My heart turned over as Casteel asked hoarsely, “A son?”

She nodded. “I had him before I was poisoned, and he was…he was like you, Penellaphe. A blessing. He was the most beautiful baby boy there ever was. And even as a small child, he had the touch. The gift.” A fine tremor ran through her. “Malec would find me. He promised that once he was able to leave, he would. He would keep our son safe and bring him to me, and we would simply spend an eternity together—just the three of us, no Crown and no kingdom. He promised to take us to Iliseeum.”

Her eyes opened, and they…they glistened with tears. “Years went by, and the war spread across the lands. I had to…I had to hide what I was. With my dark eyes, the other Ascended never questioned what I was, so I hid from the daylight and stayed among the Ascended, still believing that Malec would come for me. I never lost faith. I met many who sheltered me, and it was Jalara of Vodina Isles who I discovered would be gathering his forces outside of Pompay, where a sizable Atlantian force had gathered. I knew that was my chance to learn what’d happened to Malec and my son.” Her nostrils flared. “He would’ve been on the cusp of manhood by then, and he probably wouldn’t have recognized me, but I didn’t care. I knew I would help him remember.”

She came down a step. “So, I joined Jalara at Pompay, and you know what I saw? The newly crowned King Valyn Da’Neer, leading the Atlantian army. And I knew.” Her hands closed into fists as her voice quavered. “I knew then that my son was gone. That he had probably been gone since the moment I left Atlantia, and they would’ve only been able to get to him if they’d done something to Malec. For years, I waited for them, never giving up, and they took that from me! He was all I ever wanted,” she screamed, and I shuddered at her words. Her chest strained the gown as she inhaled deeply. “They took everything from me. My son. My Malec, and I did nothing wrong but love, and gods, I will never love like that again. That was all. That was it.” She sliced her hand through the air. “They could’ve stopped this at any point. They just had to tell the truth about Malec and I. That I was not a vampry. That he was exiled wrongly. But in doing that, they’d have to confess what they’d done. Tell all their lies. Admit to murdering children,” she hissed, and I flinched then because I…I knew that they had. “And they would have to give back the Crown if that was what Malec wanted. So, of course, they didn’t. And here we are,” she said quietly. “All of this?” She lifted her hands and spread her arms wide. “All of this is because of them. They created this fire and fanned it, and now it’s out of control because I am the fire, and I will take everything from them.”