“Thank you,” I say, clasping my hands at my chest. “Thank you.”

I look at the others. Bronte seems to be considering everything, while Anemone is giving me a curious look.

“What if you just ascended?” Bronte asks. “Wouldn’t that give you enough strength?”

I explain what my mother said about needing an heir and how I’d be vulnerable to Zerra during an ascension.

“It wouldn’t be that much use anyway,” Anemone says.

“Why not?” I ask.

Anemone looks at me, smoothing her long blue skirt over her knees.

“While an Ascension does grant a ruler more power, it is but a shadow when compared to a bond, especially one between mates. Given that mate bonds are chosen by fate, it seems that you have found your purpose and your destiny.”

“How do you know that?”

She inhales a long breath and then reaches up to the collar of her dress and pulls it aside. Everyone leans in as they note the marking tattooed into her skin. Each of the seven Artefacts rendered in miniature in precise detail form a circle. “I am . . . was . . . one of Zerra’s High Priestesses.”

I sink down onto the sofa and look at Nadir, my limbs trembling with a wash of hope.

“I don’t understand.”

She sighs and shifts as though what she’s about to say makes her uncomfortable.

“A long time ago, I was chosen along with two of my sisters to seek out the remaining arks. You already know one of them—Cloris, of course.

“My name was Rosa then, and Zerra bid me to work my way into the good graces of Alluvion’s king and steal the ark.”

I snort. History repeating itself, indeed.

“Only things didn’t go to plan.” She looks at Cyan with warmth in her eyes. “We fell in love, and I knew I couldn’t betray him.

“I spent years trying to placate Zerra, assuring her I was working on it and that it was just taking a little more time than I expected. But she is . . .”

“A bitch?” I offer, and Anemone nods.

“She grew more and more impatient, threatening all manner of consequences.

“So I faked my disappearance, changed my name, dyed my hair, and went underground for a long time. When I resurfaced, I was Anemone, a citizen of Alluvion’s court and consort to the king.”

“Whoa,” I say.

“I would very much like to stop hiding,” she says. “Should she ever discover my deception, she will no doubt kill me too.” Her gaze slides to Cyan. “And possibly those I love.”

She turns to me. “So if there is a way to end her, I will perform the bonding, Heart Queen, no matter the transgressions on my home. I understand what it’s like to be at the mercy of Zerra’s will, and while I wish you’d simply been honest with us, I understand your motivations.”