And when the road was finally completed . . .
“I need to know if there’s another way,” Alexius said, the words thick in his throat.
Melenia’s brows drew together. “Another way?”
He raised his gaze to meet hers, trying to shield the ache in his chest beneath his golden, swirling mark. Other immortals didn’t know of Melenia’s plans, but he did. He’d agreed to them when originally enlisted to her cause. He’d been certain he could stay the course.
Now he doubted himself.
Understanding entered her blue eyes. “I wanted you to make contact with her. To speak with her. To establish whether or not she was truly the sorceress prophesied by Eva so many years ago. You did as I asked of you perfectly.”
“She’s an innocent, Melenia.”
“No mortal who lives and breathes more than a day is innocent.”
“Help me understand. How are you so certain that your plan is the only one there is to find the Kindred? To release us from this prison? How are you so sure of it?”
Her jaw tensed as she swept past him toward the edge of her chambers, indicating the walls with a wave of her hand. Etched into the silver and crystal were the symbols of the elements— earth, fire, air, and water. It was her shrine to the Kindred, one many immortals had in their living quarters. They prayed to the symbols, hoping for answers, for guidance in the long days, years, centuries that had passed with no change and no escape.
“Because they speak to me,” Melenia said very simply, running her fingers lightly over the triangular symbol for fire. “They tell me what to do. How to find them. And your princess is the key. When my road is complete, her blood will be spilled. All of it.”
A shudder went through Alexius.
Once, he was prepared to sacrifice Lucia for the sake of saving his world before the magic faded completely from it. He’d been committed to the cause, as had a select few immortals chosen specially by Melenia to join her small army.
Melenia turned from her shrine to study Alexius and she tilted her head. “I wanted her to fall in love with you, to make her more willing, more pliable. But you’ve fallen for her as well, haven’t you?”
“No.” He bit out the bitter word, feeling the falseness of it leave his mouth.
“You can’t lie to me. I know the truth when I see it.” She sighed. “This complicates matters.”
“I need to go to her.”
“Yes, I’m sure you think you do.” Her hand remained upon the symbol for fire as she gave him a quizzical look. “You’re not the only one currently infatuated with a mortal. Phaedra has allegedly been watching one closely as well. A rebel.”
His gaze snapped to hers. “A rebel?”
“I don’t trust her. She sees too much. She knows too much, just as Stephanos did. I worry that your friend is becoming a liability to my plans.”
She said it lightly, but a gnawing concern began to build within Alexius’s gut. If Phaedra proved herself a problem for Melenia, then he worried deeply for her. Phaedra did not guard her thoughts or her words. She spoke her mind too plainly and she acted spontaneously and without thorough consideration of any risks. Such behavior could earn her enemies. Powerful ones.
Perhaps it already had.
“Why must your plans remain secret?” He asked the question that had been plaguing him for months. “To find the Kindred, to break the chains keeping us trapped within the Sanctuary, it benefits all of us. Why not tell Timotheus or Danaus of the princess? Of the road?” He hesitated. “Is there something more you seek that they would not approve of?”
“Don’t worry about such things. And don’t worry about your princess.”
“I need to go to her,” he said again. “Now. It cannot wait.”
“No, you don’t need to go anywhere. Not yet. Not until I’m ready for the final piece of this puzzle to snap into place.”
“The final piece of your puzzle means her death.”
“You agreed to this, Alexius. You agreed to what would save your kind, save the world. Do you really want to change your mind now?”
“What I want is to find another solution.”
“There are no other solutions.” She came toward him and took his hands in hers, squeezing them tightly. “I understand, I do. I understand what it’s like to love someone forbidden to me. To pine away for him. To ache for his touch and know that a future together is impossible. I know to what lengths someone is willing to go to help the one they love more than anyone else.” His eyes met hers, hope flooding his heart.