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“It can’t be true.”

“Of course not. Madame Greene wouldn’t stand for it. Not even from her own daughter.”

Rounding the corner of the hall, I spotted the two mortal staff members murmuring back and forth as they polished a set of vases. They subtly bowed their heads in my direction as I passed. The entire chateau had been abuzz all morning, whispers of some bombshell secret being passed back and forth like the exchanging of currency. I knew not who or what the target of the rumor mill was that morning, but the mention of my sister piqued my interest.

“Pardon me,” I said, halting my pace and turning back to the man and woman dressed in simple emerald-shaded finery. They bowed deeper, exposing the crowns of their heads. “I’ve been hearing tittering conversation all morning. Would you be able to provide me with a bit of context regarding the topic?”

The woman was the first to straighten, her eyes wide. “You mean, you don’t know, Your Grace?”

“Know what?” I questioned, my patience already drawing thin.

“It was all over the papers this morning. They’re running a smear campaign against Lady Lynette. Saying she’s a sympathizer of the Rebellion and that she’s looking to bring an end to the conflict as soon she succeeds the madame.”

“We know it’s all balderdash, of course,” the man chimed in, running fingers over the thick mustache that covered his lip. “There is no way the Lady would ever think of supporting those brutal savages.”

I nodded along, my stomach tightening from the news. “Right, what nonsense. They’ll print anything these days if it moves papers.”

“Right you are, sir,” the woman replies, giving another bow of the head. “It’s a shame, really, all this violence from the minority. Most of the Unseen are very well-mannered, like the ones who work here.”

The man nodded, rubbing at a stubborn bit of dirt on the vase. “They’ve been trained appropriately, that’s for sure.”

“Is there something else you need, Your Grace?” The woman looked at me once more, her brow raised.

“No, my apologies. I’m running late as it is.” I flashed them a quick smile, which earned another round of bows before I continued my path down the hall.

Lynette a traitor? Surely, there must be some mistake. But why would someone be spreading these rumors? Her ascension to our mother’s role won’t happen for at least another two years—once Mother’s two-hundredth birthday arrives. Would the other houses be vying to sow distrust this far ahead of the ceremony in an effort to steal Mother’s role?

No, the idea was ridiculous. The politics of the Adored are a discipline in the art of subtle persuasion. None in their right mind would publish something lambasting Lynette like this unless….

Unless it was the undeniable truth.

Abruptly changing direction, I moved with renewed haste towards the west wing of the chateau, hoping I’d be quick enough to catch my sister.

Outside of Mother’s office, I hesitated, then gave the door a gentle knock. I checked the watch in my pocket, silently counting back the minutes.

Perhaps I was too late? Mother and Lynette must have already left for their commute into the Magi City.

But then the doors swung open—the outline of an Unseen shimmering as it moved out of the way—and I stormed into the room. Lynette was sitting at the end of the long meeting table, her unbound red curls falling to obscure her face as she wrote with a feverish pace along the page of parchment.

“Hello, brother of mine,” she greeted me without looking up from her work. “If you’re looking for our mother, she’s already retired to her quarters to make ready for our trip.”

I took a steadying breath, doing my best to appear calm. “No, you’re actually the one I wished to see.”

She looked up at me then, brushing the curtain of hair from her face to reveal a quizzical expression. “Is something wrong, Tobi?”

I approached the table, glancing over my shoulder in the direction of the Unseen standing in the corner of the room.

“Harris?” Lynette addressed the Unseen. “Would you mind returning to my quarters and selecting a few outfits for me to choose from? Your sense of style is simply unmatched.”

The Unseen materialized fully—a man with oblong ears like a hare and nostrils made of long slits. “Yes, Your Grace.” He bowed, then pulled the heavy door open before exiting.

“Speak freely, Tobi.”

“You are aware you’re at the center of the entire estate’s gossips this morning, yes?”

Lynette rolled her eyes, snorting out a laugh as she dipped the point of her pen into the inkwell beside her. “Is that what this is about? You’ve nothing to fear, dear brother. I’m not some rebel sent to spy on your bedding rituals if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

“I’m serious, Lenny. Why would anyone come out against us if they weren’t absolutely certain they could back up the claims? Why would they risk Mother’s wrath?”

Lynette waved off the question. “Mother has already handled it. Called the editor of the Page herself and demanded they print a retraction. I can’t imagine the type of dirt Mother must have on her. You could practically hear the tears running down her face as she begged for forgiveness.”

“So, then, there’s no truth to the claims?”

Lynette looked up at me once more, setting the pen in the holster and leaning back into the plush cushion of her chair. “And if there was?”

“Was what?” I asked.

“Truth to the claims. If theoretically speaking, someone had managed to intercept communications between me and a certain prolific member of the Unseen Rebellion, promising aid once I’ve stepped into Mother’s role. How would that affect your view of me, Tobi?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Did you do such a thing?”

Lynette laughed once more, but it never touched her eyes. “I speak merely in hyperbole. Call it a thought experiment. I’m curious what you would do if those rumors they ran in the Page turned out to be true?”

I sank into the chair nearest me, resting my elbows on the edge of the wooden table. “I would tell you that you were being an idiot.”

Another laugh from Lynette, this one full and boisterous. Not the demure giggle of the girl she portrayed when Mother was nearby. “And why is that? Do you the Unseen Rebellion to be a fool’s errand?”

“I think it to be suicide,” I replied plainly. “For anyone involved. You know this, Lenny. Mother will not rest until the entire rebellion has been snuffed out and order restored in her eyes. She hardly tolerates the Unseen staff these days.”

