My chest rose and fell as she left me in the silence. Not even the seabirds sang. Even the waves at the shoreline were still.
Fraleigh might have been infuriatingly vague as usual, but for once she had given me enough information to get what I want.
Two little words spelled out Riyan’s freedom, and I would force Derrick to say them.
Once Derrick got the crown at the next sunrise, his mind wasmine.
The sun’s glow lit the horizon on the morning of Derrick’s coronation. Blue and white banners fluttered above the city square. Two thrones adorned with golden bull’s horns stood at the center of the scaffold.
Brietta stood in front of her smaller throne, a sheer white veil covering her face. Baron Elvar was beside Derrick’s empty throne, holding the crown of Lycaster. The other five Barons stood in a line behind him.
Annalisa and I gripped each other’s hands as we stood at the front of the crowd. A line of soldiers in gleaming brass separated the Hyton women from the throngs of cheering townspeople.
Amethyst put her hand on my shoulder for balance. Her brown hair was neatly braided around her tiara, but her legs shook under the weight of her pregnant belly. Garnet stood on her other side, her eyes vacant as Amethyst’s arm wrapped around her shoulders.
“We should have the soldiers fetch you a stool,” I whispered.
Amethyst smirked, even as sweat beaded on her temples. “Mama stood through the whole coronation while in labor withtwins.I can make it.”
Trumpets blared and the crowd cheered. War drums pounded and the Lycaster soldiers forced the crowd to part so they formed an aisle. The crowd of peasants and nobility alike rippled as they all dropped to their knees.
The hooves of a lone horse clacked on the cobblestones. General Hyton appeared, wearing the famous Taurus shield on his arm. I tried not to imagine the barbarian blood that had once stained the now-polished shield.
General Hyton’s eyes shone brightly as he led a white horse through the aisle.
I kept my mouth clamped shut, but some of the Hyton sisters gasped as soon as we caught sight of Derrick on top of the horse. His curls hung limply around his hollow cheeks and his mouth was dry and tight. His Hyton Blue cape and brilliant gems adorning his hands and chest did nothing to brighten his pallor.
My stomach plummeted. In his hand was Alastar the Conqueror’s spear. It lookedexactlythe same as in Fraleigh’s memory.
Like the Taurus shield, the Conqueror’s spear was a Hyton relic, passed down with each new Duke. I knew the spear played a role in the coronation, but I had always thought they used a ceremonial replica and notthespear.
The cheers of the crowd hushed as Fraleigh dutifully followed behind the horse wearing the same blue and white robes she wore to the funeral. Her chin was high, exposing that horrible collar.
The horse reached the front steps of the scaffold and Derrick jumped from the saddle. He looked nowhere but the steps as he ascended the platform. General Hyton handed the reins toanother soldier and followed Derrick. Once Fraleigh had glided up the steps, General Hyton addressed the crowd.
“Vengeance!” he boomed. “A son’s vengeance for his father built our Dukedom!”
I held my breath and shifted my legs, ensuring my Nordingaard crystal was securely tied to my thigh. Even though General Hyton was merely regaling the story of Marcus Janus’s treachery, my stomach turned.
He knew I was a sorceress and had still not dragged me away in chains. He had to have something planned.
I tried not to stare at Traitor’s Bane in its sheath across the General’s back.
General Hyton armed Derrick with the Taurus shield, symbolizing how a son takes up the legacy of his fallen father, and turned back to the crowd.
“And just as Marcus Janus pretended to be our Conqueror’s ally,” he said, “a traitor is in our midst!”
The crowd jeered and my blood ran cold.
Although the crystal on my skin kept my heart from flying out of my chest, I squeezed Annalisa’s hand.
Alastar the Conqueror had gored Marcus Janus with his spear as soon as he came down from Nordingaard mountain, taking the throne of the newly formed Lycaster for himself. To keep the tradition, every Duke had slain a traitor at his coronation. Was that General Hyton’s plan for me? Reveal me as a sorceress and then drag me up on the scaffold?
I closed my eyes and let my white flame brighten. My crystal warmed against my skin and a cool calmness ran down my shoulders.
General Hyton would not take me without a fight.
The crowd hissed. I opened my eyes just as Hyton guards dragged a hooded prisoner up the scaffold steps.
