I’m sitting across from Magnus in what appears to be his study. The large wood paneled room is dark, apart from the light of the fire blazing in the large fireplace at the center.

Neither of us says a word as Magnus stares into that fire, as if it might give him the right words to tell me whatever it is that he needs to tell me.

I don’t force those words, because whatever they are, I know I don’t want to hear them. Not at all.

But he turns to me, and says them anyway.

“I told you before that the rule of Eden has always fallen to one of the two sovereign Dynasties. The St. Tristan Dynasty and the Evenstar Dynasty.”

“Yeah, so there’s some kind of rota where the throne alternates between the two sovereign Dynasties.” I speak my own assumption out loud, then hoping that in doing so, it will make it true. Only when I do speak it out loud, I realize just how ridiculous it sounds.

“No,” Magnus replies simply, and my world grinds to a halt as I wait for him to shatter it.

“The crown has always fallen to the eldest sovereign heir—the first heir from the St. Tristan Dynasty and the Evenstar Dynasty to reach their eighteenth birthday, ascends to the throne.”

The churning in my stomach intensifies, until I feel like I might throw up all over the polished wood floors.

I remember that day at the amusement park. Raph telling me that we have the exact same birthday—down to the very second.

Magnus is watching my face and the look in his, tells me that he can see I already know. But he says it anyway.

“You and Raph share the same birthday, Jazmine. Down to the very second.

“Your father didn’t know about you, no one knew about you. So, from the moment Raph was born, it was always assumed that he would be next in line to the throne.

“When the Dynasties first found out about you, everything about you was a mystery. We had no idea who you were, let alone what day you were born. There was always the possibility, of course, that you’d be older than Raph. But even if you were, it was always assumed that because your blood is tainted with human blood, whilst you could take up your rightful place as heir to the Evenstar Dynasty, ascending to the throne was out of the question,” he continues.

“But when I obtained your birth certificate, I discovered that you were born on the same day as Raph, at exactly the same second. A true phenomenon, which could not be ignored.

“I told only the Evenstar Dynasty’s closest allies at first. But somehow, Jethro also found out. The Dynasties have since been examining the laws of Eden and debating in secret for months, as to what needs to be done. Nothing like this has happened in centuries, let alone in any of our lifetimes. It was resolved that no one should find out about this phenomenon, until it was decided what must be done.”

“Raph knew,” I find myself saying, almost involuntarily, my voice barely a whisper in the dimly lit room.

Magnus’s eyes turn to me.

“Yes, he must have. I don’t doubt that Jethro would have told him.”

I get that image of a thousand jigsaw pieces scattered in front of me again and I still have no idea how to put them together. The way that Keller’s little brothers ran off after Jael’s surprise at Raph and me being together; Magnus’s own warnings and Jethro’s less than pleasant words to me at the Fall Ball.

“What—what does this mean?” I ask, although I’m certain I don’t want to know the answer.

“It means, Jazmine, that something must take place, which hasn’t taken place in Eden for centuries. It means that nature itself requires that there must be a Crown Trial.”

“What the hell is a Crown Trial?” I demand, although my voice is shaky, because my whole universe feels like it’s spinning right now.

“It’s a duel—you against Raph. For the throne,” he replies simply and the universe that had just been spinning? It comes crashing down around me, shattering into a million pieces.

“For the throne?” I sputter.

I shoot up to stand on my feet, as the torrent of emotions raging inside me threatens to pull me under. Hell, I’m already drowning.

“I don’t want the damn throne and I’m sure as hell not about to fight Raph for it.”

Magnus’s eyes grow even more troubled then.

“You must do this, Jazmine. You see, the laws of nature may be cruel and they may be harsh in the same way that storms can wipe out entire cities and famines can decimate a nation, but they are necessary in order to keep the balance. Even the slightest upset in that balance can have consequences beyond anything which anyone can even comprehend. The laws cannot be broken and they require a Crown Trial to determine which sovereign heir will next ascend to the throne.”

“Fuck the laws,” I reply, I’m aware that I’m shouting. I’m aware of the manic desperation that must be shining in my eyes right now. But I don’t care.

“There is no way in hell that I’m doing this and I don’t believe for a second that the universe will come crashing down just because I don’t.”

But Magnus only shakes his head in response.

“You don’t understand, Jazmine, even the slightest crack in the foundations can cause the entire world to shatter. Both worlds.

“A phenomenon like this has the power to change the entire universe. The Crown Trial must take place, or we risk both worlds falling out of balance.”

I stare back at Magnus for a long moment. The only sound in the dead silence is my own ragged breathing.

“You knew this was going to happen, even before you brought me here,” I say finally. “You knew and yet you still brought me here. You knew, but even when I asked, you wouldn’t tell me. You just kept the truth hidden from me out of some twisted belief that I wasn’t ready to know it.”

