““Max sat down on a couch. "I think he wants her to join him." Nora sat next to him. "She'll never agree to it." Max sat quietly for a moment, thinking about what he knew of his sister. They had spent very little time together and he didn't yet know all of her strengths. She'd hidden her magic from him. She was smart, but he knew her weakness. A smile crept across his face. "I know that look," Nora said. "You've got an idea." "If we want to try to get my sister to join us, we can't go through her. She's too noble. But we can go through those who are close to her. She's in love with Ashton." "Your apprentice?" Nora's eyebrows pressed together. "Was that the one she brought with her to the castle?" Max nodded. "So that's why he's not here," Nora said. "He's in love with the little princess. It'd be sweet if it wasn't so inconvenient for us.””
