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“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“It must have come as a great surprise to you when she revealed that you are, in fact, the crown princess through your mother.”
“I confess, I never imagined that I am the only surviving descendant of the Mage King and the Changing Queen.”
“In our Empire, we inherit through our foremothers. We have listened with great interest to accounts of the ancient Changing Queen, who was the past matriarch of your clan. It is said she ruled with wisdom, long before the crown fell to warlords like the present king. It would please us to see Tenebra once more in the hands of such a queen.”
Lio addressed the Empress. “We appreciate what an unprecedented moment this is, when you are willing to bestow your concern upon Tenebra, although you have previously kept that land isolated from your people for the protection of your Empire.”
“We do not imagine that isolation will last forever,” the Empress replied. “If it is to end in our time, we will end it with our own axe rather than allow the spear to strike us.”
“There is no spear that can take you by surprise, Your Imperial Majesty,” said Lio.
The Empress’s gaze flicked between the two of them. “But perhaps a surprise is in store for us.”
Cassia, for all her acumen at reading every minute clue a courtier might betray, could not interpret the Empress’s expression. Lio had warned her that the Empress was a light mage who used her magic during audiences to illuminate or conceal. Everything she allowed others to see—or hid from them—was not only deliberate, but expertly crafted.
Cassia could not guess if the Empress would let the axe fall once she learned of their intentions.
Tension was a stone in Cassia’s belly as she spoke. “Your Imperial Majesty, I am honored that you would devote your resources to aiding me in seizing my birthright.” Take another breath, she reminded herself. “But my bloodright is to remain at Lio’s side as a Hesperine. I have already given my allegiance to the Queens of Orthros. I cannot break my oaths to them, to my immortal clan, or to Lio, whose life depends on my blood.”
The Empress flexed her fingers, her gold rings catching the spell light.
One more breath. “The next ruler of Tenebra will be the one who guides that kingdom’s first steps toward your Empire. But as the two sides of the world cleave together, there is much more at stake than one queen’s policies. There are threats no human is prepared to face. I can best safeguard your lands and people not as a mortal monarch, but as a Hesperine diplomat.”
Still the Empress said nothing.
Cassia must make her see. “My inheritance is more than a crown. I am also the heir to the Changing Queen’s rare magic, passed down through the women of my line. I must keep my ancestors’ power alive by awakening my own dormant magic. Once I understand my abilities, it will be safe for me to transform into a Hesperine. I vow to honor both my mortal and immortal matriarchs.”
The moment was upon her. She must say the words and let the consequences fall.
“With the utmost respect,” Cassia declared, “I can never take the throne of Tenebra.”
She had done it. Once more, she had refused that destiny, this time before the highest authority in the human world.
Lio rested a hand upon hers, his touch a reassurance and a claim. That hand held her in the Hesperine world, never to return to life as a mortal.
He spoke with pure confidence. “Orthros is sensitive to the fact that we have deprived Your Imperial Majesty of your preferred candidate for the Tenebran throne. As a result, the Hesperines are prepared to support your aims in every other way possible. Ambassador Cassia and I would be pleased to present Orthros’s plan for your consideration.”
The Empress was silent for a moment that seemed to last forever.
Had Cassia just made an enemy of Her Imperial Majesty?
She gave Cassia a faint smile. “You were in Orthros for months before you arrived in our Empire, and yet your sister did not know you had escaped Tenebra and found safety among the Hesperines.”
Cassia swallowed, her tongue dry. “She has told me that the Rezayal intercepted that information.”
“No,” the Empress said. “I did.”
Before Cassia could feel anger at the Empress for keeping her and Solia apart that much longer, the pieces fell into place. And she understood that the Empress had been her ally all along, in ways she had never imagined.
“Your Imperial Majesty,” Cassia inquired, “may I ask if you were planning to conceal that information from my sister until after my Gifting?”
“Naturally. I wished to spare you any delays so you could secure your bloodright in peace. Alas, you met with an interruption in any case and remain mortal against your wishes.”
The moment Cassia gained her fangs, her sister’s plan to put her on the throne would be impossible. It was out of the question for any Hesperine to hold political power in Tenebra, where they were called heretics and monsters. If Solia had known how close Cassia had come to her Gifting, she would have done everything in her power to stop the transformation.
The Empress had not wanted that to happen.
