“Not trying. Stating as fact.”

“If that’s so,” the emperor spat, “then all you’re doing is giving me reassurance—the reassurance Ashur has been unable to deliver—that Mytica is worth my trouble.”

King Gaius went on, undeterred. “There’s a prophecy tied to the legends, your eminence. It foretells of a mortal girl able to wield the elementia of a sorceress and light the way to the Kindred, the lost elemental crystals.” He paused, taking a slow look around the table of wealthy Kraeshians. “My daughter, Lucia, is this sorceress.”

Gaius’s revelation was met with stark silence, broken only when the emperor let out a sharp laugh. “Your daughter is the prophesied sorceress? How terribly convenient for you.”

“She’s my daughter, but not by blood. I found her when she was an infant, and took her from her true parents with the aid of witches and blood magic. I waited sixteen years for her to come into her powers, but it was well worth the wait. It was her magic that allowed me overthrow the Auranian king and conquer his land in less than two days. And it’s her magic that led me to the Kindred.”

“Oh my, you Myticans do enjoy sharing such interesting fables! But words are but words, and only proof is proof. I doubt there’s anyone—in your kingdom or mine—who has seen any real evidence that this princess is a sorceress.”

“Actually, I have,” Amara said. Every single pair of eyes at the table shot to her, and she smiled. “I befriended Lucia when I was in Mytica, and I personally witnessed her magic. I promised to keep her secret, but this seems to me a situation that requires me to go back on my word. Everything the king says about his daughter is true.”

The room had settled down to an awe-filled silence, one that not even the emperor himself could have manufactured.

“You knew this?” he said, slamming his fist down on the table. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She allowed herself a moment of satisfaction that this information had stunned him. “You didn’t ask.”

The king nodded. “Princess Amara, perhaps you’re also aware that, thanks to my daughter, I now possess all four crystals of the Kindred.”

Amara had to take a sip of her wine to stop herself from replying with a laugh. “All four?” she said once she was composed. “That is rather incredible.”

And a rather huge lie, she thought. After all, she had the water Kindred, not this deceptive king, and the other three orbs could be anywhere.

“Yes, your eminence,” the king addressed the emperor again. “I have found all four Kindred. To unlock even one would make me a god.”

The emperor regarded him with an expression of waning patience. “How humble of you, then, to travel here by ship instead of flying through the air.”

“This is absurd, father,” Dastan interjected. “These children’s tales are a waste of your valuable time.”

“Perhaps. But Amara claims that what the king says is true. My daughter may not approve of the life I’ve laid out for her in my empire, but she’s never lied to me.”

Amara allowed herself an internal grin. For such a cunning and powerful man, her father really was quite stupid when it came to women.

The emperor studied Gaius. “Prove your claim.”

“Very well.” King Gaius stood up, reached into his coat, and drew out a small milky-white sphere. Dancing inside of it was a pale, wispy shadow.

Amara gasped. “The air Kindred.”

The king shot her a sharp look.

“Am I right? Ashur gave me books to read about the legends,” Amara said, trying now to inject some uncertainty into her voice. “The air Kindred is said to be an orb of moonstone. Is that really it?”

“It is.”

The emperor stood, strode briskly over to Gaius, and peered at the orb. “How interesting.”

“I’ve come here to warn you,” Gaius announced, pulling the orb closer to him and away from the emperor, “that if you attempt to conquer Mytica, my daughter will fight back with the power of a sorceress who can capsize entire fleets of ships. Who can freeze the Silver Sea with a single thought. Who can incinerate your soldiers into piles of ash and dust. Who, with the swipe of her little finger, can steal the breath of any enemy who dares cross her path. No army, no matter how large, can compete with the strength of her elementia.”

The emperor’s lips were thin, his gaze fierce. “And your offer?”

“I am offering you a share in my treasure. This,” he said, indicating the orb, “will be yours. Once I reveal the secret to unlocking the power within this crystal, it will give you the gift of air magic. In return, you will agree to embrace Mytica, not as a conquest but as a partner, and you will share your empire with me equally.”

So this was why the king had come to Kraeshia. Amara was both stunned and impressed by his audacity.

The tension now hanging in the air was nearly as visible as smoke.

“Half of my empire in exchange for a polished rock?” Despite his sarcasm, there was a glimmer of worry in the emperor’s expression that made Amara believe he no longer found any of this funny.

“That’s right,” Gaius said, calmly gazing at the crystal.

This banquet was far more exciting than Amara had anticipated. Even though she knew the king had lied and bluffed his way into this situation, he did possess at least one Kindred. And Lucia was the prophesied sorceress.

Her father would be wise to take the king very seriously.

“You say you know how to unlock the magic within the Kindred,” Amara said. “Can you share with us how you came to know this secret?”

Gaius gripped the orb of moonstone and studied Amara for a moment. “I know this secret because my mother told it to me. She was a witch, one with vast knowledge of the immortals’ world. She knew that one day I would be the one to find and possess the Kindred, so of course she told me what to do once I claimed my destiny.”

Amara considered his words. “Your story is sweet, but it makes me wonder why so many accused witches in Limeros have been executed on your order over the years if your own mother was one herself. I’m sure there’s a fascinating explanation there that has nothing to do with the laws of your goddess.”

When he met her gaze this time, his eyes were black and cold and bottomless. “You have no idea, princess.”

The emperor stepped forward, halting the conversation between Amara and the king. “What’s to stop me from taking that crystal and killing you right now, Gaius?” Felix and Milo rose to their feet, and the emperor flicked his hand dismissively at them. “Unless you’re a couple of sorcerers, you can’t protect your king from me.”

“You could kill me and take this Kindred,” the king acknowledged. “But it will be useless to you if you don’t know how to unlock its magic.”

The emperor scoffed. “I could torture the secret out of you in minutes.”

The king didn’t flinch. In fact, his gaze grew hard and steely. “You would do so at your own peril. Besides, such a secret would do you no good at all, here in Kraeshia. And should you arrive in Mytica without me, my daughter will be waiting to destroy every last one of you.” He pocketed the orb. “I’ve had my say and I’ve made you my offer. Surely you’ll want to take some time to think about it. This meeting is over.” He nodded at his guards.