I know now that hope was wrong.
I also know what I need to do to move forward. To say goodbye to my beloved brother, to accept the duty I was born and bred to undertake - to hold the intersection point and rule a realm.
Love, compatibility, and companionship aren't factors in my future. But I need just a moment, a few days, to accept everything else that comes with my blood and my position. I need to embrace my fate as if it were my choice - even if it never really was a choice. Any of it.
And that includes finally accepting the deadly power I wield.
But apparently, my would-be suitors have a different future in mind for us all. And though I'm not running - or at least not running from them - they're primed for the chase.
A good thing, too. For there are children who need our protection ... and a last layer of secrets to be uncovered.
The Mirth duology is set in the Conduit World. While it's not necessary to read all the interconnected series, the ideal reading order is as follows.