I hold the phone in my hand for a long time, missing my father already but grateful for his words. They’re always right on time.

It’s not about getting back in the ring, it’s about how you get back in. The strategy.

I need to find Nick and bring him home safe before the Morgaines, the Shadowborn, or the Order can find him. Sel was right about my choices risking putting others in danger. My choice brought us here, to Jonas and Kizia. But our enemies don’t choose the safe path, and neither can we.

Dragons protect what is theirs and… burn the rest.

Suddenly, I have an idea.

When I enter the living room, I find William and Sel speaking in urgent tones in the kitchen doorway while Alice sits on the couch. The three look up when I walk in, as if sensing that something has changed. And it has.

“What if the Regents were right to lock me up?” I blurt. Sel’s face is stricken, and I can tell he’s about to argue, but I hold my hand up to stop him. “Hear me out. What if they locked me away because they were scared, and the demons are after me for good reason, and Jonas was right to try to get rid of me?”

“Bree, what are you saying?” William steps forward. “None of that was right.”

“I know, but—” I shake my head, searching for the words. “You don’t lock someone up or try to murder them because they aren’t important. Jonas and Kizia looked at me and saw the anchor to the Spell of Eternity. A single life powerful enough to destroy the Lines, or completely change the course of the war. The Regents look at me and see a Black teenage girl. A mistake they can’t undo and too much power in a body they can’t control.” I pace the room, the thought gaining speed. “I’ve been so focused on using the title of king, but everyone else is more worried about how powerful I am, magically speaking—and how powerful I could become. Not as king, but as me. Bree.”

The room is silent for a moment. Alice taps her knee, eyes deep in thought. Sel’s gaze pierces mine, but I avoid it for now. I have to get this out.

“I am Arthur’s Scion.” When I say it, it sounds like a declaration. Not just the result of a series of events out of my control, but a statement of fact and force. “And I am Vera’s. They’re scared of me because they know I can beat them. And that’s what I have to do. I’m going to train harder than ever, use every possible moment, every fight, to get stronger. While we follow the leads to Nick, we should look for isel I can fight along the way—”