Page 342 of Heat of the Everflame

I nodded. “This man is dangerous. He hates the Descended and wants revenge on all of us. And he’s incredibly strong. I felt his power in Montios—I might be the only person who can defeat him.”

They tittered a laugh. “You are strong, I’ll give you that, but even your power does not equal the Emarion Army. Now that we know where this man is hiding, the Crowns can order soldiers there to—”

“It won’t work. Didn’t you try that before, and the entire battalion went missing?”

“Obviously Fortos didn’t send enough.”

“You can send every soldier in the army. Hell, you can send every Descended in Emarion. It won’t be enough to kill him. Only I can do that.”

Their upper lip pulled back as they looked me over. “You’re mighty confident in your own strength.”

“It’s not about strength. There’s... something else.” I hesitated. Was it was wise to reveal so many valuable secrets to a person who refused to do the same?

Did I really have a choice?

I sighed and spread my arms. “Use your magic. Attack me.”

Doriel tensed. “What are you getting at?”

“Go on,” I urged. “Hit me with your spark magic.”

“If you’re trying to provoke me into a fight by getting me to hurt you—”

I threw a note of mocking challenge in my voice. “Oh, don’t worry. Youcould never hurtme.”

My gambit worked, and wounded ego flared in their eyes. They raised their hand, and a jagged bolt of energy sparked from their palm to my heart.

I had to give it to Doriel—it hadn’t been enough to kill me, but had their magic not absorbed with a tingle and a burst of light, I would have been convulsing on the floor instead of smiling calmly in my chair.

They jerked back. “Your shield... I can’t see it.”

“I didn’t shield your magic. I absorbed it.” I waved my hand. “Go on, try it again.”

This time, they didn’t hesitate—and they didn’t hold back. The electric jolt that slammed into me next would have left me a smoking corpse.

“You’re getting stronger,” they breathed in awe as my aura pulsed with the newly captured magic.

I nodded. “I’m immune to magic. And Ophiucae is, too. I doubt the army will get close enough to him for their blades and arrows to do much good, either.”

They looked me over like a starving tiger staring down a prime cut of meat. “You’re somethingnew. You have to stay here in Sophos. Let me study you, run a few tests—”

“We don’t have time, Doriel. This man needs to be stopped before he kills again. He knows I’m his daughter, so I don’t think he wants to hurt me. I might be the only person who can take him out.”

“You would kill your own father?”

I stiffened. “He’s just my sire. I have no feelings toward him.”

Another lie.

Doriel assessed me for a long moment. “So you’re offering yourself as an assassin in exchange for your coronation?”

“And a full pardon for these crimes I’ve been falsely accused of. I had no more idea about the attack on the island than you did. I’m not going to work with all of you only to have you turn on me the second he’s dead.”

Even though that’s exactly what I plan to do to you, I thought.

“Even if I called a ritual, the other Crowns might have their own objections.”

“Let them object. Montios was the only Crown who didn’t complete the ritual.” I shifted in my chair. “Their consent won’t be a problem.”

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