“He only wants more power and land. He doesn’t care about our queendom’s welfare,” Alekko voiced as though this were a common troublesome topic. The room hummed in agreement, forgetting my humiliating question.Thiswas why I kept my mouth shut. Nothing intelligent came out of it.
“The marriage decree states that all royals must vote in unison,” Maryn said. “If we do not have a queen representing Scorpio to voteagainstsuch a blasphemous occurrence, then only eleven royals are needed to enact it.” Maryn studied my face. “It may sound like a difficult feat to see all courts united, but fear invokes volatility. They would do anything to see our queendom tamed.”
My temples pounded. The Equinox was the twenty-first of March, less than eight months away.
Not my problem, I wanted to scream.None of this is my problem!
“Everyone knows the threat this curse poses on our people, including our new princess,” Gregorios said. “Next year, the Equinox coincides with us entering the Age of Sagittarius for the next 2,000 years. Once Novah is fully rested and healed, I have no doubt she will successfully lead us through the era of nihilism.”
“Then she must findhudroat once,” Maryn rebuked. “The sooner her trial, the better.”
My trial. To prove if I was capable of wielding magic—capable of being a queen.
A queen.
My panic crested, incapable of being quelled. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think?—
“Respectfully, Your Highness.”
All eyes turned to Raithe, allowing air to return to my lungs.
He squared his broad shoulders at the queen regent. “I wanted to inquire about the status of Baron Ionis Condor.”
“Now is not the time,” Maryn said dismissively.
“Surely now is as good a time as any?” he pressed.
I observed their exchange carefully. Most people in this room avoided eye contact with Maryn. Raithe appeared emboldened, which seemed to be the case whenever the apostai were the topic of conversation.
Alekko leaned forward, his brows drawn together in concern. “I do not mind sharing an update, Your Highness, given our princess should be informed as well.” The commander paused, allowing a significant silence to pass before continuing. He seemed eager to support—defend, even—Raithe’s seemingly reasonable request. Addressing me, he said, “Helene Condor was the wife of Baron Ionis and was found guilty of being an apostate. Her execution?—”
“Execution?” I muttered. The room waited for me to say more. “Surely being an apostatealoneisn’t treason.” I knew I should have stayed quiet, but I had no control over my nervous words. “Or even an apostate affiliate. If no harm is done?—"
“Respectfully, Princess,” Vesperah said. “Explosions are more than differing opinions. Lives were lost. The apostai are dangerous people.”
I caught Raithe’s eyes on me before he flicked them away. If anyone else knew I had a brand on my foot, I was done for.
“What an ignorant question,” Maryn sputtered. “What would you do differently?”
I didn’t have a damned clue, other than I wanted no part in theexecutionof lives, apostate or not. Maryn grinned while I bit my lip, as though she had been testing me and I’d failed.
This couldn’t be real. I was in a nightmare, stitched into someone else’s body.
“Even with assistance from Felaf, we were unable to glean any additional information from Helene other than her husband’s innocence,” Alekko explained. “We brought Baron Ionis in for questioning, and Felaf confirmed he did not have a brand on his foot like his wife, nor anywhere else.”
Maryn waved a hand. “This brand you speak of means nothing, especially if the only ones to have seen it are our guardians.”
Raithe took a step forward. It was small, but large enough to evoke displeasure on Maryn’s face. “You should confirm if the other courts have observed such a?—”
“Do nottellme to do anything, Guardian,” Maryn snapped. Shoulders around the table hunched. “If the other courts knew anything, they would share such knowledge with me.”
“Would they?” Raithe retorted, eliciting collective gasps from the room.
Alekko quickly cleared his throat to dilute the tension. “Baron Ionis claimed to have no inkling of his wife’s treachery, which Seer Gregorios was able to validate through Blood Sight. He has returned to his home in the city.”
“My guard will keep a watchful eye on his comings and goings,” Vesperah confirmed. Alekko stared fondly down at her. She nudged his side, but his smile only widened.
“I was under the impression, Queen Regent,” Raithe said, “that all those affiliated with the apostai in any way were to receive the same sentence?”
