Page 18

“Hmm.” His brown eyes lit with hunger, and that look alone confirmed Kallie’s suspicions. Her father already knew about the hidden knowledge. He straightened his collar, and his gaze bore into her. “Youcannotmake the same mistakes you made last time, Kalisandre.”

“I—” Kallie paused, her head cocked to the side. “What mistakes?”

Even when they sat at the same level at the table, Domitius was able to cast a downward glance in Kallie’s direction that had her tensing beneath it.

“You allowed your heart to get the best of you. You sympathized for that boy.”

Kallie’s jaw clenched. “What boy?”

“The Pontian boy.” Domitius flicked his hand in the air. “The one on the ship.”

Kallie’s mouth grew dry, and the words refused to leave her lips.

Fynn was notsomeboy. He was her brother—a brother Domitius had neglected to mention to Kallie before the start of her mission. The Pontians were supposed to be strangers, a rogue group acting out against Domitius’ mission to restore Vaneria to their former glory under one ruler. They were supposed to be people who simply knew how to strengthen her gift. While they had been strangers, the Pontians were also her blood.

And one of them had died because of their plan.

Domitius, however, did not want to hear that.

Looking back at her father, her anger simmered, although a dull pain pierced her temples. He was not to blame for Fynn’s death; Sebastian was.

She tipped up her chin. “Blood is only as thick as one makes it.”

He scoffed. “Do not preach my own words to me. I know them better than anyone. I have treated you like a daughter all these years, Kalisandre. If blood mattered to me, would I be handingyoua throne?”

A throneyoustill would oversee, a small part of her thought.

A throne was still a throne, and a throne meant power. Power Domitius was granting her.

Domitius flicked off a piece of invisible lint from his lapel. “Be that as it may, women often let their hearts guide them too far. Your mother is guilty of this. Always has been.”

Kallie’s heart stopped.

Before Kallie had discovered that her mother was alive and the queen of Pontia, Kallie had been led to believe that she had died during childbirth. This was the first time Domitius had brought up Kallie’s mother on his own accord.

A log cracked, embers popping from the low fire. Yet despite the heat in the room, Kallie’s hands were cold as she stared at her father.

“You knew her?”

Clicking his tongue, he said with a toss of his hand, “That is neither here nor there.”Before Kallie could question him further, Domitius returned to their previous conversation. “Do not let your emotions get the better of you. You need to have a clear head while I am gone. Our goal must stay at the forefront of your mind.”

Kallie nodded as she ground her teeth together. Not only was he once again avoiding the conversation about her family, but he was also questioning her ability to focus on the task at hand. She knew what she had to do. She didn’t need him telling her like she was an insolent child. Would he ever view her as more than a child, though?

“I will,” she said.

“Begin planting the seeds in the king’s mind.”

“I will start when we meet with him and Sebastian this afternoon, Father.”

Domitius leaned back in his chair. “We will not be meeting today.”

Her mouth fell open. “I thought—”

Domitius held up a hand, and Kallie snapped her mouth shut. “I am leaving earlier than I thought, so there is no time. Plus, Rian and Sebastian are meeting with some locals today in a nearby village.”

“But—”

“Enough. There is something far more important that we must discuss, Kalisandre.”