As I stared at Sinclair, I realized he did have Ossenna's silky, dark skin. And her color-shifting eyes, though his seemed stuck in a scary scarlet shade. He exuded her confidence, and had the same tall, statuesque demeanor about him.

And he did have Sym's sturdy shoulders and square jaw. And the same air of sternness about his expression, the same glow seeming to surround him, make him appear magical.

But this claim—being Lady Ossenna and Sir Sym's child—puzzled me.

How was it possible?

"But I..." I gulped, for the millionth time in minutes, which made my throat throb. "I thought they had no children. I thought that wasn't feasible for them."

Sinclair snorted. "Oh, it's feasible." He gestured to himself with a smirk, defiance written across his features. "Clearly. You see it now, don't you? Am I not proof?"

I nodded before I had a chance to stop myself.

"Yes, of course I am." He fidgeted as he tugged at the laces securing his gloves around his palms. "And to answer your other question; they have no children with other mages, my dear."

"But I," I shuddered, memories overcoming me, "I spoke with Lady Ossenna about this very topic a few days ago, and she said..."

Sinclair tutted. "She lied. You didn't ask your questions properly, Gwenore. Aces are evasive, or did you forget that?"

Otho, who'd been focused on his nails and rolling his eyes every few seconds, offered a grin so sinister, it made me recoil. "It's true. We're experts."

The liar was an expert in lying, and claimed the other mages were, too.

How was I supposed to acknowledge this, accept it as truth?

I stiffened, but my lower half braced to melt into the ground at the first sign of attack. I had no way to threaten these foes as their mere presence threatened me. The realization constricted my lungs.

The hilt of my sword was slipping, slipping, I could feel it; but I couldn't show it.

"Fine." I grunted, reining in my fear, forcing myself to stand as tall as possible, no matter how much it physically hurt. "Then how did they conceive a child together, with no one else knowing?" I jutted my chin at Sinclair. "How did they hide you?"

He shrugged off his gloves, revealing slender, dark hands that radiated with ominous power. "How they did the deed is of no interest to me. They put a spell on me after I was born. Something to cloak my magic, to ensure I'd never be recognized as theirs. Never be connected to them." He tossed the leathery mittens across the clearance, and they landed against the magical wall of vines, sizzling at the contact.

I cringed; trying to force my way out of this predicament was out of the question, since this barrier could apparently burn me. It singed the gloves beyond repair, so what would it do to my skin?

I didn't want to find out. My only choice was to stay put and pray for a miracle.

A miracle in the form of Sir Sym and Lady Ossenna, I hope.

"From what I understand, they placed a spell on themselves, too. One to forget they ever had me, and to protect their secrets if for any reason they were tortured." Sinclair unbuttoned his cloak but didn't remove it. He flapped it, airing it out, and I spotted his metallic breeches and knee-high boots coated with armor.

I wanted to brainstorm. To think quickly, figure out how to extract myself from this impossible situation. But my curiosity devoured me on the inside. My mind flooded with questions I wished I'd asked Lady Ossenna, lessons I wished I'd accepted from Sir Sym. I yearned to obtain answers, but their son, Sinclair, would be the one to satisfy my requests for now.

"But why?" I gripped my sword tighter, my palms growing sweaty. "What's the big deal about them having kids? I realize they're not supposed to—"

"Oh, they are supposed to create a legacy. Just not with each other." Sinclair slid his hands into his pockets. "It's ill-viewed, forbidden, for Ace-mages—the four advisors in a prime public position, assisting a monarch—to mate amongst themselves. And worse if they care for one another." He shifted side to side, kicking at a few roots near his shoes. "To mate with a human or a lower-bred mage that isn't an advisor is recommended for the sake of reproduction, but not for pleasure. Aces aren't allowed to fall in love or marry. Their sole purpose is to serve, but Sym and Ossenna served themselves, oh yes, they did. They developed feelings and carried on their affections in secret and never received punishment for it."

I wrinkled my nose, unsettled by how he spoke of his parents. He was so undisturbed by how he mentioned their disobedience as if chatting about the weather and current fashion trends, and not the mistakes that brought him to life. So indifferent, his timbre flat as if he didn't care for the fate of the two mages who sired him.

I was far from indifferent. To discover my two most valued advisors were having an affair, all this time, and nearly no one knew about it? I wasn't sure whether to feel betrayed or be impressed.

"It was dangerous. Illegal. Had anyone found out," he side-glanced at Otho, "it would have put them in prison for their actions. Then tried and hanged. So they reacted fast; they had to. To defend their positions, they had to discard their infant and pretend like it had never existed. The instant I was born, they blew a special spell on me and sent me off without a second thought. I know I said I was the adopted son of a baron, but the truth is, I grew up on a farm, in squalor and poverty. I was dirty and overlooked, when I might have lived in a castle."

I narrowed my gaze at him; he was raised away from luxury, but he sounded the same as any other spoiled noble boy I'd met.

I tried to grip my sword tighter again, but my palms ached as I squeezed. "How did you find out? How do you know all this information?" I sucked my lips between my teeth the instant I finished my sentence.

