She turned from them, but Amja stepped quickly in front of her, face desperate and frown deep enough to look like a wound.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“I’m going to speak to my brother.”

Amja grabbed hold of Saxony’s shoulders. “You can’t tell him yet,” she said. “He isn’t ready.”

“I’m not going to turn my back on him like you did and I’m not going to lie to my family like you did.”

“Please, listen to me,” Amja begged.

“I’m done listening to the two of you.”

Saxony snatched herself from Amja’s grasp and ran from the room. She didn’t care what they thought or what two Intuitcrafters thought. The future wasn’t set and she had already wasted years that could have been spent by Malik’s side.

Saxony might have lost her mother, but she could still save her sister and her brother.

She could still have her family.

22

WESLEY

“You said you wanted to talk, so talk,” he told Saxony. “I’ve got to help Tavia and the buskers move the magic so we can get out of this place before Ashwood sends another ambush.”

Saxony only stared at him, her eyes running up and down the length of Wesley’s arms, taking in his staves and his scars and the way they blended into his tattoo of Creije almost too perfectly. Like those parts of him had always been intertwined. A city of wonder and a boy of magic.

“You might want to sit down,” Saxony said.

“I’m fine standing.”

Wesley didn’t like the way she looked at him.

He didn’t trust how worried her eyes were.

Saxony had never looked worried for him before.

“Are you going to try and kill me again?” Wesley asked. “Because I thought we’d moved past that stage of our relationship, and fighting for my life is going to make me super late for packing.”

Saxony crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at him. “You make everything so difficult,” she said. “Before, too, but especially now.”

Wesley didn’t know what had changed, but he knew he had a habit of pissing people off—especially Saxony—and so he just shrugged.

“I promised myself once that I’d do whatever it took to save the people I love,” Saxony said. “I think now that means going against everything I thought was right.”

“Are you talking about Karam?” Wesley asked.

It made sense that she’d be worried. It had been nearly a week since anyone had heard from his old bodyguard, and Wesley could only imagine what he’d be feeling if it were Tavia who was gone and him who was thinking the worst. Still, if Saxony was considering sending troops out to find Karam, then he needed to shut down that idea fast. They couldn’t afford to lose any more people.