"Perhaps. But he serves a purpose." The dead girl fixed Lynx with her gentle gray eyes. "You would love to take Axel up on his offer to be your lover, wouldn't you?"
Lynx buried her face in her hands. How could she admit her longing for Axel Avanov was almost greater than her disgust for his empire and his place in it? And what about her mission in Chenaya?
Not the one in which she mothered the man who destroyed the empire-far more pressing problems confronted her. She had already let her father down by fighting with Lukan. How was she ever going to put that right, especially if Lukan refused to speak to her? That made the Dmitri Curse moot, anyway. It was all a mess-one she had helped create.
Still, the idea of being with Axel, feeling his arms around her again, sharing his bed . . .
The girl waited.
Lynx finally whispered, "This is a pointless discussion because Mott will never allow me to have Axel."
"Play along with me, Lynx. Imagine for a moment that Mott were not an issue. Who would you choose, Lukan or Axel?"
Play along with me . . . How many times had Lynx used that game to cajole Raven into believing things he thought impossible? He'd loved it. But she? No, not when she was the one being forced to believe the impossible.
She said grumpily, "Axel. Of course. But it's not that simple. What about my promise to my father? And the Dmitri Curse?"
The girl brushed Lynx's hair away from her face with a gentle hand. "Put those concerns aside for a moment."
"How, when I'm bound by conflicting oaths?"
"Sometimes you have to break one oath to obey the other."
Lynx sighed. She had never broken an oath in her life. She wasn't about to start now.
"Lynx, tell me, would you like to see what would happen if you chose Axel over Lukan?"
"You can tell the future?"
"More than you can."
Lynx blinked in surprise as a scrolling text appeared on the mirror before her. It read: "In defeat, victory. In victory, defeat."
In a blur, an image of a girl with icy blue eyes and long, silvery-blond hair appeared. Lynx sucked in a breath, recognizing herself. She stood on a grassy field, facing an army flying Chenayan banners. A cloud, dark as a dragon's wing, encircled it, protecting the army's rear. On the grass between her and the host lay a man with a hand axe embedded in his skull. Two children, twin boys, lay across him, their little frames wracked with grief. Lynx recognized the man's face and gagged.
It was Tao. The children, his sons.
Lynx shot her head around to face the girl. "How dare you manipulate me like this? You must have overheard Tao telling me his dreams."
"Tao's dreams were known long before he was born."
None of this made sense, so Lynx paced the room, more desperate than ever to escape.
"The Dmitri Curse is older and bigger than any one person's dreams, Lynx," the girl pressed on. "I can tell you in all sincerity that you and Axel have loved each other for as long as Tao has dreamed of fatherhood. But not even a love that long and that pure is enough to transcend the Dmitri Curse."
Did Axel actually love her? It didn't matter because, despite this game she was playing, she could never have him. Dmitri's marriage treaty, Mott, Kestrel, Lukan-they had all robbed her of choice.
Her voice was bitter when she spoke. "So, even if we love each other, we have no choice? Even if Mott and the oath to my father weren't an issue, as you say, we can't be together? Am I understanding this cryptic stuff?"
"It's cryptic for a reason, Lynx, so you can use your heart to guide you. And you always have choice-with consequences. You were chosen for this role because you understand consequences-and sacrifice-better than most."
"So if I choose Axel, Tao will die?"
"You have not asked about you and Lukan. I've shown you what will happen if you reject Lukan and choose Axel. It's only fair I show what will happen if you sacrifice Axel and choose Lukan instead."
Lynx put her hands on her hips again. "Okay, dead nameless person who refuses to answer straight questions, show me what will happen."
"My name is Cricket, and I was the first of the Norin girls to marry a crown prince."
"Good for you. Now get on with the show, because I'm running out of patience."
