“Sit down before you hurt yourself,” Raithe said, voice cool and detached. It reminded me of when I’d heard him speak for the first time at Serpentine. I scolded myself for liking his voice so much in that moment. It made him that much more annoying to me, and right now I needed his cooperation.
“I’m fine.”
His breath blew across my forehead. “You have no sense of self-preservation, do you?”
“Let. Go.”
His eyes cast behind me before doing as I asked. I reeled backwards, falling back onto the chaise. I plopped on my ass, the pain ricocheting throughout me. Shoving my annoyance aside, I met Raithe’s barely-there satisfactory gleam with one of my own. “I’m here now. You promised you’d help rescue my brother, remember?”
“You should be more concerned about yourself right now, Rahzlyn. If that’s even your name?”
“I already told you my real name.” I winced, rising unsteadily. I was by no means short. Still, he seemed to tower over me.
“And your real Zodiac sign?”
His words were like a hammer through a glass window, followed by a shattering silence. “What kind of question is that?”
“The kind an apostate would evade.”
The door creaked open, snuffing my retort. A middle-aged man with dark skin and a serene face entered. His head was hairless and smooth. Unlike Raithe and Felaf, his eyes contained a milkiness that faded the vibrancy of their gold color. Clothed in elegant black robes embellished with gold threads, coupled with the languid grace of his steps, I could only surmise that this was the Scorpion seer.
“I hope you are treating our new guest with respect, Raithe,” the seer said as he neared us. He moved through the room with confident caution.
Raithe retreated a single step, allowing me to finally breathe again.
“Your… Grace,” I said awkwardly. I didn’t know how to conduct myself around someone so revered.
“Please, call me Gregorios.” He raised his hands, seeking mine. “It is an honor to meet you, Roselyn Ariti.”
“Likewise. Now that I’m here, I?—”
“Have questions, certainly. Though I will not be able to answer most of them, I am afraid.”
“But I—yousummoned me here,” I stammered.
“From a message sent in a dream.” The seer searched his robe for something. Once found, he raised a drawing of a dark, shaded flower. A rose.
Ablackrose.
Hopeful desperation tore through me. “I’m not her! This is all a misunderstanding. I was just a backup.”
“You are the one who has undergone the Choosing, Roselyn.” The seer leveled his blind gaze in my direction. “This is no mistake.”
The Choosing.
I stared in horror at what had been done to my body. While mine were fresh, the markings resembled the faded ones on Raithe, Felaf, and Gregorio’s exposed skin.
“This is all a ruse,” I breathed. “A trick. It… it must be.”
“I assure you it is not.”
Tears welled in my eyes. “This can’t be happening. I’m not—there are no such things as Geminian queens. Gemini’s power is masculine in nature, and I’m…me.”
“You are correct, there are noGeminianqueens,” Gregorios said. “It seems you have been deceived about your birth.”
I reared back. “What are you talking about?”
“Do you have a scar anywhere on your body? A mark that might indicate a travel stone was surgically placed inside you to keep you safe within the borders of Gemini?”
