Duchess Hedri sniffed. “Of course not. Could you possibly imagine me as this pathetic, cringing thing? Her name is apparentlyBora. Ugh. How utterly common.”
“Bora, the Holy Maiden’s sister?” The guard grabbed my shoulder.
I was utterly convinced he was about to slap me into chains. Instead, he pushed me behind him. “Stay back! We’ll protect you.”
A dozen more guards leapt forward, forming a barrier in front
of me.
“Did you not hear me? This woman is an imposter!” Duchess Hedri cried.
“Exactly! The only reason we didn’t leap to help her sooner is because we thought she wasyou.” The guard glanced over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Miss Bora. If I’d known that you weren’t that horrible Blood Duchess, then I would never have abandoned my post when the mob came. I would have protected you with my life. Also, I watched one of the maids spit in your food but didn’t do anything.Please forgive me. I’ll make up for it by defending you to the last drop of my blood.”
Duchess Hedri’s smugness dropped off her face. “What do you think you’re doing? I ordered you to arrest this peasant!”
“We don’t take your orders.” Sergeant Laurent stepped forward from the crowd. Coolly, he spat at the duchess’s feet. “You’re a foreigner. You’re not welcome here. We won’t let you lay one finger on one of our own.”
A rumble of agreement came from the guards.
“She’s a good one. She made sure we all got paid on time! We should have realized sooner that she was too nice to be the Blood Duchess.”
“We’ll protect our Holy Maiden’s family no matter what.”
“No one wants you in charge! I’d rather obey one of our own people.”
“She stopped the slavers from taking over the city and drove off the dwarves.”
Hey, thatwasme! I felt a warmth under my chest.
Duchess Hedri whirled on one of the Sherdan guards who had been part of her original escort. “What are you waiting for? School these insolent rebels!”
The Sherdan guards shifted. The captain shot a nervous glance at me, then mumbled, “Actually, we’d rather keep that duchess.”
“What did you just say?” Hedri hissed.
The captain puffed out his chest. “She kept her promise about paying us and giving us citizenship. You didn’t.” With increasing confidence, he continued, “I don’t see any proof that you’re the real duchess. Just look at her over there, dressed up in ducal finery.” He jerked his head at me, where I stood in a state of shock. “She looks like a real duchess to me. You can’t prove otherwise.”
Duchess Hedri went white with shock, then red.
I cleared my throat. “Sorry, did you not realize how unpopular you are?”
Duchess Hedri shrieked, “Gifted Knights! Attack—”
A blur shot through the crowd and leapt in front of me. Alzira, Humanity’s Strongest Monster, stood before me with her swordpointed at the sky. “Take one step forward, sinners, and I will bring down the wrath of heaven upon you,” she said menacingly.
From behind me, Ysabel said, “The wrath of heaven is an asteroid large enough to crush your skull. Don’t take one more step toward my sis—uh, I mean, my kidnapper. I’m very attached to my kidnapper. I’m the sort of person who becomes brainwashed very quickly.”
Remembering my sister’s inability to see faces, I said, “Ysabel, she already knows who I am. That’s the real duchess.”
Ysabel did a double take. “Dark Lady, that’s your body shape. Uh. I mean, the Sun God has bestowed upon me a vision suggesting that this complete stranger spend some time in the dungeons.”
“How dare you!” The duchess no longer looked composed or dignified. Sweaty hair stuck to her face. “I’m the official representative of the Conclave of Kings. I demand a trial for this imposter.”
“Interesting.” Ysabel eyed the duchess coolly. “We’ll think about it.”
“We will?” I gasped.
At the same time, the duchess growled, “The Conclave ordered this trial. The people who rule this world. It’s not optional.”
