He pointed at Sebastian.
Aliena stopped breathing.
Caelum's face became frighteningly calm.
"I discovered what Father had done. I discovered that Sebastian was made from the fragment of my heart that had been torn away and used to create the lock. I discovered that as long as he lived, the Eighth Throne would remain closed, and I would never be whole again."
He looked down at his palm.
"The throne had promised me that if I reclaimed the missing fragment, I could become what I was meant to be. Complete. Eternal. Untouchable."
"And you believed it?" Aliena whispered.
"I was desperate."
The honesty in his voice unsettled her more than anger would have.
"I had spent my entire existence being told that I was the firstborn, the chosen one, the heir to a kingdom that had existed before the first star. Yet every time I reached for the power that belonged to me, something stopped me. A piece of myself was missing. A piece of my heart was walking around in my brother's chest."
