“It has to be!” He pounded on his chest. “I saw this when she died. It went gray⁠—”

“And it probably will again when I leave⁠—”

“Where did you come from?”

“The Seelie tunnel.”

He growled and tightened his grip on my arm. “You lie, only a royal Seelie⁠—”

“Can open the Seelie tunnels. I know. You told me that.” I stepped closer and whispered. “And that’s how you were able to open the tunnel for me a few minutes ago⁠—”

“I did no such thing⁠—”

Hot, blistering heat speared into my leg. I hissed and looked down to find the flame of my pyre crawling up the skirt of my dress. “Shit, fuck, dammit—ow.” In a panic, I threw my magic into the flames. Neon-blue waves crashed into the fire and swallowed it whole.

Smoke billowed around me.

“How did you . . . how is . . . who are . . . you can’t be—” He shook his head, then grabbed my hands. “That was Celina’s magic. How did you⁠—”

“I am Celina, Everest.” I grimaced. “Except I go by Francelina now.”

Heat wrapped around my wrist. We both cursed and dove for the flames burning the ends of my bell sleeve. His fingers brushed over my rune stone bracelet, and he froze. With his other hand he pushed my sleeve up to reveal the bracelet Tegan had made out of the rune stones.

He blinked in confusion. “These . . . these were given away⁠—”

“To the Irit family, I know.” I ran my fingertips over the stones and the runes flashed gold beneath my touch which made his eyes widen again. “An Irit gave them to me.”

Flames leapt onto the long bell sleeve of my other arm. I cursed but Everest lifted me off my feet and then we were suddenly on the ground, our feet sinking in the blood-soaked sand. He dropped my arm and stumbled backwards until he crashed into the stone wall. His legs buckled beneath him, sending him down to the sand. He pulled his knees up and braced his elbows on them as he held his head in his hands.

“What have I done to deserve this torture?” he whispered to himself, his voice trembling. “Hallucination be gone⁠—”

“I am not a hallucination.” I rushed over and sank to my knees between his legs then wrapped my fingers around his wrists.

“Then you are deceiving me.”

“I would never.” I tugged his hands from his face and found tears streaking down his cheeks. “Who could I be if not who I say I am? Auryn would never do this to you, and you just sent her away. I watched⁠—”

“You watched⁠—”

“Yes, I watched from behind that chunk of stone over there,” I half-turned to point to it, “as you walked up carrying . . . her. Then I watched Auryn come up and you changed her appearance then forced her to leave. Then I watched as Sweyn made you set your own wife’s body on fire⁠—”