Zephyr’s eyebrows raised, and the lazy, uninterested slouch disappeared from her posture. “Do tell.”

Aurora took a deep breath. “Help me save my kingdom, help me restore the Pavan throne, and you may reopen the Eye, this time as a legal venture, safe from prosecution.”

Everyone in the room stared at Aurora as if she’d grown a second head.

“You will, of course, still risk prosecution for the darker endeavors that sometimes go round the market. Cutthroats and thieves and any other purveyors of violent crime shall be tried according to the law. But I promise that magic will no longer be viewed as a crime.”

Zephyr appeared almost dumbstruck for a moment, but she recovered with a quick blink and stuck out her gloved hand, claws first. “You have a deal, Princess.”

And just like that … Aurora had joined the revolution.

Not our king. Not our refuge.

—painted by a rebel on the city wall

8

That night Aurora told the entire crew about her identity and her intent to involve herself in the rebellion. She had been prepared for the worst, for them all to hate her for lying and luring them back to Pavan. But to her surprise, no one yelled or raged as Kiran had done.

Bait was the first to throw in his support. “Does this mean we get to fight? With magic? You do not know how long I have been waiting to put all that storm magic to a use that does not include powering the Rock or weakening another storm. As long as I get to blow some things up, count me in.”

Aurora was thoroughly surprised when Duke was the next to rise from his seat. He had not been shocked by her announcement, but he looked at her strangely, as though he saw an entirely different person standing before him. “I don’t know how much use an old man would be, but I have never been part of a revolution. Seems like something I should do before I die.”

Aurora swallowed a lump in her throat, suddenly all too aware of how frail the wise old man seemed. His hand clasped her shoulder, and she laid hers on top of it. He gave her shoulder a squeeze, then looked past her to the hunter looming against the far wall of the room.

If possible, Kiran looked more angry than he had the night before. It showed on his face as clearly as a thunderstorm building on the horizon.

“Are you really planning to legalize magic besides Stormling magic?” Jinx asked. “All magic?”