Because I knew the answer before the question had formulated in my mind. For whose dirty claws would be deep into all this? Who would have stumbled upon such a massive secret and used it to their advantage?

Otho.

"Thanks to me, of course." The Ace, who'd been cajoling Luned, gripping her backside, snuck into the conversation again. "I saw it all unravel before me. As a mage who perceives feelings and enhances love and affection, there was no mistaking how Sym and Ossenna's hearts vibrated whenever they were near one another. How they trembled if their fingers grazed or if their gazes met. It would have normally pleased me to see such adoration, but they weren't authorized to express it. And because of these behaviors, I've never trusted them. But I safeguarded their secrets, as you're now aware." His chin tilted upward, and his arms bulged as his hands formed firm fists next to his middle.

Not that I preferred to agree with him, ever, but he had a reason for his fury. Lady Ossenna and Sir Sym had lied, concealed something perilous. And yet Otho, for who-knew-what motive, didn't reveal them. He might have disposed of them ages ago, but out of some sense of loyalty, he didn't.

Loyalty, or some other emotion I didn't think Otho was capable of.

My forearm twitched and one of my feet slithered forward, my balance tested by my exhaustion. "So you kept your mouth shut and let them frolic and conceive an offspring? Though such an action was banned? Why?"

"Oh, she's brave," mumbled Jack, as Luned squirmed up to him and whispered something in his ear.

Otho set one of his tightened fists on his hip. "What could I do, Majesty? By all means, enlighten me."

Jack glared at me, as if expecting me to answer again. And I almost fell backwards, fearing he would snatch his dagger and slice it across my neck. He was faster than me, I had no doubt. We'd never been friends, him and I, but never enemies, either.

I decided to err on the side of caution; if I kept pushing, I'd get my throat slit. "I have no clue."

Eyebrows drawing inward, Otho folded his heavy arms across his broad, velvet covered torso. "Precisely. Because while I hold several grudges against them, my life is dedicated to our kingdom. As is theirs."

I tried not to cough at his delusion. Our kingdom? He thought he, the betrayer, was still a part of this place? That he still deserved to call it home?

"And if I outed them, the kingdom would have lost two advisors at once. No matter how badly I wanted to dismantle your family's reign, this wasn't the way." He steepled his fingers and set his hands under his chin. "So instead, I spied on them."

I refrained from spitting out, "of course you did." At that point, I knew my best option was to keep quiet and let him have his villain monologue.

"I saw through their farces, protected their affair while I worked on my coup. Looked the other way when I sighted Ossenna's growing belly and her feeble attempts to hide it. And when she begged me for feeling-obliterating potions, I pretended I had no clue what she needed them for. But sure enough, her stomach soon deflated, and the tension between her and Sym was gone, replaced by their habitual affections. It didn't take me long to trace their son," he nudged Sinclair, whose features illuminated, "and to set up a spell of my own on him. One that would reawaken his memory once he reached a certain age and draw him to me."

I broke my internal promise to stay silent. "Draw him to you?"

Was anyone on the other side of the vines able to hear this? Were Sir Sym and Lady Ossenna aware of the truths our common foe threw at me? Were they even trying to get through?

I'd always wondered what the Aces' actual purposes were and why my father ever trusted them. In one fell swoop, Otho had shown me I couldn't trust anyone.

"A bell rang inside me when I turned eighteen last year," said Sinclair, perking up, removing his hands from his pockets, wiggling his fingers. "It spoke to me, told me to find Otho, and so I did. We communicated, established a link, and we planned. And when that stupid dimensional prince showed up and trampled all over our plots, we revised. And revised again when Otho, Luned, and Jack were discovered. So here we are now. Proceeding with the new plan."

I bit my tongue, begging my words to burrow into my abdomen, pleading with my inquisitive nature to be quiet. But it was too late. My curiosity would get me killed.

"New plan? What is it?"

Otho cleared his throat, and Luned bounced to his side, slipping her arm under his, batting her lashes as she sneered at me.

Otho didn't sneer; his face remained expressionless. "My mistake, all those years ago, was to wait out Sym and Ossenna's affair. But as of recently, all my pieces are in place. I have proof of their treachery. I'll cast a spell to reveal the parentage of this mysterious new Arden, and it'll point at Sym and Ossenna. It'll divulge their dalliance to all and shame them."

He stepped towards me, sneaky pink streaks of energy swirling from his fingertips.

Jack crept up to Luned's other side, and Sinclair squinted at me with a sniveling sparkle in his eyes that halted my heartbeats.

Four enemies, instead of the original three. There was no means to escape this, no means to survive.

I hiccupped. This was it, my demise. They had me cornered, unprotected, lacking any manner in which to defend myself. All I had was a shabby sword I worried I wouldn't use correctly because I was out of practice.

"By divulging their relations, I weaken them. They'll lower their guard and I'll murder them." Otho's lips barely moved as he spoke. He fixated on me, continuing to twirl the raw, rosy energy around his fingers. Charging, preparing. Readying himself to eliminate me. "Then we're one step closer to dethroning you and taking over Efura."

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