“Am I sure what?”
“Are you sure he picked you to punish you? Maybe your name had already been selected by the king’s oracles. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Or maybe he knew you were special. Maybe he’d known you would be chosen in a few hours for the highest magical duty the land allows, and he wanted a taste of it himself before handing you over to us.”
Seela frowned, not really believing what Langdon was saying. Was it possible? Maybe. But she wasn’t special. She glanced up, her eyes asking that very question.
Langdon reached out gently, touching her chin and running his thumb down her cheek. “Seela of the Deep Forest, have you never felt magic in your veins? Have you never had a great gift? One for healing? Or knowing what might occur before it happens?”
She thought back, but her mind was cloudy. She’d never been as good at healing as her mother. And she definitely didn’t know what was going to happen before it occurred. Half the time, she wasn’t sure what was happening at that very moment.
She knew her expression held lots of questions, but Langdon didn’t seem dissuaded at all. He kept smiling at her, staring at her with that adoration that both warmed her insides and made her uncomfortable. He thought she could break his curse and Stenton’s. That she could save them all.
Closing her eyes made the dizziness increase. Soon, she felt herself swaying forward. She heard Langdon cry out, felt his strong arms around her, and then she felt nothing. Nothing at all.