Althea's head turned slowly.
"No," she repeated, like she didn't believe she heard him right. "You're saying that like you're sure."
Lucian sat with his back against a pack, eyes on the firelight. He didn't look dramatic about it. He looked like he'd already had this argument in his own head and got tired halfway through.
"I'm sure," he said.
Elara glanced between them, careful not to interrupt. She pretended to check the perimeter, but she was listening like everyone else.
Althea's jaw tightened. "You dragged me out here. You said the Trial was tied to the key. You said my mother is part of this whole… mess."
"She is," Lucian said.
"Then why are you telling me she won't be there."
Lucian exhaled once. "Because if she was in this world, I'd feel her. Not the way you feel rumors. The way blood feels blood. The way fire knows fire."
Althea's eyes narrowed. "You're guessing."
