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“Then ask her why my mother had to die.”

Imelda’s expression was cold. “You willfully ignore Asha’s plan for you,” she said. “Perhaps your mother had to die so that you could be raised by your father, which will ensure you are a successful queen.”

“What are you saying, Imelda?” I had stabbed a lot of men in my life, but never a woman—but I had wanted to stab her then.

“I am merely suggesting that your mother might have nurtured you far more than your father. It is no secret she was a gentle creature, hardly a woman who could stand among kings.”

“It is good to know your opinion on my mother,” I said, and the priestess bowed her head, as if she were pleased. “Perhaps if I had been raised by my mother, I would be more inclined to forgive you for it, but I was raised by my father, and like him, I am only interested in punishing those who slight me.”

Needless to say, Imelda would do anything to see me fail to take the throne of Lara.

“She still claims the salvation of Asha has incarnated?” I asked Gavriel.

“Yes. There are rumors out of Vela that this woman walks the land there performing miracles.”

“What kind of miracles?”

“Various things,” he answered. “Some are simple like healing illnesses and giving life to dying land. Others are far more concerning. There is a claim that she was able to banish the crimson mist with only a few words, that she took life from a vampire with the wave of her hand.”

My brows lowered. A few of those powers sounded much like Solaris’s, but they were also things Ravena might do. Was her plan to act as a savior to the people of Cordova all along?

I worried and drew my lower lip between my teeth.

“And the people of Lara believe these things?”

“They have to,” said Gavriel. “They are under threat now. Imelda has given them their only hope of survival.”

It angered me that my people would turn to Asha when I should have been their hope. Even now, I was on my way with an army to set them free from the unjust rule of a power-hungry king. I should have had their praise. I was the one who had sacrificed my future so that they could continue to exist under the rule of my father.

But it was a sacrifice that would forever go unacknowledged. The more I learned, the less I felt inclined to fight for my people rather than only for myself and my right to the throne of Lara.

We rode hard and stopped near the border of Jola, a sea of black tents already erected by the scouts. Tomorrow, we would be beyond the cover of the red sky. It was something I had not had time to think about since becoming a vampire, but as we halted at camp, I stared at the brightening horizon. My time beneath the sun was over.

“My queen?”

I looked down to find Gavriel beside my horse.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I said quickly and swung my leg over, dismounting Reverie. I tensed, remembering how Gavriel had taken the liberty to touch me before and dreaded that he would attempt it again, but once my feet were on the ground, he took the reins.

“I shall water her for you,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said, and he nodded.

I watched him for a moment as he guided my horse away, uncertain how to feel about his helpfulness. Was this loyalty or something else?

I pulled off my gloves and entered Adrian’s tent—our tent. He was already inside, pacing.

That was not a good sign.

“What troubles you?” I asked.

“When were you going to tell me about the priestess?” he asked.

I hesitated. “I…did not think it important until now,” I said.

“How long have you known?”