He frowns and drops his arms. “My son, the bastard. He betrayed me. Giving secrets to our enemies and—”

“Saving the lives of his best friend and his cousin, your niece?”

“Getting himself killed,” Eric spits.

“Your men killed him,” Lynell counters, a surge of anger giving her the energy to step forward, closer to Eric. “It’s your fault he’s dead.”

Rage burns bright in Eric’s eyes, but Lynell doesn’t have time to flinch before his hand is flying through the air. His fist connects with her jaw, and she feels the extra blossom of pain from his knuckles as she falls to the ground. A shriek falls from her lips involuntarily and white spots blot her vision.

“Maybe you’d like to see how it feels, to have a child taken from this world in front of your face,” Eric says.

Lynell’s stomach goes cold. So, Anna is still alive. Where?

“I think Anna will be glad to see her parents again.”

Panic pulls Lynell up and she rises to her knees, eyes wide and heart beating madly as she looks up at Eric. “No!” she screams.

Eric’s fierce scowl starts to turn into a grin. “You know my cost.”

“And you know my price.” Lynell’s heart is thudding against her ribs. She can hear Daniel telling her not to do it, to choose good. But there’s nothing left. All she can do before she dies is protect her daughter. Save one life.

“Promise you won’t hurt her.”

Eric raises an eyebrow. “If you give me the letter—the real letter—I won’t hurt Anna. I’ll let her live a life away from here, without ever knowing her true parentage.”

Her thoughts feel like a bat beating against the inside of her skull. She hates herself when she opens her mouth and says, “Okay. I’ll tell you.”

Eric smiles wide. A guard comes forward and hands her a pen and paper.

“I knew you would see it my way,” Eric says. Lynell’s eyes burn but there are no more tears to fall. “This is good, Little Lyn. And I may still let you live. Someone will have to take over when I’m gone.”

His words feel like dust in the air as Lynell writes. The words are shaky and look foreign to her. She grits her teeth as she writes, “If I am killed in the attempt, do not be angry. Know that I left with a hope for the future.” She realizes now he said killed instead of Registered because he couldn’t be Registered. Not as an Elysian.

What hope is there? What possible hope could Eli have had?

She has none. Eric won’t let her live. Her claim is stronger than his. Even if he figures out the code. She will always be legitimate, and he never will be.

“Of course, you will live until I have the code. I can’t take the chance that you’re giving me a fake letter, can I?”

Her knuckles turn white when she grips the pen tighter, trying to ignore the guilt of what she’s doing.