I can’t help but smile. “Good morning to you too.”
“Don’t ‘good morning’ me. Tell me everything.” She crosses to where I stand by the window and grabs my hands. “The maze. The trial. I heard you walked through it with your eyes closed?”
“Well … only the last part of it.”
“Are you crazy?” She squeezes my hands, hard. “Through a maze full of things trying to kill you?”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
She makes a sound between a laugh and a sob, then pulls me into a fierce hug. I hug her back, breathing in the familiar scent of her – herbs and soap and home. For a moment I’m six again, clinging to my sister after a nightmare, certain that nothing bad can happen as long as she’s here.
I tell her about entering the maze, about the mirrors showing memories and possibilities. About choosing the right path – truth and loss – because I wanted to be a different kind of leader than my father. About watching Solric transform from grieving boy to addicted tyrant, seeing the exact moment love corrupted into obsession.
Astrid listens without interrupting, but I see her flinch when I describe seeing Mother young and terrified, one hand on her pregnant belly.
“She loved him,” I say quietly. “Before everything went wrong. She really loved him.”
“I know.” Astrid moves to sit on the edge of my bed. “That’s what makes it worse, isn’t it? That he was capable of love once.”
I nod and keep going. Tell her about the mirrors turning on my team, forcing them to relive their parents’ deaths. Lord Castor watching his mother and father poisoned. Lord Evander hidden in the library gallery while soldiers murdered his parents. Lady Nerida’s parents drowning in their own palace.
“And you had to watch,” Astrid says softly. “Watch them watch it.”
“Yes.” My throat tightens.
“But they still helped you.”
“They did.” I move away from the window, too restless to stand still. “We fought the mirror creatures together. Both teams. And when I said I needed to walk blind to reach the crown, they guided me. Kept their hands on my shoulders the whole way. Protected me.”
Astrid stands and comes to me, gripping my shoulders. “Because you earned it. Not by being perfect, but by being honest.” She shakes me slightly. “Do you understand that? You chose truth even when it hurt. You made yourself vulnerable. That’s why they helped.”
She releases me and starts pacing, the way she always does when she’s thinking strategically. “You’ve won over your team. That’s huge. But you still need the other House leaders’ support if you’re going to have any real power after this Conclave.”
I lean against the bedpost, watching her move. “I’ve connected with most of them. Zevran and Isolde will definitely support me. Lord Castor, Lady Tavia, and Lord Evander will too. Lady Nerida...” I trail off. “Lady Nerida is cryptic but supportive, I think.”
Astrid stops pacing. “What about Commander Kaelix?”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to the Commander,” I admit. “They’re brilliant but prickly. And they were accused of providing the override tech for my assassination attempt. That’s … complicated.”
“But Uranus is crucial.” Astrid chews her lip, thinking. “They control the most advanced technology in the system. If you want any real influence, you need their support.”
“I know.” I push away from the bedpost and move to the wardrobe,opening it just to have something to do with my hands. “I don’t know how to approach them. They’re not like the others. I can’t just walk up and start a conversation.”
“What about tonight?”
I turn to look at her. “Tonight?”
“There’s a masquerade ball.” Astrid’s expression shifts to concern. “In the observatory gardens. All the Houses will be there.”
My stomach drops. “I had no idea.”
“The Cardinals only announced it this morning. Very last minute.” She comes to stand beside me at the wardrobe, pulling out a formal gown and examining it critically. “It’s supposed to be neutral ground for mingling before the final trial. Really, it’s just another arena. Politics in pretty clothes.”
“I don’t know how to navigate something like that.” I furrow my brow, suddenly losing confidence. “I’ve never been to a formal ball. I don’t even know how to dance properly.”
“You’ll figure it out.” Astrid puts the gown back and pulls out another. “You walked blind through a death maze yesterday. You can handle some dancing and small talk.”
“That’s different.”
