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“We had no choice,” I said, but Kael stopped me.

“Tell who you must. Nothing is more important than gaining use of the artifacts.”

It seemed any further discussion would have to wait. Nerys and the others had separated from the crowd and were making their way to the water’s edge.

“I think the ceremony is finally about to begin,” I said, standing.

We made our way to the back of Nerys’s contingency and it became quickly clear something was amiss. I’d watched the palace guards approach, knowing what they carried. The Tidal Pearl was kept locked in the depths of the palace. It was not a crown that would be passed from the queen to Nerys to symbolize her new reign but the artifact that would enhance her abilities, one that would answer to her alone as the strongest Thalassarian.

The guards spoke to the council members as Nerys made her way toward them. Unable to hear them, Mev, Kael, and I inched closer. I opened my senses and felt their panic. Every one of them, from the guards to the council members, were feeling a similar emotion.

“What’s going on?” Mev asked, loud enough for all to hear.

It was one of the palace guards who responded. “The Tidal Pearl… is missing.”

38

NERYS

It was the final piece.

Before I could lead, I had to surround myself with those who valued the same future for Thalassaria as I did. Amid the chaos of the guard’s announcement, one I had known was coming after being briefed on the Pearl’s disappearance and recovery, I sought the three men who would help me move Thalassaria toward the shared goals of a united Elydor.

Or rather, those men sought me.

Both Caelum and Marek watched Rowan. He was an essential piece of the puzzle that had been unraveled just before Marek left for Aetheria. He studied the crowd carefully, watching. Listening. Then finally, just as the council looked to me for guidance, he spoke.

“All but one.” He nodded to the youngest member of the council, a woman who I knew least of them all.

“The guards?” I asked.

Rowan shook his head.

“I’ll admit, I’m surprised,” Caelum said. “I thought more would have rejected the queen’s treachery.”

“That the true nature of man is corrupted and untrustworthy?” Marek made a sound of disgust. “Expect little of people and you won’t be disappointed.”

Marek’s bleak views would have to wait. “Thank you,” I said to Rowan, wishing I could say more. We’d been exchanging looks since the competition, but he’d kept his distance. I understood the reason, but he was also the one person I wanted most by my side right now.

That would have to wait as well.

“The Echo Stone, please?” I asked Marek, who was already striding toward Veylin to procure it.

Caelum and Rowan cleared out the path between me and the crowd as I positioned toward them. As the water’s edge splashed against my ankles and receded, Marek handed me the Echo Stone.

“People of Thalassaria,” I began, the stone carrying my voice all the way up to those at the railings above. I was amazed none had fallen off the cliff yet; the throng of people, some perched atop the railings, pressed forward. “Today, you witnessed my challenge to Queen Lirael.”

I was forced to stop as shouts and cheers met my words. If the queen’s campaign to sully my name had reached beyond the palace walls, it clearly had not taken root.

“What you did not witness were the lengths Queen Lirael went to prevent it.”

The crowd quieted as my confidence in my decision grew. I’d considered preserving Lirael’s legacy but would not begin my own rule by shielding a truth as enormous as this one. If not for Rowan’s spying before he left the palace, along with Marek’s daring and finely tuned smuggling abilities, this would have been a very different speech.

“She attempted to malign me, my name, and my ancestors once she learned that I planned to challenge her. Lirael nearly successfully bribed a member of the current council to present false documents that would have invalidated my challenge.”

I didn’t look at Veylin, but did not need to. He would be furious.

“She had a young woman attacked, either believing her to be me, or worse, knowing she merely resembled me, hoping the attack would intimidate me into reconsidering. She also used a shard of the abyss during our challenge, one I was forced to use the Sacred Waters to mitigate.”