Slowly, I reached across the table and took his small hand in mine. The moment our skin touched, there was a jolt that traveled up my arm, raising the hair.

Tony grinned, squeezing my hand before letting go. I watched him pick up a glass. “Apple juice. It’s amazing.”

“Yeah,” I whispered.

The Crone chuckled, drawing my gaze. “You came here for a reason, didn’t you, Trueborn?”

“Yeah,” I repeated, sitting back. It took a moment, but I pulled myself together. “Yes, I am. You know what has happened to Zayne?”

“I know that he was given his Glory and that he Fell.” The Crone sipped her wine.

“I told her that,” Tony announced.

“He did,” the Crone confirmed as my gaze darted between them. “Of course, he did so in the vaguest possible way.”

“Hey.” Tony lifted his empty hand. “I can only help so much. Them’s the rules. I didn’t make them, but I personally think that’s what I said, which was, and I quote, ‘One born of the blood of the holy sword will hold in her hand the heart of one born after a second Fall.’” He snapped his fingers. “Pretty obvious, right?”

I opened my mouth and then closed it.

One side of the Crone’s mouth curled upward. “Ah, yes, so very obvious.”

All of that sounded somewhat obvious now, but... Shaking my head, I refocused on the Crone. “I came to see if there was any way that you could help me. I need to lure Zayne to me and somehow...” God, I hated even saying this. “I need to incapacitate him without hurting him so that I can try...try to bring him back to the way he was. He can sense when I’m about to use my grace, and he’s very powerful and...well, he’s unpredictable. I need to gain the upper hand.”

“And what if you cannot bring him back to the way he was?” the Crone asked. “What if he is lost to you?”

My breath caught as my chest seized with pain. For a moment, I couldn’t vocalize what I’d already acknowledged I had to do. “I will do what is necessary to make sure Zayne doesn’t become a monster he would’ve hunted, but I don’t believe he’s lost to me. I know he’s not. I know.”

“So, you have faith?” Toby asked.