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Three.
A scream broke out. “The globe! It’s missing!”
“Run,” I said.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
LIRA
I didn’t understandwhy Luz caused such a scene. The ballroom had turned into a chaos of laughter as everyone in their glimmering gowns and posh suits clutched their drinks and raised their glasses to hide their smirks. The King didn’t laugh, though. His eyes narrowed as he took in the situation. That wasn’t the most important thing at the moment, however, because I’d realized something imperative. Lennox wore Shaan’s zevar along with his. That had to be what the second cord was for.
The havoc of Luz’s antics had everyone’s attention snagged. Lennox watched even though he still had an arm tucked around my back. I believed he meant that he’d help me work out a plan to protect me from my mother.
It made my next idea feel horrendous.
You’re a lioness who’s been raised to believe she’s a kitten. You could tear this world apart if you wanted.
Luz had told me I was more powerful than I believed. I was sure Lennox had warded himself. He was clever and cautious. Sai had implied I could break wards, but I barely knew about them. I wasn’t sure I could manage tearing through them, especially for Lennox who’d probably had decades of practice with them.
The way Luz and Sai both talked about my magic made it seem like some massive thing, as big as the world. If I had that much power in me, perhaps if I focused it intensely enough, it could pass his shields. But what if I failed? What if he knew I’d betrayed him, and I did so in front of a ballroom of people?
Everyone remained distracted, the sounds of their muffled laughter and increasingly loud conversations echoing around. I could likely scream, and few would notice.
I’m a lioness.
I could burn this world down if I wanted.
I can do this.
I took a deep breath, filled my lungs with air, and closed my eyes. Everything others had said about me throughout my life rushed through my mind.
Lira’s intelligent and follows instructions but has no ambition.A teacher at my school I’d overheard once as I passed by an office.
Dawson in the moonlight, pressing me against the brick wall of his family’s bakery.You’re beautiful.
You’re a typhoon. Sai.It’s not good or bad.
You have no grit.Mother, before she lifted a lamp and smashed it against the wall.Sometimes we must make hard decisions and you don’t have the capacity to make them. You’re weak. Useless.
I snapped my eyes open.
No.
I was not.
Defining me wasn’t anyone else’s place. It was mine. I didn’t need to pretend anymore. Choosing to leave Mother, asking Sai for help, staying with him. I’d chosen all of that. I’d faced the Naga, dined with a fairy king, broke a group of fae out of a magic-infused jail, and I stood here at this ball by my volition.
I could do this.
I released a belt of a note, the most powerful one I’d ever uttered. It shook through the walls of the palace and vibrated the floors. No one turned towards me or changed expressions. Apparently only I’d noticed, but Lennox’s eyes had taken on a hazy, spell-bound appearance.
“Hand me Prince Shaan’s zevar.”
He reached for his neck and pulled off both cords. He had the necklaces twined together, knotted near the jewels so that they sat flush side-by-side. I started unknotting them as a pair of guards approached us. Shit. I tucked the zevars into my pocket and sang another note, releasing Lennox from the spell.
“Come away from this, Your Highness,” a guard said.
“Let’s go, Lira,” he whispered.