Cricket seemed to take no offense at Lynx's sharpness. At her smile, the image changed again. This time, Lynx saw Lukan standing with his back to her. Only, it couldn't be him because, despite the same height and hair color, this Lukan was dressed in a tattered guardsman's uniform. Lukan would never be seen dead in clothes as old and battle-worn as these. His head turned, as if looking at her over his shoulder.
Lynx gasped, and her pulse quickened.
He had eyes the color of a glacial lake, the color she saw every time she glanced in a mirror. Feathers were braided into the long dark hair that fell across his handsome face. Lynx's heart soared. They weren't ostrich feathers, but some other bird she didn't recognize.
It didn't matter-he was a Norin at heart. He smiled at her, and Lynx reached out to touch him. Disappointment bit as her hand passed straight through the light.
"Does he have a name?" Lynx whispered, almost reverently, knowing without doubt that he was her son.
"Nicholas. He will bring light to the world. Dmitri decreed it, and so it will be."
Excitement trilled through Lynx. "It seems too good to be true."
"Consummate a marriage with Lukan, and Nicholas will be conceived. You can believe that with the same certainty that the sun will rise on the morrow. But it will not be without consequences." Cricket's face became serious, and the mirrors shattered. Glass exploded across the room. Lynx brought her hands up to protect her face.
It proved pointless. A million dagger-sharp shards sliced into her, ripping her apart, spraying her blood over the walls. Screaming in agony, she collapsed.
"The only way you, Lynx of Norin, will ever help fulfill the Dmitri Curse is to relinquish Axel and to marry Lukan. But if you do, Nicholas's conception will bring you nothing but pain.
"To survive, you will need the strength, not of a soldier going into battle with sword and axe, but of a warrior armed with nothing but honor and a determination to win.
"Knowing this, who will you choose, Axel or Lukan?"
Lynx sank into blessed unconsciousness.
Chapter 35
"Axel! Axel!"
Axel looked up at Tao's anguished face.
"She's gone!" His cousin burst into the battle command center.
"Who's gone?" Hands resting on a threat-board displaying the terrain, fortifications, and suspected troop positions in Lapis, Axel looked up. He and the officers in high command were formulating a battle plan for the invasion. Even though he didn't like the terms Mott had set, Axel had finally gotten what he wanted-after a quick detour to crush Lapis, he would be on his way to Treven.
"Lynx. We were in the maze. She was walking ahead of me, and then she vanished. There one minute"-Tao waved his arms-"then gone."
Axel's heart stuttered. Had his father acted so quickly? It couldn't be. Not even Felix would dare defy the emperor by harming Lynx before the wedding. Not when Mott was looking to secure his succession with a set of grandchildren.
Still, fear gripped him, and he struggled to catch his breath.
In that instant, Axel knew with stunning clarity that Stefan had been right about his feelings for Lynx. Finding her was far more important than what was happening in Treven or Lapis.
He could only put it down to love.
"Show me." Aware of a dozen sets of eyes watching him, Axel grabbed Tao's arm.
"Warlord Avanov-" Raklus called after him.
Axel stopped at the door. "Gentlemen, proceed without me. I will be back forthwith." He and Tao raced from the room.
Dodging people in the palace corridors, he and Tao ran to the maze.
His father waited for him at the entrance. He held up his hand to stop them. "Axel. Prince Tao. What in the name of the Dragon are you doing? Axel, you have an invasion to plan. The emperor will not tolerate any laxness in the performance of your duties."
Suspicion boiled in Axel's heart. "How did you know I was here?"
Felix's eyes shot around the deserted room, then he held up his informa. "Raklus messaged me."
"Then you know where Lynx is?" Axel demanded, doubting his father would speak the truth. Still, he had to ask. His fists clenched, and he didn't like to think what he would do to his father if he harmed Lynx.
"It is a maze, Axel," his father said in an annoyingly patronizing tone. "No doubt, she has been enticed by some sparkly thing. Like everyone else, she will eventually find her way out." His voice firmed. "In the meantime, you have pressing responsibilities, and Prince Tao needs to take care of his betrothed."