Magnus’s eyes widen, and his expression is aghast.

“No—of course, I didn’t know then. I told you that I only found out about this phenomenon when I obtained your birth certificate and even then, I couldn’t be certain as to the consequences. No one could. It has only just been determined what should be done.”

“But you suspected? You knew that there was always a possibility that it could come to this?” I ask flatly.

“Yes,” Magnus replies simply. He doesn’t say anything else. But he doesn’t need to.

Anger washes over me, white hot fury sweeping away any sense and reason, until it’s all I can see. It’s only when I feel the trust being swept away with that storm, that I realize it was ever there at all. The realization feels like a punch to the stomach. Had I been that lonely and desperate for family, that I had grown to trust this total stranger? Grown to care for him in a way that I hadn’t felt since my mom died? I feel sick at the very thought. I’ve let myself get dragged into this, let myself be lied to and manipulated, let myself be used as a pawn in this twisted web of power that these Dynasties seemed to be locked in.

“I’m so sorry, Jazmine, I didn’t mean for you to find out this way and I wish that this didn’t have to happen. But it does and I have every faith in you that when the time comes, you will have the courage to do what it takes.”

“No.” My voice sounds as cold as the ice creeping into my core. I trusted you and you’ve been lying to me all this time—hiding things from me which I sure as hell deserved to know from the very beginning. The part about Earth not being safe for me—is that a lie, too?”

“No, Jazmine. Of course, it isn’t.”

“So are you going to finally tell me why?” I demand.

“I can’t. It’s more than just a danger to your life, Jazmine. The need to protect this world from the knowledge of this threat is greater than your need to know about it,” he replies simply, which only adds fuel to the fire burning in my chest.

“Why should I even believe you? Why should I believe a single word that comes out of your mouth? Why the hell should I even trust you?”

Magnus’s calm seems to snap, and for a moment, I can almost feel the waves of anger rolling off.

“I’m your blood, Jazmine. Everything I’ve done so far has been for my son’s memory, your father, and for you, Jazmine. I’m the only one you can trust.” He says these last words distinctly, and he doesn’t have to say anything else, because my mind is already there.

My initial rage has been so all-consuming, that I hadn’t even considered all the other far reaching consequences of this universe-shattering revelation. Or perhaps that was the reason why I had chosen to focus my rage solely on Magnus, so that I don’t have to think about Raph.

But I’m helpless against the torrent of those thoughts swirling inside me now, the doubts screaming in my mind, the storm threatening to pull me under.

“I told you that you couldn’t trust him, Jazmine,” Magnus says, as he sees the storm raging in my eyes.

His words feel like a punch to my gut, but I don’t believe them. I can’t.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My voice is barely a ragged whisper in the darkness.

“Raphael has been raised from birth to take the throne. The desire for the crown ingrained in his very being—it’s who Jethro made him to be. It’s who he is. And Raphael knew this whole time that it might come to this. He must have known, because his father certainly knew—that one day, you could take from him what he’s been raised to want all his life, at all costs.”

Images of my first duel with Raph rush into my mind. The way he’d seemed so closed off when I questioned him as to why I’d ever need to know how to fight in a duel. We’d trained together almost every day since. My powers are as familiar to him as his own. He knows every move I make before I make it.

Maybe that was the point. Something in my mind whispers, but I can’t bring myself to hear it.

I’m shaking my head, backing away from the spot where I’d been standing frozen. I can’t listen to these words, I can’t hear them, I can’t think about what they mean. Every fiber in my being is telling me that they can’t possibly be true. Not when every time I close my eyes, I can only see the way that Raph looks at me when we’re lying together, as if I’m the only thing that matters in this entire universe. Not his throne, not his Dynasty, not his betrothal. But me.

The troubled look in Magnus’s eyes deepens as he regards me.

“Don’t lie to yourself, Jazmine. You’re stronger than that.”

His words feel like a stab to the chest, and all I can do is turn away from those truths threatening to swallow me whole, and run.

I hear Magnus calling after me, but I don’t stop. I keep running until the cool night air hits my burning lungs.

I’ve never driven on Eden, but I don’t even think twice as I get into one of the waiting cars in the palace courtyard and it isn’t any different from my limited experience of driving on Earth.

I tell myself to calm down as I drive the short distance to the St. Tristan palace. I don’t know anything for sure. Raph will explain. He’ll tell me that it’s not true. He’ll tell me that Magnus is wrong—wrong about the Crown Trials or at the very least, wrong about Raph’s intentions.

I play Raph’s words over in my mind in an attempt to stop myself from breaking down entirely.

I’m certain that from the first moment I saw you on that beach, I’ve belonged to you.

You’re mine now, Jaz and … I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you.

I hold onto those words, because they’re all I have left.