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I lurch upright. Heaving breaths rip though me. It takes a moment for the room to materialize before me. I’m on the floor in Reena’s room. Alone. With the crushed enchanted shoe beside my right hand. The green glow of memories has vanished. Only glass shards and dust remain.
I have destroyed the one thing my mother gave me.
An ache engulfs my heart. I stare at the pieces long enough that my vision hazes over. “I’m sorry, Mother.”
My throat burns like I’ve been screaming, though I can’t imagine I have. Because there are soldiers outside in the hall, aren’t there? And surely, they would have barged in had I screamed.
A shiver goes through me, and I heave myself to my feet, smoothing my orange dress as I make for the door. The truth threatens to cripple me, but I cannot stop to think about precisely whose betrayal has caused all of this. About who has done this.
Just one drive pulses through me.
I have to tell Kirran.
The door creaks as I pull it open. Vaddik and Tarriel snap to attention, hands folded at their backs. I swallow back the blistering emotions and smile up at them.
“I’m ready for the ball.”
Vaddik takes a step back, and Tarriel holds out a hand to usher me in front of them, his amber eyes glittering. He looks so much like Reena, apart from the stubble lining his jaw.
“After you, Milady Alia,” he says.
I tip my head to them and start off. We don’t make it to the end of the hall before someone emerges from a room just before the staircase. A dark-haired woman, dressed in scarlet and gold — a dress far too ornate and glittery to be any of the servants.
She situates herself in the hall facing us and crosses her arms.
Goosebumps ripple over my skin. I didn’t know her yesterday at my stepmother’s quarters. But I know her now: Lady Tajanna, Sovanna’s mother.
My steps falter. I inch back toward Tarriel and Vaddik. Tarriel’s hand curls around my arm, drawing me closer to his side.
In the same moment, Vaddik steps in front of both of us. “We are under orders to escort Miss Alia to the ball.”
“Are you, now?” Lady Tajanna’s manicured brows lift.
Footsteps approach from behind. Vaddik and Tarriel shift around me to guard from both sides. One of them draws a blade. I can’t see past them enough to tell how many people stand there, but I catch enough of one face. Enough to confirm the sinking dread inside me.
Vallda.
My heart plummets to my toes.
In front of us, Lady Tajanna speaks again. “Preparing to join the prince?” I meet her steady gaze without flinching. Her painted lips draw into a cold sneer. “Oh, little Ashalia. We can’t have you doing that.”
ChapterNineteen
ALIA
Iwake to blackness, blinking a few times to make sure I’ve actually opened my eyes. I have. A soft pressure tickles my face, and I shift to brush it away.
I can’t move my arms.
Panic lances through me, and I turn as much as I can. It’s no use — my arms are tied behind my back. The darkness and pressure indicate a blindfold. I work my jaw, praying that my attackers overlooked that.
But no. I’m gagged too.
I will my heart to calm. Try to decode my surroundings, to isolate a smell. All I can make out is sweaty clothes and shoes, mustiness, and dirt.
Fractured memories flit through my head.
Lady Tajanna stopping us. Tarriel and Vaddik protecting me. Too many people attacking, grabbing, overwhelming them, ripping me away from them, and then —
