“Move, Prince Grey. We will finish this now. You will prove your loyalty, or I will execute your people.”

“Mother. Please.” Nolla Verin’s voice is small and broken.

Bitter wind whips at my cheeks. Iisak’s growl rolls across the training fields. I feel every spark and star in my blood waiting. I’m more sure of myself now. The magic is no longer something to fear.

“Move.” Karis Luran’s eyes are fixed on mine. The arrow point levels with my face. “Or I will execute you both.”

“No.”

“No,” says Lia Mara. Her voice is fierce. She takes a step forward, her weapons raised.

“Kill them all.” Karis Luran draws back the string. I hear the snap of crossbows. I have no idea whether my magic can beat an arrow, but I cast my sparks and stars wide, until my vision flares with gold.

At my side, Lia Mara’s arm lifts. One of her knives goes flying. Then the other.

The arrow never strikes. Karis Luran’s body jerks, and the bow clatters to the ground. She collapses in the grass. Blood is a wash of crimson along her neck.

For a moment, I think I’ve done it. That my magic has killed her.

But then I see the knives in her neck and upper chest. Perfect hits. Blood is pooling rapidly on the ground. A sudden hush has fallen over the training fields.

At my side, Lia Mara is breathing rapidly. “I told you,” she says, her voice trembling. “I told you I could defend myself.”

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

LIA MARA

The scent of blood is heavy in the air. My mother’s body is motionless on the ground, a dark stain spreading around her.

I drop to a knee. The dagger pierced true. Blood immediately soaks into my robes. Voices murmur in Syssalah all around me. Mother’s guards have drawn swords, but no one has moved.

Nolla Verin is suddenly beside me.

I killed my mother. I can’t breathe.

I can’t breathe.

“Forgive me,” I say, and a sob chokes out of my throat. My hands are sticky, and I press them to my stomach.

Someone drops to his knees beside me, and I expect Grey, but it is Noah.

He grimaces. “She was probably dead by the time she hit the ground.”

“Good,” says Jake behind me.

I feel as though everything is happening underwater. My movements feel too slow. I turn my head and find Noah waiting there.

“She—she killed you,” I say. My voice is shaking. “I heard—I heard the crossbows.”

“My magic,” says Grey. He drops to a knee beside me as well. “It set the arrows off course.”

I blink at him. He finds my hand and grips it in his.

My voice hitches. “Grey, what have I done?”

“You saved yourself,” he says. His fingers tighten around mine. “You saved us both.”

“I killed—I killed my mother.”

“Breathe,” he says softly.

Wings spin in the sky overhead, blotting out the sun. I blink, and Iisak stands over him, a silhouette in the sunlight. “Do more than breathe, Young Queen,” he growls softly. “Stand and meet your people.”

I go still.

I cannot do this.

I cannot.

I cannot.

“Sister.”

Nolla Verin’s voice draws my gaze. A tear leaks from her eyes. “I am glad it was you,” she whispers.

The murmurs around us are growing louder. There are a few shouts. The soldiers have begun to shift uneasily. One of the generals is saying something about the rule of law.

“You must stand,” Grey says. His tone is more urgent.

I grip his hand and pull myself to my feet. Every inch of me is trembling. The generals’ arguing intensifies. Mother’s personal guards look between me and Nolla Verin, and they do not put their blades away.

I should speak. I should say something. A word of command. A word of threat.

All I can do is stare at my mother’s body.

Nolla Verin is the heir. Should be the heir. That is what Mother wanted.

I turn to my sister and hold out a hand.

“Can you stand?” I whisper to her. “You are the heir. You are queen. I cannot do this.”

She stares up at me, then takes my hand. I pull her to her feet and take a deep breath. My sister was chosen for this. She will know what to do.

She releases my hand and takes a step back. She looks coolly out at the guards, at the soldiers, and at the generals. “My people,” she calls. “Kneel to your queen.”

Then she drops to her knees and presses her forehead to the ground. “Queen Lia Mara,” she says.

Behind her, in a wave, every guard, every general, and every soldier does the same.

“Queen Lia Mara,” they echo.

“Queen Lia Mara,” says Grey, and he offers me a bow.

My chest cannot contain the emotion that I feel. My heart pounds so fast and hard that I want to set it free.

I take a deep breath and straighten my shoulders. “My people,” I say, hoping the tremor in my voice is not as audible as it feels. “Rise.”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

GREY

We do not go to war.

We do not even leave Syhl Shallow. The people want to celebrate their new queen. Unlike Emberfall, where it seems every town stands ready to take a stand against Rhen, here the people are overjoyed. Lia Mara is well known. Her people love her. They love the promise of peace she will bring to their country. Nolla Verin is always at her side, lending support when needed. The sisters are bold and triumphant in public, but they quietly grieve at night.

I feel as though I have been granted a reprieve, allowing Lia Mara space to find her footing in this new role. Her advisers insist that the Royal Houses are determined to move forward in an alliance with Emberfall, but Lia Mara meets my eyes across meeting tables and says we will wait until she can determine the best path forward for all her people.

I wonder how much of this is true concern for her armies, and how much is concern for me. I am in no rush to face Rhen, and that is no secret between us.

I would ask, but our time together is limited, and usually heavily supervised. She has gone from being “no one” to being someone of great importance. I can understand that—probably better than anyone.

Lia Mara has agreed to release Iisak from his punishment for breaking the treaty, but he has refused. He says the treaty is too important, and he will pay his penance.

He confides in me one night that he will maintain the year in Syhl Shallow because it grants him time to see if he can discover what became of his son.

“If you return to the ice forests, Lia Mara would allow you to come back,” I say. “She would likely invalidate the treaty if you requested it.”

“I once told you that the feelings of rulers are not always echoed in their subjects.” He looks at me. “I will not risk more of my people crossing the Frozen River. The treaty keeps us safe as well.”

I nod. “As you say.”

A few nights later, I am sparring with Jake while Tycho and Nolla Verin trade blows nearby. He’s yelling taunts at her every time she lands a hit with her sword, which is hilarious because she could likely slice him in two. Her face is shining, though, and she laughs each time. It’s the lightest I’ve ever seen her. For the first time, there are no expectations for her to fulfill. She can just be a girl who loves her sister.