Through my darkening vision, I saw Cynthia walking toward her on the stage and I fought to stay conscious, to see the fate of my friend. But as the blade sliced across her palm, I saw nothing but darkness.
*
I jolted awake, the vision of my mother thrashing in the arms of the guards stark in my mind. Of my friend walking to her fate, of me being taken away by the king.
I clutched at my chest, sweat dripping down my face as I let out a shuddering breath. Sitting up slowly on the bed, a sob left my lips and I brought a shaky hand to my mouth. It was bandaged, and seeing it only made me cry harder. Tears fell freely down my cheeks and onto the crisp white of the bed beneath me.
Where was I?
My pulse raced as I scanned the room. It was massive, way bigger than our cabin back home. The four-poster bed I laid on was by itself bigger than the shared room my mother and I slept in. Moonlight streamed through the large window to my left, bathing the room in a dim, bluish glow that reflected off the smooth, gray stone floor. A large, unlit hearth sat on theopposite wall in front of me, and the chill in the room made my skin prickle.
The walls were covered in dusty tapestries, and—the door creaked open.
I snapped my head in its direction, my back slamming against the wooden back of the bed frame. Icy yellow eyes peered at me through the crack, and my heart thundered in my chest. The door opened a little wider, and I frowned as the princess tiptoed into the room.
Her hair was braided tightly to her scalp, her olive skin absorbing the light that touched it. Alana wore a black nightgown that hung loosely from her shoulders, and her bare feet made no noise as she approached me on the bed. She sat softly at its edge, her head tilting as if evaluating me. I stared back, evaluating her in return, unsure what to do. Tears still fell down my cheeks, and my heart continued to pound in my chest.
“I'm Lana,” she whispered as if she were afraid someone would hear.
I whispered back a bit shakily, “I’m Zara.”
“I know.” She paused, seeming to weigh her next words. “I’m sorry for what happened today… to your mother.”
My lip started quivering, and Lana reached out a hand in comfort, her warm hand landing on my shin and squeezing lightly.
“Why did they take her?” I managed through another sob, my voice shaking.
Lana tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. “All bastards of the king are supposed to be registered at birth,” she whispered softly. “My mother could smell your scent whenthat wind picked up at the ceremony. It was almost unrecognizable through that awful stench on you, but—”
“But I’m not his bastard,” I said lamely, and Lana gave another small smile and sighed.
“Your mother broke the law.”
I blinked and her words hung in the air between us as I tried to register what she was saying.
Lana spoke again. “That makes us half-sisters, you know.” She scooted closer to me on the bed.
“Sisters?” I breathed, looking at the tanned, dark-haired girl. The princess.
“Does that make me a princess too?”
My throat bobbed, the words thick in my throat, but Lana shook her head, her face scrunching in thought. “You are the first they have let live past selection,” Lana said, trailing off, her eyes glazing as if she were haunted by a memory. Her shoulders slumping.
More tears fell down my cheeks, and I shivered at the knowledge of what my mother had done, at what had happened to her because of me, because of who I was. But why hadn’t she reported it? Why did she hide me? Why was I taken? Why was I allowed to live and not others?
I rubbed snot from my nose, the endless questions swirling in my mind as I waited for Lana to say something, anything else.
“I wish she had kept you hidden.” Lana said it so low I almost missed it over my sniffling.
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter; we can protect one another, you and me. Have each other to help when things get bad.”
“Things are going to get bad?” I asked nervously, fear stirring again in my chest.
“My mother—”
The door slammed open, and Lana startled, scrambling across the bed in a panic. She stumbled off and put her back to the wall, her eyes wide with fear as the queen entered the room.
