This was the last time she would enter Aunt Calida’s palace.
I’m going to die.
As a band of panic crushed her lungs, she breathed in and silently added,for Ariah.
A strange sense of serenity washed over her. The meadows of Elyndra awaited her in the Lands of Eternal Dawn, and Aunt Calida would surely be there with her arms outstretched. There would be no pain, fear, or loss, just happiness and tranquility. Kalie squared her shoulders and straightened her spine. She would not face Iliana as a sniveling coward. She was stronger than that.
Some of her backstabbing Azurian Guards were posted on either side of the throne room’s towering doors. Their faces flushed, and they averted their eyes as Kalie glared at them. They deserved to feel ashamed. It was their betrayal that had led her here in the first place.
As the legionnaires hauled open the doors to the throne room, her blood boiled.
Traitor.
On the dais, Selene lounged on a stool beside Iliana’s throne. Lexie’s stool, Aunt Calida’s throne.
“You’re here.” Iliana pressed her fingertips to her gaping mouth. Aunt Calida’s crown of silver and sapphires glittered atop her raven-black hair. “I didn’t think you would actually come.”
“Ariah.” Kalie raised her chin. “You promised you would release her.”
“The clone?” The legionnaire’s tone was dismissive, and Kalie dug her nails into her palms. “The Prime Minister never agreed to?—”
Iliana glared at him. “I’ve just delivered him his greatest enemy, which your men have failed to do for months. Call him. And take those wretched cuffs off, it’s not as if she’s going anywhere.”
Rough hands seized her arms, straining her joints as they tugged her hands back. Kalie winced and bit down on her tongue. With a metallicclink, the cuffs unlocked and thudded to the floor. Pinpricks of warmth stung her frozen fingers.
Legionnaires rolled a holoprojector onto the silk carpet, twisting the golden embroidery.
Taking a deep breath that smelled of lilies and springtime, Kalie straightened her aching spine and braced herself.For Ariah, for Ariah, for Ariah. For Ariah, she would endure this final confrontation with that murderous, Zagan-damned tyrant. For Ariah, her sister—her real sister, not the petty, backstabbing snake sitting at Iliana’s side—she would do anything.
Kalie glanced at Selene. Not her sister. Never her sister.
Selene wouldn’t meet her eyes.
A holo shimmered to life above the projector, and the back of an ornate armchair faced her as Carik’s voice rang through the hall. “Duchissa Iliana. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure? Do you have news of a victory?”
“Of sorts.” Iliana stretched an arm towards Kalie, opening her hand.
The holo swiveled, and Carik’s brows climbed as a smile curved at his lips. “Princessa Kalista! What a delightful surprise. Although you do look rather worse for wear.”
Kalie bit down on her tongue and willed back the repertoire of insults that sprang to mind. Any number of them would’ve made Mira proud, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She settled for glaring at him silently.
“You ought to make her kneel.” Carik flicked a hand, and two legionnaires shoved her down. “Traitors shouldn’t be allowed to stand so brazenly in the presence of Her Majesty.”
Pain shot through Kalie’s knees as they slammed into the floor. Setting her jaw, she glowered at Carik.
Iliana frowned, but she didn’t overrule him. “I made a deal with Kalista that if she surrendered, I’d release her spy and you’d break off your attacks, spare her friends, and let Miss Rivers go. As you can see, she turned herself in. I’ll hand her over to you if you return Miss Rivers to Dali and order your forces to retreat to Oeksa. You must understand, it’s important that I maintain a reputation for trustworthiness among my people.”
Scowling, Carik turned to Iliana. “And pray tell, Duchissa, what makes you think you have the authority to make deals in my name?”
“I saw an opportunity to defeat a mutual enemy, and I seized it.”
“And what is to stop me from simply taking what is mine?”
Every legionnaire in the hall snapped to attention, raising their sleek black pulsers. The blood drained from Kalie’s face at the sheer number of them. In the alcove of every tall, arched window stood a legionnaire; beneath every colossal Azurian tapestry stood a legionnaire; in front of every gilded exit stood a legionnaire.
“Then I would remind you this is Dalian soil.” Iliana made a motion, and Azurian guards whipped out their pulsers. Kalie’s jaw dropped—there were two of them to every legionnaire. “I do not take lightly to encroachments on my sovereign authority.”
Kalie wasn’t breathing. The air was so tense that a pin dropping would turn the ancient throne room into a minefield of lasers. The soldiers were statues, with their jaws clenched and their fingers resting on their triggers. Iliana sat ramrod straight on the throne, but she made no move to run or relent. Beside her, Selene shrank back. Her eyes scampered from one soldier to the next.
