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“I know,” he reassured me and plopped down next to Tick. “But I wish it had been you my mother married instead of...him.”
I sat down a few inches from Liam. I wasn’t sure if my heart was soaring or breaking, hearing him utter such words, and I swallowed the emotion that lodged in my throat as I forced my heartbeat to steady. “I wish things had been different too, Liam. I wish you knew how much.” I didn’t care that my voice was strained. I only hoped he understood how true the words were. “And I’m sorry things have been so bad.” My jaw clenched. “I wish I’d known.”
Liam stared at the ground as he picked at a blade of grass. “You’re here now,” he said, his voice quiet and wavering, and he bit the inside of his cheek.
“Yeah,” I said, wiping the escaped tear on my cheek. “I’m here now.”
Liam met my gaze before studying my face. I didn’t know if he was gauging my sincerity or not, but finally, he nodded.
20
Del
“We’ll start the day in the throne room for the funeral,” Marta, the castle’s event coordinator, said from beside me, launching into her review of the schedule for Friday. Was the equinox really only two days away?
With one hand, I gripped Mother’s silver raven pendant, which I now wore around my neck, while the fingers of the other were curled around the bronze railing of the viewing balcony overlooking the throne room.
The vernal equinox, as one of the Temple’s four major holidays, along with the autumnal equinox and the two solstices, was always a big deal throughout the Seven Kingdoms. But this year, it was tenfold the production with the weekly sabbath, Mother’s funeral,andthe coronation all happening on the same day.
I watched the servants rushing around on the polished black granite floor below to place tables, chairs, and other decor. The floral arrangements—all living plants to symbolize rebirth, renewal, and the promise of Spring—would be added the morning of the celebration, but at least the furniture helped me to picture how the room would look for Mother’s funeral.
“Then,” Marta continued, “we will move everyone out to the gardens for brunch and the regular equinox celebration—the egg painting and egg hunts, the seed planting and seedling exchanges, the group devotional . . . ” In my periphery, I saw her peer down at the schedule on her clipboard. “We’ll bring out a late lunch around 4 p.m.”
“Without spirits, correct?” I clarified, glancing at the tall, lithe woman sidelong.
She gave a brusque nod. “No alcohol will be served until after the coronation.”
“Good,” I said, relieved.
We wanted everything to go as smoothly as possible, and while it was tradition for the castle to provide libations as well as food during the quarterly holiday celebrations, Garath and Hills agreed it was best to hold off untilafterthe coronation. Especially with the cryptic line in Becca’s prophecy about thelast ravenfalling. Garath and Hills consideredmethe last raven, even though both were now aware of Mother’s terrible secret—that I wasn’t a true, biological heir—and were doubly cautious of anything that could cause that prophesied fall.
But I wasn’t so sure itwastalking about me.
What if thelast ravenwas actually Mother? Technically, she was the last of the Corvo bloodline,andshe had fallen. If I was right, then the two qualifying pieces of the prophecy were in place. Puritywaskilling—Class purity exponentially increased a person’s chances of developing the wasting sickness—and the last ravenhadfallen when Mother died. The time was right for the prophecy to be fulfilled. I just needed to find the dreamwalker, whoever that was, and the rest of the prophecy, and so much of this suffering could come to an end.
Ever since I touched the pendant and discovered Mother’s secret, the impending war with the Sierra Kingdom had felt remote, like it wasn’t truly my problem. Logically, I knew it should have been my top priority, but the prophecies were all I could think about. More and more people were falling sick and dying every day. Mother’s memories had made it clear—the wasting sicknesswasimpacting people throughout the kingdom, pure and mixed-Class alike. Strix saturation and a more varied gene pool made the wasting sickness take longer to become apparent among the lowborn, but it was there. It had been there since before I was born.
I needed to find Jake and figure out the missing piece of Becca’s prophecy. That was what would best serve the people, not sending them to fight and die in a fruitless war. At this rate, we were all doomed eventually.
My gut knotted. Did I still need to go through with the coronation? I didn’t deserve the crown, and I didn’t belong on the throne. Iwasn’tof the Corvo line. The dynasty Mother had fought so hard to preserve had died with her. But what mattered more—I didn’twantto rule the Corvo Kingdom. Of course, I wanted to help the people, but did I need a crown to do that?
Part of me felt like I had always known I didn’t truly belong in the role of Corvo heir. I wasn’t like Mother. I didn’t see the people as game pieces on a board, waiting to be moved to where they were needed or sacrificed when necessary. I couldn’t ignore the suffering of individuals to focus instead on the greater good.
“Attendees will be escorted back into the throne room at half-past six,” Marta said, continuing her recitation of the schedule. “And the coronation ceremony will begin promptly at seven, with the goal of setting the crown on your head and having you light the vernal flame at the exact moment the sun vanishes behind the horizon. The equinox feast will be ready in the onyx ballroom by the time the coronation ends, and the bonfire will be lit in the courtyard at nine.”
I turned to face her, one hand still gripping the railing. “It’s a lot for one day.” I glanced at Garath, standing watch at the doorway to the balcony.
His eyes met mine, just for a moment, then flitted away to scan the floor of the ballroom below. Could he sense my doubts? Could he tell I was seriously considering walking away from all of it—the crown, the throne, the crushing responsibility?
I turned my attention back to Marta. “Are you sure the staff can handle all the preparation and the transitions—even without bringing in extra help?”
Gauges would be nulling the crowd, but tradition dictated that we couldn’t shut the public out during a coronation. Come Friday,anyonecould enter the outer castle grounds and even cross the bridge to the castle proper.
“I have the best staff in the Seven Kingdoms,” Marta said, raising her chin. “Trust me, Your Highness. We can handle it.”
I bowed my head in thanks. “Then I’ll leave you to it,” I said before turning and approaching Garath. “Are they still in the gardens?”
Fin and Liam had really hit it off during our picnic earlier, so I had given Liam the option to skip his usual afternoon lessons and stay with his father for a few more hours. Liam had jumped at the chance, and thankfully, Fin hadn’t looked too terrified. Garath had been maintaining a connection to Sid, who was still with them, even while he guarded my back, just to make sure all was well.
