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“Macabre tells me they’ve pursued them to the sea, but their ships don’t hold flames. Only their masts burn, but that’s not enough to stop their progression across the sea. They’ve killed many—but not enough.”

My heart had been dead in my chest for the last hour, but it started to pound once more. “What did they want?”

“The forest or the Realm of Caelum, I’m not sure which.” She watched me with that intelligent and shrewd stare, aboutto ascend to the hilltop of a new dawn. “I’m sorry that the responsibility of your kingdom now rests upon you, Queen Rothschild. But I have no doubt that you will lead your people as well as your father has.”

It was a responsibility I’d agreed to, but now that I had it, I didn’t want it. “That’s nice of you to say.”

“I mean it.” She gave me a gentle smile.

My eyes flicked away.

Silence ensued, and the longer it lasted, the heavier it felt. A new tension rose, and it was so palpable I could feel her words before she spoke them aloud.

“I’ve seen the dead rise before—by your father’s hand.”

My eyes remained averted, having known this would come to pass.

“The command of the dead is not hereditary, Lily.”

I knew my father would never sidestep an interrogation by looking away. I was a queen now, and I shouldn’t either. My eyes found the strength to match hers again.

“No amount of power is worth your soul.”

“It’s not what it seems…”

“To me, it appears exactly as it seems.” The empathy in her voice slowly faded away. “You traveled to the Dead Island on your journey and propositioned the God of the Underworld. There’s only one currency a ghoul like him understands, and that price was too much to pay?—”

“I did not offer my soul in exchange. The gift was given freely.” If my father weren’t incapacitated right now, he would come at me so hard. I knew he had been angry earlier, but he’d chosen to spend his final moments loving me instead of hating me.

“A gift?”

“Yes.”

Her ruthless eyes bored into mine with the demand of a queen. “How is that so?”

I didn’t know where to start, didn’t know if I wanted to start at all. To share the most intimate and complicated relationship of my life with anyone. “My soul is not forfeited and remains in my full possession. That’s all you need to know.”

She didn’t pursue me like she would if I were her own daughter. She was forced to let it lie. “Tread carefully, Lily. The God of the Underworld is like a viper in your garden. He’ll rot your fruit and say it was you who didn’t water it enough. He’ll manipulate you to get what he wants and cackle when he reaps the rewards.”

Not Wrath. Not the man I knew.

“He granted you more than the command of the dead. A surge of strength and speed unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Even on my best day, battling three of those hooded swordsmen would have come at great cost.”

I wanted no more of this interrogation, didn’t want to try to explain something I couldn’t even explain to myself. “I have a long journey back to the Southern Isles tomorrow, and I’m quite weary.” My eyes flicked away in cowardice.

There was an angry pause, but my aunt let it be. “Of course. Thank you for answering our call for aid.”

“The Southern Isles will always answer the call of Riviana Star.”

I stripped off my armor and bathed in the tub. Instead of being granted a tree house like I had on my previous visits, I was given the royal chambers connected to where Queen Eldinar resided. It was an additional building that had been constructed in the last decade, and it was where my parents stayed on their visits as king and queen.

But now, I was the queen.

Even when the dirt and grime were washed away, I continued to soak in the warm water, feeling the temperature slowly fade from my body. With arms crossed over my chest and an emptiness in my stomach, I stared at the opposite side of the basin, just where my toe popped out of the water.

I wasn’t sure how long I lay there, but once the water had gone cold, I finally got out.

I dried off and ran a comb through my wet hair before I found something to wear in one of the drawers. Clean clothes made by the elves had been placed inside, and I grabbed a sage-colored dress and put it on, the material stopping at my thighs.