“Wait, Genny!” Mari calls. I turn back. “You’re going to be the best queen Naseria has ever had.”
A tinge of doubt courses through me, and she must see it, because she adds, “No, it’s true. You actually care for your people, not see them as a means to gain power. That’s something unique.”
I bite my lower lip. I don’t have a choice but to be the queen this country needs. Despite my insecurities about ruling justly, I know my time has come early. Queen Penelope must step down for what she’s done to this country.
49
Kieran
Irelease a slow breath, trying to steady myself for whatever Marielle is about to say against me, knowing this will be the final blow to our case.
A tap on my shoulder pulls me out of my thoughts, and I turn to see Gen standing behind me. Her face is radiant, far too enthusiastic for what I’m about to face. Has she seen that Marielle is the one who took her seat in the witness stand?
I look at her, wishing more than anything that I could touch her, hold her, and reassure myself that everything is going to be alright.
“We did it, Kieran!” she whispers, the pure joy in her voice lifting my defeated spirits. “It’s Mari. She’s going to clear everything up, and you’ll be free.”
I give her a curt nod, not sure I can believe the woman standing for the prosecution will be my saving grace.
She murmurs something to Leland, and his face pales. It seems he’s also skeptical of Mari’s ability to save me.
Of course it’s a fucking Ashcroft who holds my life in their hands. And of course it’s one I’ve barely spared a thought for. Marielle Ashcroft has always seemed like a flighty, silly girl, more focused on getting her mother’s attention through chaos and destruction than any of her siblings were. Now that chaotic young woman is supposed to save me.
She’s sworn in, and the prosecution begins their questioning. As I suspected, they start with the disastrous spread of the rot at Gen and Leland’s engagement party.
“You were personally affected by the rot that night, is that correct?” the prosecutor asks.
“Yes, I was. But not as you may think.”
The prosecutor gives her a quizzical look. This isn’t what they discussed, clearly. “How so, Princess Marielle? It’s well known you came in contact with the rot and were ill until very recently.”
“Yes, but I was actually the cause of the spreading rot.” Her voice is steadier than anyone would expect from a woman declaring her own guilt. A shocked inhale sweeps through the room, but Marielle continues. “I spread the rot on the stage, and I am also the one who killed the servant. It wasn’t intentional, I just—”
She falters, and the crowd rises into a crescendo of chaotic conversation.
“Order! Order in the court!” the judge shouts, slamming his gavel. Slowly, the room settles. The prosecutor huddles with his team, no doubt scrambling to recover.
But Mari goes on, her confidence returning. “I killed the servant, but I never meant to. I lost control of my gift.”
The judge speaks next, as confused as the rest of us. Marielle Ashcroft is known as one of two giftless children of the king andqueen. “Princess Marielle, are we to assume that you are, in fact, a gifted blueblood?”
“I am, but not naturally. My mother has been forcing helachite into my veins since I was twenty-one. Eventually it transformed me into someone with power, but it manifested as a spreading rot. The queen did this because she said I had no value as a fourth-born daughter without a gift. I’m not responsible for all the rot throughout the kingdom—there must be others like me, forced into helachite overexposure. I’ve only been the cause of what happened in Crawford.”
She turns and looks directly at me. “I’m sorry, Mr. Blackwell. You shouldn’t have been put on trial for my wrongdoings. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
The room erupts again, and no amount of shouting or gaveling from the judge can rein in the noise.
Gen puts her hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze before turning. I stand and pull her close, holding her tightly across the bench between us.
Finally, the room calms to a low murmur. The judge is red-faced and panting from his efforts to restore order, and guards have been called in.
The prosecution and my lawyer approach the bench, locked in a heated discussion with the judge.
Gen walks forward like she owns the courtroom, her confidence a sight to behold, and at last I feel myself relax as the tension drains from my body.
My princess has saved me.
50
