My mother had known about my magical abilities, but rather than tell my father or send me to be “reformed,” she’d kept me hidden. Addie too, I supposed, assuming Mother had known my sister also had abilities.
Addie and I hadn’t talked about it.
And why not? We hadn’t hidden anything else from each other. But because I hadn’t brought it up, she’d kept it hidden as well.
It was sad that we hadn’t dared to tell each other. I hadn’t worried she’d turn me in, but I hadn’t wanted her terrified I’d be taken, that she might be forced to wear the mask and stand stoic whileIdrank the poison.
My mother had died before I could ask her anything about magic, before I could ask her if she’d hidden her own power too.
I could still picture her lying on the foyer floor after she fell down the stairs, her neck twisted in an unnatural angle, her eyes staring forward at nothing, not even me. Such terrible silence. She had no heartbeat, no breath. Only the clock ticking away in the foyer broke the pall that had already begun to descend around her.
And my subsequent shrieks.
Father came running. He dropped to the floor beside her and bellowed out his own pain.
“We’re going to help you,” Kerralyn said. “Let’s form our own truce between Syllavar and Caldrith Court.”
“That sounds suspiciously like mutiny to me,” Derren said.
“It’ll be unofficial, but enacted once Isi’s our queen.” Kerralyn looked to the others for support. “Are you in, advisors?”
“I’m not your queen,” I pointed out.
“Do you think we haven’t noticed how you and our king are falling in love with each other?”
“I…maybe?”
Lexie snorted. “Please. You two look at each other like you’re starving, and the other person is a five-course meal. The sexual tension is so thick we need a sword to cut through it.”
I remembered the last time his gaze had caught mine, steady, unblinking, and much too knowing. It had felt like a touch, and I’d wanted more.
“Did our king know who you were from the start?” Derren asked.
I nodded.
His low laugh rang out. “He must’ve thought you were infiltrating our court to kill him. I would.”
“My point was that you’ll soon be queen of this court, and we’ll bow down to you,” Kerralyn said. “That’s pretty much a truce between us, one that’ll be solidified when you tell your father you’re marrying the King of Syllavar.”
My skin flushed hot at the thought, and I could practically feel Trew’s golden gaze on me even though he was cliks away, fighting Skathes. The idea of being his queen sent a thrill through my veins.
Some might call it a political arrangement, but to me, it would be destiny finally clicking into place. I sensed I’d been running toward Trew and this throne my whole life without knowing it.
Pherin’s feathers ruffled, and she sent me a wave of something that felt likesteady, steady. Even my bonded companion knew I was teetering on the edge of truths I wasn’t sure I was ready to face.
“Your father won’t attack after that,” Kerralyn said.
Maybe he wouldn’t. Unless he’d been looking for a reason to attack Syllavar all along and Addie’s murder handed it to him. Which could mean…
No, I wouldn’t believe he was involved in my sister’s death. He’d loved her. He would never kill one of his own children.
Then why had my mother been so afraid of him discovering the truth about my magic?
Kerralyn thrust out her hand, dangling it between us. “Truce between our courts? We can do that at least. Because you’re one of us, and we’re part of you.”
“That’s up to your king, not me,” I said.
“King Trewyn will do whatever you ask,” Lexie said, linking her fingers with Kerralyn’s.
