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She looked across the room at Fey.

“My mother was not a kind woman,” she said. “She was not a loving woman. And she made choices that she thought were right, even if they weren’t. Choices she thought were for the good of the realm. I believe she made those choices thinking they were for the greater good.

“You also made choices you thought were right. You chose to kill my mother, your Queen, the woman you swore your life to protect. You chose to kill her, rather than arrest her, rather than try to bring her to justice through nonviolent means,” Amalia’s voice broke, but no tears fell from her eyes.

She’s stronger than any of us gave her credit for, Fey thought. It’ll be a shame if she makes me kill her.

“And so, I must make my choice,” Amalia continued. “I must choose what I think is right. And I cast my vote for death. And I beg the other Factions present to do the same, for the good of the realm.”

She sat down then, not glancing at the High Priestesses, stunned and silent at her shoulders. Not glancing at the other representatives. Just staring at Fey, her eyes full of anger.

Fey nodded at her. It was what she’d expected, after all.

“How?” Fey asked Amalia. And when she didn’t answer, Fey continued, looking instead at Linh. “How do you plan to kill me?”

“We can discuss details of execution after the vote,” Linh said with a sneer.

Fey shook her head. “No, you misunderstand me,” she said. And she smiled at them all, then, letting them see the danger in it. Letting them see the monster she’d kept behind the mask. They had wanted the Queen’s Broken Blade brought before them. And she would give it to them. “I don’t mean ‘by what method’ you plan to kill me. I ask the council how you plan to take me down. I want to know which of you thinks you are strong enough to risk your own lives to try and take me into custody.”

She let the threat hang in the air for a moment, let the blood drain from Linh’s face, before continuing. “I am a Queen’s Blade. I am a murderer. I was built to kill, built to be the most dangerous Witch in the realm. Were you?” Linh looked away, and Fey turned her eyes instead to Amalia. “Were you?” she asked in a whisper.

The Princess only stared at her. She had but a shadow of her mother’s powers, and she knew it.

“Do any of you believe there is anyone in our city strong enough to take me down?” Fey asked. “Because, if not, you will want to think very seriously about how you want to cast your vote. I make a dangerous enemy.”

This was their secret weapon. If the council voted to send her to death, Fey was ready. Ready to face anyone they sent to kill her.

Ready to fight.

While the High Priestesses paled, while they considered the implications of what Fey was saying, considered the very real possibility that Fey would kill them all if they sent anyone after her, deSanguine spoke up.

“I think it goes without saying that the Vampire Faction votes against death,” deSanguine said, with an irritated sigh. “This Witch did you all a favor, whether you’re too blind to see it or not. She saved this city. And it’s not only insulting to request she be punished for it, but clearly suicidal. We vote no.”

“The Shifter Faction votes against death,” said Kellos in a low growl. “And it is… distasteful that it be suggested in this forum.”

Only one vote remained. Fey had no idea what would happen in the event of a tie between all four Factions, but she feared they were about to find out.

The Vampire king and the Shifters had their reasons for backing Fey, for owing her thanks. But the Demons?

Fey had no idea what to expect from them.

Kallista regarded her curiously. The pen in her hand dissolved back into shadows and disappeared.

“Explain something to me,” she said, her voice soft but dark with power. “I am naïve to the laws of your Faction. But didn’t the royal line follow power? Wasn’t the sole reason Edelin was Queen because she was the only Witch in the realm, with the exception of her daughter here of course, who could wield all four elements?”

She addressed the question to Fey, but Sana was the one who answered.

“You are right,” she said. “The First Queen was the first Witch to be blessed with all four powers, equally, and since then only her daughters that were similarly blessed were judged worthy enough to inherit the throne.”

“Then, as the representative of the Demon Faction, I do have a question for the Witch before I vote.” The room dimmed slightly as Kallista spoke, shadows licking up the walls. “Why, after you killed Queen Edelin, did you not crown yourself Queen?”

A shocked silence followed the words, and Sana paled. The other Priestesses, however, looked bemused.

Sana never told them, Fey realized. She never told the other high Priestesses what she was, that she and she alone held the power over all four elements. It showed a loyalty from her that Fey hadn’t expected.

“Ah, I see your confusion,” Leandra said, in a condescending tone. “Only Witches with all four powers may ascend the throne, and Fey here?—”

“Oh, I don’t think I am the one who is confused,” Kallista said, never taking her eyes from Fey. “The Witch you’ve brought before us, the Witch who claims to have killed your Queen, she holds power over all four elements in her veins. Don’t you?”