“The council will want to know why-”

“I am the Dranir. I am not obligated to answer to anyone, not even the high council.”

Claude paused, laid his hand on Judah ’s shoulder and made direct eye contact. “Is now the time to alienate even one council member? Cael is preparing for a premature war with the Raintree. The more high council members he can turn against you, the easier it will be for him to follow through with his plans.” Claude squeezed Judah ’s shoulder. “Your brother won’t stop until he kills you or you kill him.”

Judah pulled away from his cousin. “Are you saying that I shouldn’t protect my daughter?”

“I’m saying that your priority should be keeping Cael in check. Only you can prevent him from destroying us.”

“And you think I should be willing to sacrifice my daughter’s life? Don’t you believe I can protect Eve and also safeguard my people from my insane brother?”

“Why is the child so important to you? You didn’t choose to father her. You didn’t even know she existed until two days ago. And you can’t forget that she is Raintree.”

Judah seethed. “Eve is Ansara!”

“No, she isn’t,” Claude said. “She is only half Ansara. The other half is Raintree. And she has been reared for the past six years within the Raintree sanctuary by Princess Mercy. If your daughter had to choose between you and her mother, between the Ansara and the Raintree, who do you think she’d choose?”

Whirlwinds of sand swirled upward from the beach, shooting high into the air. Fire shot from Judah ’s fingertips, and the ground beneath their feet trembled.

“Enough already. I get it,” Claude said. “You’re pissed at me for speaking the truth.”

Claude understood Judah as no one else did and accepted him without question. Instead of being irritated by Judah ’s hair-trigger temper, his cousin usually seemed amused. There were times when Judah envied Claude’s innate calmness, an inner peace that he himself didn’t possess.

As Judah ’s anger subsided, the whirlwinds died down one by one. He flung red-hot flashes out toward the ocean, where they sizzled and died in the salty surf. Then, when he continued walking up the beach, Claude followed, neither of them saying a word. The tropical June sun warmed them, while at the same time the breeze off the water cooled them. The Ansara lived in paradise.

“I can’t claim Eve until after The Battle, when the Raintree are defeated,” Judah said. “If I try to take her before then…”

“What will you do about Princess Mercy now that you know she gave birth to your child?”

“Nothing has changed. Mercy is still my kill on the day of The Battle.” Judah paused and looked out over the ocean toward the far horizon. Now that she had come into her full powers, Mercy would be a worthy adversary. She would fight him with all her strength. “As long as the Raintree exist, they will be a threat to us.”

“It won’t be easy to kill your child’s mother.”

“My father had Cael’s mother put to death. He never regretted it.”

“Uncle Hadar hated Nusi for what she did to your mother. Nusi was an evil sorceress, and crazy, just as her son is.”

“And Mercy is Raintree. That alone is reason enough to kill her.”

Before Claude could respond, they noticed one of the servants from the palace, a youth named Bru, running down the stairway that led from the palace grounds to the private beach. He waved his hands and called out for the Dranir.

When Bru reached them, he bowed hurriedly before gasping several deep breaths and saying, “Councilwoman Sidra is waiting for you, my lord. She said to tell you that you must come to her immediately. She has dire news.”

Judah broke into a run, flying up the rock stairs, Claude and Bru following. Undoubtedly Sidra had experienced another vision. If she said the news was dire, it was. She never panicked, and never exaggerated the importance of her revelations.

When they reached the palace grounds, they found the old seer sitting calmly on a lower level patio, her wrinkled hands folded and resting in her lap. Her husband, Bartholomew, stood behind her, as always, her fierce guardian.

Judah went to Sidra, and when she tried to stand on unsteady legs, he helped her back into the chair and knelt at her feet. As the Dranir, he didn’t bow to anyone, but Sidra was not just anyone. Not only was she their greatest soothsayer, she had been one of his mother’s ladies-in-waiting and her dearest friend.

Sidra squeezed Judah’s hands. “I have seen the mother of a new clan. She is a child of light. Golden hair. Golden eyes.”

Judah’s gut tightened. He would never forget the moment when he had seen his daughter’s eyes flash golden, just for a millisecond. “The child’s existence-what does it mean for the Ansara?”

“Transformation,” Sidra said.

Judah looked up at Bartholomew and then over at Claude. Transformation? Not annihilation? Not their downfall? And not their salvation.

Sidra clasped his hands tightly once again. Judah focused on her. “If you are to save your people, you must protect the child from…” Sidra’s voice grew weak, her eyelids fluttering wearily. “Guard yourself against Cael, against his evil. You must reverse the ancient decree…today.” Sidra dropped off into a sudden and deep, restorative sleep, as she usually did after a powerful vision sapped her strength.

Bartholomew lifted the cloak from his shoulders and laid it across his wife, then faced Judah. “My lord, you know which ancient decree she was talking about.”

Judah rose to his feet. “Yes, I know.”

“Sidra believes her vision to be a true one,” Bartholomew said. “If it is…there is a mixed-breed child out there somewhere, a child who is half Ansara and half Raintree.”

“Yes, there is.”

“You already knew of the child’s existence?” Bartholomew asked.

Judah hesitated. “Yes.”

“After what Sidra has seen, I agree that you have to protect the child,” Claude said. “Write a new decree and sign it, with Bartholomew and me as witnesses. Revoke the ancient decree that demands the death of any mixed-breed offspring.”

“Claude is right, my lord.” Bartholomew glanced down lovingly at his wife. “Sidra believes Cael will try to kill the child, and you must not allow that to happen. Without her, the Ansara are doomed.”

“I swear on my father’s honor that I won’t let anything happen to the child,” Judah said. I’ll protect you, Eve. Do you hear me? No one will harm you. Now or ever.

Mercy sensed a triad of minds searching inside the sanctuary boundaries-powerful thoughts that had combined in order to increase their strength. Instinctively, she realized the psychic exploration originated from far away. Laying aside the book that she’d been reading-an ancient script filled with spells and incantations of protection-she concentrated fully on the hostile energy. It took only a minute for her to understand the danger.

Ansara!

One mind was leading the other two, guiding them as it struggled to contact Eve.

I won’t allow it. Closing her eyes and taking a deep, strengthening breath, she concentrated on surrounding Eve, adding extra protection to the magical boundary that already guarded her.

It’s all right, Mother. I’m not afraid of him. He can’t hurt me.

Oh, God, Eve. Don’t! Whatever you’re thinking about doing, don’t do it.

Silly Mommy.

You’d better listen to me, Eve Raintree!

No, I’m Eve Ansara.

Striving to maintain the second level of protection around Eve, Mercy opened her eyes and ran from her study, seeking her daughter. She found Eve sitting on a cushion on the floor in the living room, surrounded by an array of stuffed animals, all marching around Eve, their little stuffed appendages bounding up and down against the wooden floor.

“Eve!”

Eve gasped. Her eyes widened as she faced Mercy and abruptly aborted the spell she had used to animate her stuffed animals.