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to harm the dark prince? Did he even care at this point? “Well, dear brother? I believe we are waiting on you.”
    Before Jaegar could goad him any further, something ominous and distant passed through Jadon’s eyes; he stood up straight and removed his hand from his blade. “I will not attend the sacrifice, and neither will my men.” He practically growled the words. “But I will give you this one last concession: This day , I will not carve your heart from your body.”
    His voice was much too tranquil.
    His eyes were much too opaque.
    And his manner was far, far too self-assured.
    Jaegar took another tentative step back, regarding his twin warily. What the hell was that ? Feeling more than a little uneasy, he tucked his own dagger back into its sheath and cleared his suddenly rusty throat. “Is that right?” He had to find a way to save face. “Then I shall give you one last concession as well: This day , I will not hold your insolence against you. I will pardon both you and your vagabonds a day in advance for failing to attend the sacrifice.” He held up his hand to silence his brother, lest the prince say something else stupid. “But know this, brother: You—and all of your loyalists—will be back at this castle by nightfall tomorrow for our reconvening, for our celebration. Fail to show up, and I will set the whole of our father’s army— my army —against you, and I will strike down each of your warriors, to the last man, including your beloved king.”
    Jadon didn’t blink.
    He didn’t move.
    And he didn’t react.
    And there was something so shadowed, so deep and determined in his eyes that it gave Jaegar another moment’s pause. Truly, Jadon must have been harboring a secret. He stared at the recalcitrant prince awhile longer, trying to discern what the great mystery was, before he shuddered and looked away.
    Jadon Demir was not a weak man, not by a long shot. And he was not a leader to be trifled with—he had simply been outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and utterly caught off guard by the audacity of Jaegar’s movement, by the tenacity of Jaegar’s men. Still, the noble prince would willingly die for what he believed in; fortunately, he would not recklessly send others to their deaths for the same. He would not needlessly sacrifice the lives of his followers.
    Still, with such strong provocation, he should have drawn his dagger.
    He should have tried to plunge it in Jaegar’s heart, instead of offering him a concession, however insulting and insidious.
    Yet something had stayed his hand.
    It was as if he had a greater purpose, a hidden reason to live.
    Jaegar knew Jadon would comply ev entually, but it made him more than a little uneasy that he could not intuit why —why his brother would back down from a direct provocation to fight, why he would ignore such a blatant insult.
    What the hell was he waiting to do?
    Jaegar shook his head brusquely from side to side, trying to dislodge the disturbing thoughts. Blood was thicker than water, and Prince Jadon would come around.
    He had to.
    He was Jaegar’s b rother ,after all…
    And when the time came, the two of them would rule together, side by side, as more than monarchs. They would rule as gods.
    In an act of rare valor, he stepped forward, descended to one knee, and reached out to take Jadon’s right hand. Never losing eye contact with the prince, he raised his fingers to his lips, kissed the royal crest of his ring, and then rose, once more, to his feet. “Lasa cei pu ternici sa mosteneasca pamantul , ” he whispered softly, still commanding his brother’s gaze.
    Let the mighty inherit the earth.

three
    Ever since she’d had the strange vision, the guards had been staring at Jessenia like she was an oracle, or worse, some kind of witch. They had no idea what she had seen, and she wasn’t about to tell them. They only knew that something preternatural had happened in that cell, that Jessenia had seen or heard— or come in contact with