“I assume they were not friends of yours,” Felix said.

Jonas nearly laughed. “Didn’t you recognize his highness, Prince Magnus? And his sister, Princess Lucia?”

“And don’t forget Princess Cleo,” Lysandra added. “Jonas’s beloved.”

Felix hacked at the thick foliage with his blade as he led the way. “Every bit as beautiful as I’ve heard.”

Lysandra grunted. “I guess, if you like that type.”

“Rich, privileged, and gorgeous? I certainly do like that type.”

They stopped to rest in a clearing, which was quiet save for a chorus of chirping birds and buzzing insects. Lysandra took a seat on a fallen tree trunk.

“It just appeared. Like magic,” Felix said, shaking his head and grinning. “Which, I suppose, isn’t that strange considering it is magic. Let’s see it.”

The crystal was heavy in Jonas’s pocket. He ran his hand over its cool, smooth surface before drawing it out. The obsidian orb glittered under the light shining through the thick canopy of trees.

Jonas shook his head, amazed. “I’ve stolen a lot in my life, but this is the first magic rock I’ve ever had my hands on.”

Lysandra drew closer. “It’s beautiful.”

“What is that?” Felix said, leaning in. “There’s something moving inside.”

Inside the orb was an even deeper darkness, a wisp of ebony smoke swirling around in an endless loop.

A shiver shot up Jonas’s spine. “Just a guess, but . . . perhaps that’s the magic?”

“What does it do?” Lysandra asked.

“No damn idea.”

“Can I see it?” Felix asked.

Jonas handed it to him and Felix went off to the far side of the clearing, holding the crystal up to the meager light to get a better look.

“It’s all so incredible,” Lysandra said, reaching to take Jonas’s hand and squeezing it. “Isn’t it?”

Damn, she was beautiful when she smiled. He found himself distracted for a moment, but then Felix strolled back over, tossing the crystal up and down. He shrugged. “I have no clue how this thing works. Anyone know how to harness the magic?”

“No idea, but you should probably stop playing with it. You might break it.” Jonas held out his hand.

Felix placed the black orb in his palm, but continued to eye it. “I don’t know if you should just hand that over to your princess. Do you have any idea what something like that could be worth? I know people, Jonas. They’re not nice people, sure, but they have mighty deep pockets.”

“Tempting,” Jonas allowed, squeezing the rock and trying to get some sense of its magic, but he couldn’t even feel a tingle. “But these crystals have a higher purpose.”

“So you do want to give it to your princess.”

“Again, she’s not my princess, but yes. I’m leaning that way.”

Lysandra frowned, her arms crossed over her chest. “Did you say crystals? As in more than one crystal?”

“I did say crystals, didn’t I?”

She gave him a stern look. “Is there something you haven’t told us?”

Today felt like a victory already, but this battle had only just begun. Jonas hadn’t felt this good in weeks. “The princess’s message included more than just this location.”

“You know where to find more, don’t you?” Felix said.

Jonas couldn’t fight back his grin. “Actually, I know where to find three out of four.”

“Where?” Lysandra asked, breathless.

Jonas tossed the earth crystal up in the air, caught it, and slipped it back into his pocket. “Two of them are back home in Paelsia. A fitting place, I think, to hold the power to crush the king.”

CHAPTER 24

LUCIA

AURANOS

If there was one lesson Lucia had learned from her mother, it was this: Anything less than perfection is unacceptable.

The queen had been obsessed with appearances and made it a priority for her adopted daughter to look as lovely as possible at all times. To be a perfect princess. She’d made Lucia do extensive memory work as a child, forcing her to learn long passages from the Books of Valoria by heart in addition to her regular studies. Whenever the Damoras would host important guests and local nobles, Lucia was brought out like a showpiece and made to recite her learnings. If ever Lucia stumbled over a word or struggled to recall the next section, the queen would draw her lips into a thin line, but she’d say nothing.

Not until later.

“Idiot girl,” the queen would snarl once the guests had left. “You embarrassed me.”

“I’m sorry, Mother. I thought I knew it. I—I didn’t mean to forget.”

“You need to practice more. Don’t give in to laziness. It makes all of us look bad. Tonight you were nothing but a disappointment.”

Such belittling words had shrunk Lucia’s affection for the woman, and she grew to hate her.

That harsh but important lesson had stuck with her. Perfection was all that mattered, at any cost.

Heart stinging with disappointment over the failure at the temple, Lucia returned to her chambers to be alone with her thoughts. She stood on the balcony and let the warm breeze dance through her hair and across her skin.

The ring on her finger—Cleo’s ring—brought her only a modest amount of peace. Perhaps without it she would have already set something on fire to let out her frustrations.