrayal to the photo he held.

“Well, we men come in all shapes and sizes.” Ollo winked to drive home his meaning. “Some are teasing, and some are to the point, world-class flyers like me.” He held my gaze, turning serious, his smile fading. “I am sorry. For what happened—for losing him. I can see it’s not easy.”

“Now, who’s rapodizing?” I teased.

He returned my picture, and I stuffed it away in my pocket.

“When this is all over, I will personally give you a lesson in vocabulary,” he said. “Luckily, you can distract others from your lack of knowledge with a good fireball to the face. Or some of your other more appealing qualities.”

I studied him. Was he planning on me being around after the magic was returned? It was … sweet.

“You’re not going to prove to Maev that you’ve controlled your ego. Not if you’re offering lessons in how to talk as good as you.”

His face fell. “Do you think I am arrogant, too?”

He waited for my answer as if it meant something to him—not what I expected from my teasing.

“No. Actually, far from it.”

He nodded slowly.

“Why? You seem bothered.”

He made a face. “I’ve had more than one woman calling me arrogant. The last one that did so hasn’t spoken a word to me since. I suppose I can admit Maev has a point, and I had let my accomplishments get to my head.”

“Was she someone important to you?”

“Unfortunately.” Ollo pretended to be distracted by his book again and fidgeted with it in his lap.

“What’re you reading?” I asked.

This wasn’t the first time he had mentioned a woman. It sounded like an old wound that he didn’t want to be reopened.

“A journal of all things, written in the language of Day.”

“Can I see?”

He passed me the book, and I was stricken once more by the scribbling. Even though I couldn’t read it, the script looked arrogant, like the woman herself. There was no question in my mind that this belonged to Falizha.

“This writing, I’ve seen it before,” I said.

“It’s not common to see the language of Day, but it’s easily found in old texts.”

“No, I mean, I’ve seen Nuo with a paper written like this. It wasn’t this person’s writing, but the words were formed the same.”

Had Nuo copied something he’d seen in this book? I flipped the pages, looking for something that would stand out. I found a page with underlines and a star next to an entry.

“What does this say?” I returned the book to Ollo, who read it slowly, taking time to translate.

“He has told my father to be warned of the new Guards chosen. They will work against our plan. Father and I are working on ways to remove the Guards from their position. But hidden members of the Council have beaten us to it. When I brought this up, he was angry with father. All the while, Aeden has not returned from the island, and I have not been told what he’s doing there. ”

“Well, that tells me nothing.” I slumped in a seat next to Ollo, letting the moonlight pour over my tight Guardian clothing. I made a fist, and like before, two fingers refused to close as my bracelet glowed in front of me, the magic never fading from it.

“I think this tells us that the Council is being run by someone behind the scenes. Not by the Governor.”

Ollo read the following entries before he said, “Nothing here suggests who it might be, but I get the impression the Councilman’s daughter was afraid of them.

She mentions Rem visiting the City and being displeased with the Council.

But why would our god care about the politics of the Guardian city? ”

Ollo put down the book, searching my face for an answer I didn’t know.

I wasn’t a fan of the gods or the Council.

“Rem met with the Council while I was there. Everyone seemed terrified and surprised by his presence.” I didn’t care why they were involved in each other’s business.

Not unless it interfered with them taking the magic back.

“Why did you help me go to Ouras when your mission was to bring me to your home? To your army.” I hadn’t asked before now, but it had been bothering me since he’d saved me in the forest.

Ollo’s jaw clenched. “I’ll admit, I thought of forcing you to come with me at first. But knowing it was impossible and coming up with no other ideas, I agreed out of necessity.”

“Oh.”

“It was after the carnage on the deck of the ship that I realized I should be helping you. You were scared and hurt and had no one but us for help in all this. It’s become … I can’t help seeing the woman behind the magic. I know I can’t force your help to fight in our war, Liv. I won’t.”

I shifted in my seat. “Why?”

“Why indeed.” His attention snagged on my wrist, where I was fiddling with my bracelet. “Why do you wear crystals with magic? They’re rare, you know.”

“They weren’t filled with magic when they were given to me. My earrings, too. Something happened to them.”

I stopped breathing. Why did I say that? I just didn’t want him to think I wasted precious crystals and flaunted them.

When I peeked over at him, Ollo’s eyes went wide—darting from my wrist to my ears before his mouth popped open.

“What?” I covered my wrist, wondering if I had done something, when a smile broke out on his face.

Shit.

He had figured it out.

He tore his feet off the chair before him and set them down as he faced me.

“There’s a tale of how the magic crystals were formed, how the earth couldn’t hold all the magic, so it stored it in the crystals.

Seeing how the earth did this, the gods tried it as well, to ease the strain of bearing so much power, and drained the magic into the crystals.

But when the Ikhor took their magic, that all stopped, and the legacies’ power supply dwindled. ”

“Let me guess, as part of their punishment?”

He nodded. “Think about it. You have magic you can’t control. Perhaps subconsciously, you have been easing yourself of the strain by putting it into the crystals.”

I realized why the Oracle might have given the bracelet to me. “She knew. She knew it would help me.”

“Who?”

“No one. Ollo, what will you do with this information?”

He went still. “What do you mean? This is good news. This was the answer Maev was looking for. And it means we can remove some of the strain of magic on you.”

“You mean, you’re happy for my sake and not for what benefits you?”

“Well, yes,” he said carefully. Then, his face smoothed out. “Because you thought I would find a way to use you. Come on, Saviour. Have you gotten to know us at all?”

Apparently not well enough . Why was I still expecting betrayal?

“We should find more empty crystals. Test your theory out.” I glanced away.

I had thought they would use the information against me. After all this time away from home, I still expected the worst in people.

“Come on, look at me. I do see the benefit this could have. I won’t lie. But my first thought was not selfish. Maev will be happy it helps you, too.” I nodded, making him grin. “How long have you been holding this information in?” he asked.

I scrunched my face, embarrassed. “Since before the Aspis bit my arm off.”

He let out a long breath. “Nothing ever gets accomplished if you don’t tell the truth and ask for help.”

Didn’t I know that—the Guards kept so many secrets and look what happened to them.

Ollo grabbed my shoulders, leaning closer. “Do you realize what this information could lead to? Our people would have a chance at a future. Our armies could have powerful weapons to protect us from the Guardians. And you could ease the strain on your body, giving you time to find the gods.”

I pulled back, and Ollo grabbed my chin. I went to swat his hand away, but his expression stopped me, his navy eyes scanning mine. “Liv?”

“What?” I tried to pull away, but he held me tight, so close I could feel the warmth of his breath.

“Are you feeling okay? Something is off about you.”

He leaned in closer, and I shivered from the proximity. I inhaled a pleasantly male scent that was smooth and inviting.

“Your eyes,” he said. “Are no longer grey.”

I swatted his hand away this time, startled that he knew the colour of my eyes. “What? What colour are they?” I stood, making him look up from his chair, and his forehead creased as he scanned me over, searching for more signs of change.

“They’re pink. It’s as if they’re being stained somehow. And your hair—it’s lighter. You’ve been growing skinni—Liv!”

I ran from the room to a cabin where there was a mirror. In moments, I was standing before myself, but it wasn’t me. I was a shadow, a warped reflection—I was looking closer to the image painted on the wall of the temple— the Ikhor.

Red rims around my irises bled into the grey. My skin was so pale it seemed to shimmer in the light, and my hair looked like the logs on the cliffs at the edge of the endless forest—bleached from the sun.