A tinge of confidence sparks inside me. This time I will enter Esmeray’s kingdom with a true ally by my side. There will be no surprises, no backstabbing. We walk in, anoint Kyron, and walk right back out. A simple task that won’t leave my heart splintered.
“Pardon me, Your Majesty. If we are to make it on time, we must leave now,” says a tall woman with short, blonde hair, and a broach of a wagon wheel on her jacket lapel, signifying she’s the head coach woman.
During our journey to the Stigian border, Zek and I sit across from Micah and my father. The two are best friends, and if anyone ever doubted it, they just need to look at them sitting shoulder to shoulder and cracking a lifetime’s worth of inside jokes. They would be obnoxious if I didn’t have my own demanding thoughts to drown them out.
One night at home wasn’t enough time to catch up on over half a year’s events. Rowan discussed his plans to join the army in the coming month, Salone went on about the boy she likes, and Ansley… My littlest sister has become a different girl since I left. She has flourished under the love and attention of Papa. I thought she couldn’t become any more adorable, but I was wrong.
My favorite moment came late into the night, when everyone but my mother crawled into their beds. I sat curled up next to her on the couch, watching the fire consume log after log. She quietly brushed her fingers through my hair while I confessed how scared I was to see Kyron again. She never told me that my feelings were unfounded or that it was time to get over it. She simply whispered her understanding of my pain and promised to always be here for me. All the research into the parah bond and sparring with the temple’s best were not as healing as her words.
I glance out the window and know we’re no longer in Lucent. I’ll never forget the desolate landscape that borders our land, the passage through the mountain where I last held Kyron’s hand, and my first breathtaking glimpse of the towering city.
I bounce my leg and bite my lip, feeling dread and anticipation.
“So, this makes you nervous.”
I tear my gaze from the barren terrain and look at Zek. “Lots of things make me nervous, but going into enemy territory tops the list.”
“What’s to be afraid of? You know you’re safe.”
I bat my eyelashes and plaster a fake smile on my face. “Because I have you to protect me?”
He laughs. “No, because she’s bound to the treaty. This might be the last day both kingdoms see peace.”
He’s right; on the day of my anointment as Lucent’s future queen, the Stigians entered our kingdom with the promise that Micah would give them safe passage, and they must extend the same courtesy to us. Esmeray can’t lay a hand on us, or she could lose the Statera’s blessing as sovereign. If there’s one thing I know about the woman, it’s that she will never hand her brother her half of the kingdom.
Micah shifts in his seat to look out the window at the impressive wall that surrounds the city of his childhood. Multi-story buildings loom high above, some draped in banners with the Stigian emblem, and others lit up like beacons against the setting sun.
“Is it how you remember?” I ask him.
He shakes his head. “I do not know how she has done it. While I struggle to make sure every Lucent citizen is housed and fed, she has continued to build upon a city that was already magnificent.”
“You know how she has accomplished it, Your Majesty,” my father mutters, staring at his feet as if he has no desire to see the city he was once held prisoner in.
“She uses the Cyffreds that she tricked into an oath. She holds them prisoner,” I answer, my cheeks burn and worry crashes down on me.
My father meets my gaze and gives a curt nod.
Their captivity is a loophole in the treaty between Lucent and Stigian. When Esmeray and Micah split the kingdom, they agreed that their people would always have the choice of whose rule they stayed under. A Sibyl bound the line they drew down the center of the land, and only those who wanted to cross it could. Stigian couldn’t kidnap the Lucent people, and we couldn’t hold anyone against their will. The queen found a way around the treaty. She granted the Cyffreds that came to her seeking a better life permission to stay once they completed an oath ceremony. Unbeknownst to them, they not only pledged their loyalty to Stigian and offered their dormant powers to be siphoned, but they also bound themselves to the land. If they ever voiced their desire to leave, they became captives. Countless Cyffreds were now trapped here with no hope of returning to their families.
And as far as the Khiros go, why would they want to leave when they’re treated as gods, feasting on the power of those whose powers remain dormant?
Stigian is everything that Lucent stands against, but all should remain peaceful today—unless Esmeray has found another loophole in the treaty.
We roll through the front gates and yells join the constant crunching of gravel under the carriage’s wheels. The Stigian people may not be at liberty to harm us during our stay in their city, but that doesn’t mean they don’t stand on the side of the road voicing their distaste. Shouting their hatred for Micah, calling him a traitor, and denouncing his claim to the crown.
I clasp my hands in my lap and clench my jaw, praying that the Statera gives me the strength I need to get through this. But all thoughts of myself and my anxiety fades when my father’s trembling hands catch my attention. This may have been the land he was born in, but this was also where he experienced true hell. It didn’t dawn on me how difficult returning here would be for him, yet he wouldn’t give up the chance to stand as a free man at his best friend’s side.
I reach across the carriage and place my hand upon his and quietly say, “Everything will be okay, Papa.”
He lifts one side of his lips and squeezes my fingers. “I’m counting on it.”
The carriage stops in front of a round white structure protruding from a snow-capped peak. It stands tall in the center of the city, with pillars the size of centuries old oak trees supporting a dome roof. The smooth, stone walls contain engraved images of the Statera and its gifts to the people of Pliris, and soft pastels stain the tall windows. Stigian warriors in black leather and steel stand along the surrounding walkway, protecting the sanctuary.
The stoic faces of the warriors send a chill down my spine. They don’t require handmade weapons like our Lucent guard. Esmeray only allows Khiros to serve in her army. Our kingdom gives equal opportunity to those whose gifts never manifested and those who can wield them, and it puts us at a major disadvantage against her powerful forces. She has always controlled the stronger army in our war.
My father exits the carriage first, followed by Micah, who holds his hand out to me. It takes every ounce of my concentration to keep my crown on my head and step down gracefully, but somehow, I manage. The king loops my arm with his, and we ascend the steps to the hand-carved doors of the sanctuary.
“Are you ready for this?” he asks.
