Page 76 of Three Scorched Kingdoms

“Aries is right,” Leo says. “She’s been playing all of us from the beginning. We can’t underestimate her.”

For a moment, no one speaks. I know we’re all thinking through possible ways to stop this. But no one offers anything, and the silence stretches until I’m not sure we’re going to find a way.

“I could say yes,” Leo says softly.

I look up sharply, but he’s focused on Aries now.

“I could agree to her terms,” Leo goes on. “And once I’m crowned, I can relinquish to you.”

Aries shakes his head. “She’ll see that coming. Besides, if you relinquish once she’s queen, it’ll go directly to her—which is what she’s hoping for anyway.”

“But—”

“If you agree and go through with it, she’ll likely have you killed,” Aries adds.

Leo scoffs. “She wouldn’t dare.”

“I think she would,” I put in.

“This is bullshit.” Leo mutters something to himself and paces near the fireplace. “There has to be another way. Without a dragon on the throne, our lands will suffer.”

“Leo’s right,” Aries says. “The blight may be gone, but without a dragon ruler, the magic blessing Astronia will vanish. The wastelands will spread until there’s nothing left.”

I want to ask how the council can possibly do this, knowing what kind of destruction it will cause—but I don’t bother. Evil has no logic or reason, only hate and hunger. Constantine taught me that.

“You could challenge them to a fight,” I remind him. “Win back your seat that way.”

But Leo shakes his head. “Now that we’ve been removed from the throne entirely, a challenge like that has no standing. It won’t be recognized or answered.”

“Ugh, this is crazy,” I fume. “They clearly don’t care about what’s best for the people. They only want what’s best for themselves.”

Queen Dorthea sighs, sitting back down with a grace that never falters, even in confinement. “They’ve always been more concerned with appearances than with the well-being of Astronia.”

“They have to be,” Leo says with a snort. “If they lose the favor of the people, they lose their seats.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“The laws my father wrote when he created the council make it clear that, in the absence of a king or queen to dismiss them, the only way a council member can lose their seat is by majority vote of the people.”

His words hangin the air, and I feel something click into place. My mind races, sifting through everything we’ve seen, everything we’ve heard. The council’s endless need for validation, their hunger for power, their arrogance. It’s all connected, all feeding their belief that they’re untouchable.

Aries frowns, catching the shift in my expression. “Paige?”

I look at him, then at Leo, and finally at Queen Dorthea. My heart still aches with the loss of the library, but a new resolve istaking hold, pushing through the grief. “Their egos,” I say slowly, the idea solidifying in my mind. “That’s what we’ll use against them.”

“What do you propose?” Dorthea asks.

Quickly, I tell them my idea.

“Is that something you can do?” Aries asks.

“I think so,” I say. “I’ve never tried magic like this, but I don’t see why not.”

A moment of silence follows as everyone considers the implications. Aries squeezes my hand again, this time with a spark of hope in his eyes.

“Will it be enough?” I ask anxiously.

Aries turns to me, his expression already so much lighter than it was before. “Yes,” he says to me, pulling me into his arms. “It’s more than enough.”

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