“Deep breaths,” one of the other guards says. “It helps.”
I’m sorry, Sabina. I’m so sorry.
Chills run down my spine.
Please forgive me.
I sit back on my heels, taking my hands from Juliette’s cooling body. Her corpse is talking to me. She’s dead.It feels likethe ground gives out from under me, and I’m floating in nothing. How is this possible? She was in my room, she was here, and now she’s not…
I tried. I didn’t know.
“What didn’t you know?” I whisper.
She doesn’t answer.
“Juliette?” My voice cracks. “Juliette? Can you hear me?”
I lean closer, then reach for her. “Please, please say something.”
“Empress, you shouldn’t touch her,” someone says.
I’m not listening to them. The dead in that village wouldn’t stop talking. They were overwhelming to the point I couldn’t make out any of the words. “Please.”
A pair of guards grab me and lift me from the ground. I kick and try to free myself, but they pull me tighter.
“Empress, she could be infected,” one of them says.
“Juliette!” I call again, desperation seeping into her name.
She’s silent.
If she can hear me, she’s choosing not to answer.
The fight goes out of me. “You can release me. I’ll go. Please see to her body. Ensure she’s put to rest properly.” I swallow hard. “And make sure Caiden—the emperor—make sure he knows.”
“We’ll take care of it, Your Majesty.” They release me, and I stagger toward my room, my body feeling oddly disconnected from me.
What just happened? First Juliette, then Charlotte….oh, gods. I rush into my room. “Charlotte?”
She’s on my bed, passed out. Nate stands nearby, watching her. He looks up. “She’s sleeping.”
Her chest rises and falls slowly so at least I know she’s alive. If not for the red splotches and puffiness around her eyes, I’dthink she was at peace. But the remains of her grief are still showing on her face.
“What happened out there?” Nate asks quietly.
“Juliette is dead.”
“How?” he asks.
“I’m not sure. Poison, maybe?”
“And are you alright? Was that the first time your magic…?”
“Yes,” I say too quickly.
“I see.”
“What about you? Do you have magic? Did you visit the temple?” All the legionnaires are supposed to, but I’ve already figured out that Nate isn’t like the others. I’m starting to wonder if he’s supposed to be here at all.
