“She was very special,” Hektor said. “Full of light, full of life. Mother had so much expectation pinned on her—even after she married Xavier, even after she left Pelago, Mother still hoped. And then Alethea died and that hope shattered. It isn’t easy, being the eldest son. Matthias ran away, he could do that, but not me. I had to stay and get married and continue the family line. Family is everything.”

“Yes, Ambrosine seemed pretty clear about that on the way here.”

Hektor’s dark eyes flashed as they held Leo’s. “Family is everything,” he said again, slowly. “I do not know if Bellamy will ever be able to conceive. And I do not think Matthias will ever love anyone but his books. But the Byrne line must continue. My mother will insist upon it.”

Leo blinked. “Sorry, what?”

“I didn’t take you for an idiot,” Hektor said. “The Byrne line must continue. That will start with you.”

Leo felt as if the ground had just disappeared beneath his feet. “Are you saying . . . look, I’m only eighteen! And I just got here, for god’s sake. I’m not some . . . some . . . stud to be let out for breeding. There’s a girl back there who—”

“Exactly,” his uncle said, cutting him off. “There’s a girl back there, a very special girl, who would create a very special line.”

“That’s disgusting,” Leo spat. “How can you even think that?”

“I’m not thinking it,” he said. “My mother is.”

“And you’re, what, trying to help me out by giving me a heads-up?”

Hektor looked at him like he was utterly stupid. “Yes, Leo. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”

“Sera’s going home,” Leo said, feeling a bit like a petulant boy.

Hektor raised one eyebrow. “You really think my mother will let that girl leave? A girl who looks like a goddess? A girl with a connection to Braxos?”

It was just what Bellamy had said too. Leo’s nostrils flared. “This planet doesn’t deserve her,” he muttered.

Hektor’s face softened. “You care for her very much, that is clear. My mother delights in using the things we care about against us. Especially since she lost Alethea. And she is a very powerful woman.”

“Sera has power too,” Leo said, then wished that he hadn’t.

“Yes,” Hektor said with a sigh. “I’m certain she does.”

He left Leo abruptly, as if he had said all he needed to and there was no reason for a goodbye. Sera found him there after a while, sitting on a smooth white rock and staring into the pond filled with stars.

“What did your uncle want?” she asked.

Leo could not bring himself to tell her the full truth. “Just to warn me that Ambrosine is powerful and won’t want you to leave Culinnon.”

“Well,” Sera said, sitting beside him. “We knew that already.”