My stomach flips violently as I think of my mother, headed back to Ophera less than an hour ago, and I have to swallow down bile. She made it back. She’s okay. She has to be.
The curtains part, and Luc’s parents enter the room. Mathson hurries over to us. “What the hell is going on?”
“Petruvia is attacking.” Luc’s voice shakes. “They’re outside right now.”
“What?” Yelina looks more shocked than I feel. “That’simpossible. How would they have gotten past our perimeter without us knowing? The Sulen gatepost is the most fortified on the mountain.”
The decurio only shakes his head. “We don’t know, ma’am. We’ve never experienced anything like this. Our focus now is making sure they don’t gain access to Widow’s Hall. We’re in the process of gathering more soldiers to fight them off. But we’re—”
“Wait.” Alarm bells blare in the back of my mind as Yelina’s words fully sink in. My thoughts are in frazzled disarray, but as I slowly turn to face her, a clearer image presents itself. “Yelina, how did you know they came in through theSulengatepost specifically? You just got here. No one told you that.”
Luc frowns at me. “Mira, you aren’t suggesting . . .” His sentence trails, and he laughs awkwardly. “Obviously, my mom had nothing to do with this.”
“Then why isn’t she answering the question?”
Luc opens his mouth, no doubt to defend her again, but his excuses on her behalf die with her prolonged silence. He eyes his mother with sudden wariness. “Mom? What is she talking about?”
For three seconds, Yelina stares at me, eyes slightly widened, lips slightly parted, before she scoffs. “It’s the quickest way up the mountain, and Petruvia is to the east. Anyone with any knowledge of strategy would assume it’s how they breached the perimeter.”
I don’t believe her for a second.
She hasn’t lied—not technically—but her words are designed that way. Not speaking a direct mistruth, but still holding back from complete honesty. “Why do you know so much about battle strategy?”
“My son is the Praeceptor. My husband is a former Honorate.”
Still not lying, but not directly answering my question either.
This situation is my fault, and I know it. I’m the one who ensured the Sulen gatepost was unguarded, but I suspect I’m not the only guilty party here.
I glance at the soldier who delivered the news. He’s still here, looking uncomfortable. “Can you give us a moment?”
He’s only too pleased to rush out of the room, not even pausing to ask Luc for instructions.
Kaidren makes to leave too, but I catch his sleeve, stopping him.
Shockingly, of everyone here, I trust him the most right now. But it’s more than that. If there’s to be war—if I’m to accuse my stepmother of starting it—I want him by my side.
Kaidren looks surprised, but with a nod, he stays where he is.
I look to Yelina. “That soldier said the Petruvians, who have been at our court for months, fled this morning. As if someone warned them.”
“Or as if they knew the attack was coming. You’re being absurd, Remira.”
Still not directly denying my thinly veiled accusations. “What did you do? Did you tell Petruvia where to attack?” I can’t believe Yelina would sabotage her son like this, especially on his coronation day. She’s obsessed with Luc; she’d never do anything to jeopardize him or his reign.
Yelina’s mouth flaps open and closed a few times, as if to answer me. Then, she purses her lips, saying nothing.
Her silence is the loudest possible action she could have taken.
Stars in hell, she really did it.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Mathson look so stunned. “Lina? This is ridiculous. Just say no.”
“She can’t,” I say softly, still floored that I’m right. “It would be a lie.”
Yelina’s eyes flick to Kaidren.
“Don’t worry about him,” I say. “He already knows about me. Just answer the question: Did you tell Petruvia when and where to attack?”
