“When my father still lived in Arnia, before he remarried, I had a nursemaid turned governess who was common born. She used to bring me up here in the evenings to watch the sunset and to distract me from the fact that my father wasn’t around, even at night after his responsibilities had ended. I always felt like I was in the middle of the sky. We’d lay here until the sun had fully set, then she’d aerstep us home so we didn’t have to make the long trek down the ladder in the dark. But we always climbed up. She said that I needed to learn that not everything required magic.” The setting sun paints her face in a golden glow as she tells me the story. “I haven’t come back up here in years. It’s just as breathtaking as I remember it.”

“What happened to her? Your governess?”

Genevieve swallows, turning eyes filled with grief upon me. “When my father remarried and gave me over to my Uncle Silas, she tried to sneak us both away. Silas was unkind to both of us. She feared for me and hatched a plan to take us deep into the Nivan Desert. Silas caught us and killed her on the spot.”

“How old were you?” I ask, afraid of the answer.

“Twelve.” Indignation fills my chest on her behalf. How dare her uncle murder the only parent she ever had right in front of her? If I ever meet the male, I may not have the willpower to bite my tongue. Or quell my magic. My shoulders tense with rage, but Genevieve strokes my shoulder and turns a small smile my way. “Don’t be sad, Nemesia. She would have been so happy I found someone to share this secret place with. And she wouldn’t have cared that you were Thayarian.” She smirks, and I can’t help returning the smile. “Is there somewhere like this in Thayaria? A secret place you’d show me if we were there instead of here?” I consider the question for a moment, knowing any answer I could give would inevitably be tainted by some trauma I’ve experienced.