“You’ve disgraced the integrity of the tournament, Your Majesty,” Lark said in a shaking voice, as if still trying to play the part of the dutiful head architect. Her shoulders rolled backward at an awkward angle from the guard holding her. “All we’ve built, all we’ve worked for?—”
“Idisgraced it, Miss Everest?” Gayl hissed, striding across the room to stand before her. “You think I didn’t know of your betrayal? How you entered my home seeking to trick me?” He brandished an arm. “Tell me what you have built. Tell me whatyou have worked for, if not to commit treason against your emperor.”
When she said nothing, he tilted his head and stalked toward Horace, who thrashed against his two guards. “Imagine my disappointment upon learning one of my trusted guards, of the mightiest in the empire, had fallen to the rebels. Your position was an honor, Horace Banathery. A symbol of the most elite men and women who keep this empire safe.” Gayl leaned in closer to Horace, but his quiet voice carried through the room. “Tell me why I should not have you executed for your actions, soldier.”
“I can’t, Your Majesty,” Horace said. “There are some things worth dying for.”
Gayl lingered a moment before turning to Rissa, who stood tall, her expression giving away nothing. He took his time appraising her, letting the pressure and anticipation build until it was so thick I could taste it in the air.
“It has been a long time since I’ve seen you, Clarissa Aris,” he finally said, with what almost sounded like reminiscence. “You’re not the young girl I remember.”
“No, I’m not,” she responded.
“You look so much like him.” He paused, and I could only see his profile as he stared at her. The lost heir and the man who stole her future. “Tell me if it was worth it, young Aris. Leading your people to their inevitable failure.”
She held his gaze, her chin high, eyes flashing. “Every step.”
The corner of his lip twitched.
I gritted my teeth. “So this trial, this entire Decemvirate, was your way of what—removing the rebels from the equation?”
“And to teach a lesson.” His eyes stayed on Rissa. “Rising to power always comes with consequences. The higher you climb, the farther you have to fall. If you desire totakesomething, you must be willing to lose everything.” He faced me again, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening as he truly looked at me for what felt like the first time that night. “You were never meant to be part of this, niece. You were…unexpected.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” I shot back.
He shook his head, dark hair brushing his shoulders. “You are not a disappointment, Rose. You brought back a past I thought was buried. We are alike, you and I. Have you not realized it?”
Something oily slid along my skin as he stepped toward me. Something toxic and claiming. And, perhaps…true.
“Both outcasts in our lives, both searching for something more,” he continued. “Such as freedom from the constraints that this world—thismagic—has forced on us. Pride in our own abilities, in the extraordinary things we know we’re capable of, if only others could see.” He was an arms-length away from me now. His dark blue and white eyes delved straight through me, as they always had.
“Iseeyou, Rose. And I think, for the first time since your father, I had someone see me, as well. I know how much you care for the people of this empire. I do, too, even if you don’t always agree with my ways. But it’s because of that, because of your fierce determination, your aim for truth, that I think you could be great.”
The world seemed to slow. “What are you saying?”
“I will never have an heir of my own, niece, but you are my blood. Think of what we could do.Together.” He reached out a gloved hand and, when I didn’t stop him, took mine. “Join me. Let me teach you all that I know, and one day this empire could be yours.”
I blinked. He wanted me to be hisheir? To rule in his place once he was gone?
For a single moment, I imagined it.
I imagined life in this grand palace, surrounded by all the magic my heart desired. Learning, growing,changing. Living constantly in the unparalleled rush that overtook me every time I practiced my magic. Using our powers to create good.
But this future…it wasn’t mine. I didn’t know if I could creategood. And this empire desperately needed someone who would.
“You’re right,” I said, looking from his hand back to his eyes. “Wearealike. We both crave a certain type of power, something Ihadn’t fully realized until you showed me.” I swallowed thickly. “But that’s a dangerous desire, and even more dangerous when people like us actuallygetit.” I slipped my hand from his, lowering my voice. “I don’t want to be like you, uncle. My father walked away because he saw the warning signs. Because he saw what this magic and power would do to you. I choose to follow his path.”
Gayl’s hand clenched into a fist. “And where did that path lead him?” he whispered, his voice deadly. Sinister. “Your father could not handle what I had to offer him. He was weak when it mattered most. And that is why he isgone.”
Frozen in place, a thought entered my mind. One too terrible to voice, that I didn’twantto voice, but the truth swelled inside me.
I sucked in a breath. “Did you—did you kill him?”
He pulled back from me, his eyes shifting across mine. “I killed themall, Rose.”
74
Rose
