Animals howled in the distance as the suns dipped below the gnarled trees. There was an ache in her neck, but she didn’t move. The news crackled and spluttered. She gazed into the creeping darkness as the golden sky turned to bitter, burnt orange. Howls and roars burst through the jungle. With the gradual fall of the sun came a surge of chilly air, ripping through the gouges in the wrecked pod.
Gods, she missed the scorching heat.
“Emp… here from… disappearance…”
Her throat was dry, and her aching stomach clenched. She closed her eyes, lulled into the void by the swirl of fragmented phrases.
Then they solidified into a single, crystalline word: “Empress.”
As Kalie cracked her eyes open, slivers of burgundy appeared behind the static crackling across the screen.
The image crept closer. Through the burst of gray, a crown of glittering rubies materialized. The voice kept speaking, saying words, words she failed to comprehend.
All but one: “Duchissa.”
Her eyes widened, and she raised her trembling arm to the dashboard. Her teeth chattered as she fumbled with a dial. Twist to the right. More volume. Another twist, a different dial. The crackling sounds formed a stream of words, shot through with static. She tapped a few buttons, trying to fix the image, but it was too cold. Good enough. She tucked her hand under her bloodied sleeve. There were bursts of static, random breaks in dialogue—but that was Mother.
And behind her… Aunt Calida’s palace.
“Empress Hannover, what do you say to the speculation that your daughter is alive?”
Kalie shifted, easing the pain of her aching neck. Mother looked so much like Aunt Calida. Except her eyes. Same eyes, but colder.
Still, she wasthere. She must’ve gone to Dali to coordinate a search, to find her.
A cloud of static spit across Mother’s image, and Kalie swallowed, tasting blood in the back of her throat. The film cleared, and Mother’s glacial gaze pierced the camera.
“Kalista is dead.”
Kalie stared. She stared until her eyes burned, until she could bear it no longer.
Then she closed her eyes and sank into the seat, letting out a slow breath.
“If she’d survived the destruction of her fleet, she would’ve shown herself by now.” There was no emotion in Mother’s voice. No grief,no pain. “Please desist with these baseless rumors. I’ll be holding a vigil for her tomorrow after my sister’s funeral, and…”
Mother’s words were lost in her ears as Kalie pulled her knees to her chest. Maybe it was better this way. She could just… slip away. Let it end. Be with Ariah again.
Selene appeared beside Mother, dabbing at fake tears with an embroidered handkerchief. Light sparkled on the gaudy pearl and gold headpieces woven into her sister’s thick black hair.
Kalie’s eyes narrowed.
A line of text flitted across the banner at the bottom of the screen:‘Etovian Princess to become the next Dalian Duchissa.’
“It’s such a tragedy.” Selene’s voice was thick with tears. Fake tears—always fake. “My baby cousin, my beloved aunt, my favorite sister… But Calida would’ve wanted me to wear this crown.”
Bile burned in the back of Kalie’s throat, and she shoved herself up. Her clenched teeth sent bursts of pain through her bloodied gums. And she stared—at Selene, at Mother, at the snakes whose blood she shared.
Selene had met Lexieonce.
She’d hissed insults about Aunt Calida more times than Kalie could count.
Her nails sliced into her skin.
A rushed burial for Aunt Calida and Lexie, a quick vigil for her, Mother’s insistence that she was dead—all one of her schemes. No wonder she wasn’t looking for her. Mother would prefer if she died in this pod, so her favorite daughter could steal the crown. As she gazed at Selene, who was pretending to weep and tremble, it was all too easy to imagine her sister’s face when she heard the news of her death. Selene must’ve whooped with glee.
“Kalista is dead.”
Kalie pushed herself to her feet.