Lynette grinned up at me, a strange gleam in her eye. “Well, it’s a damn good thing that these are nothing but unsubstantiated rumors then, isn’t it?”

Her words had never wrung more false. Something stirred behind the feigned innocence she wielded in my direction.

“Be honest with me, sister. What are you plotting?”

She barked another laugh. “Plotting? You think too much of me, Tobias.”

“You cannot move against Mother,” I continued. “At least not while she still holds power. Wait until your succession is complete. Then, no one will be able to stand in your way. Not even her.”

“But what about all the innocent people who will die in the meantime?” Lynette asked, her smile flickering like a spent candle. “What of the children who are caught up in the collateral damage of the never-ending scuffle between us and them? We’re talking about thousands of lives here, Tobias. You would have me toss them to the wayside until a more opportune moment?”

“I would have you live, Lynette.” My voice was quiet as it hovered over the long table. “That is all.”

Lynette was silent for a moment, then reached for the pen once more, signing the bottom of the scroll before drawing a sigil in the air with the tip of her index finger. The glowing golden character burst into a shower of sparks, and a snowy white raven appeared, perched on the table in front of her. She rolled up the parchment, whispering a few words as she placed both hands on the bundle, the roll shrinking to the size of a matchbox. She fastened the scroll to the raven’s leg, rising from her chair and walking it over to the gilded window. Unlatching the glass, she pushed the window open, the raven fluttering away in the blink of an eye.

“Living grows more difficult by the day, I fear, Tobi.” She turns back to face me, the corners of her eyes shining with moisture. “Suffering spreads like flames amongst the chaff, and the cries of those who demand justice grow with each passing day. I can’t take it much longer.”

“But think clearly,” I said, raising my voice. “If you want to help anyone, then shouldn’t you focus on attaining the power to do so on a larger scale? Think about all of the change that can come after your ascension, Lenny. Your magic already rivals Mother’s, and your heart outweighs hers tenfold.”

“And she is infinitely more clever,” Lynette concluded. “And dreadfully cruel. Which means I can’t tarry, waiting on a peaceful transfer of power. I can’t delay, Tobias. There are lives to be saved now.”

“Then you must become sharper,” I replied, rising from my seat. “Mother will be watching you even closer now. You can’t be sloppy.”

Lynette smiled then, her demeanor lightning as she reached out, drawing me into an embrace. “Your concern is duly noted, Tobi. But we’re just speaking in hypotheticals, right?”

I nodded, a lump in my throat blocking the words I wanted to say.

“I wish you were coming to the city. I want to go dancing with you again before we grow too old and self-conscious for that sort of thing.”

“I fear it may already be too late for me,” I said with a grimace.

Lynette laughed once more, taking me by the hand and leading me out of Mother’s office.

“It’s never too late, Tobias.”

* * *

My sleep was anything but restful.

Fragments of memories flashed through my dreams in spiraling patterns, a kaleidoscope of my life playing out in moments both mundane and poignant. But a common thread kept weaving its way through the mess, tying the pieces together like patches of a quilt—Bastien.

Those memories would linger, allowing me to hold onto them for the briefest time. Moments of kisses pressed into sensitive flesh. Evenings tangled in silken sheets. Meals shared over tables, muddled with laughter and the ache of longing that twinged each time we were forced to part.

When I woke alone in the darkness, it was these memories that planted themselves, sowing their warmth through my shivering body. The air had grown cold, and a thin layer of sweat across my forehead was the physical evidence of the fits that had raged through me during slumber.

Through the haze of recollection, I turned over on my side, expecting another body to be sharing the bed. But I found only empty space and a deafening silence. My feet were still bound at the ankle, I confirmed, pulling back the scratchy blanket and flexing my calves. The blue aura pulsed with energy, keeping my legs firmly in place.

“Hello?” I called into the darkness. “Bastien?”

The air around me swallowed the words, pressing against my ears with a weight that bordered uncomfortable. I raised a hand in front of my face, pressing fingers together to try and snap, but they made no sound.

Magic. I could smell it now, a tang in the air that itched in the back of my throat. Panic swelled in my chest as I clawed at the restraints on my ankles, blue sparks erupting at the contact as it sent an electric jolt up my arm. It was no use. The restraints held fast.

My heart hammered silently in my ears. A glimmer of silver flashed in my periphery, and I raised my hand quickly, fingers grasping the would-be assailant by the wrist and halting a blade trained on my throat. Glittering emerald eyes narrowed at me in the dark, only a stripe of ebony skin visible between the shadowy mask obscuring the assailant’s face.

“Who are you?” I tried to shout, but my lips moved soundlessly, my arm shaking with the exertion of holding my swift demise at bay. My muscles ached, any strength left in them squeezed out with this final moment of self-preservation.

But then, the figure pulled back, wresting their arm from my grasp and dissolving into the shadows. I scrambled to right myself on the bed, taking a deep breath and reaching for the magic in my chest. I attempted to push my aura outward in search of the attacker but was met only with a sharp pain in my temple, blinding me with an eruption of colors. Without focus, the magic withered, withdrawing inside of me. I blinked the spots from my vision enough to catch another flash of silver as the silent blade moved again. This time, I was able to deflect it away from me, the edge catching the fabric of the pillow and ripping it open with soundless efficiency. Before I could move, another hand seized me by the throat, lifting me off the bed in a smooth motion. I gasped for air as my feet left the ground, my assailant manipulating my body with the ease of a child holding a doll. My fingers found purchase on their arm, and my nails dug into the fabric of their sleeve. The emerald eyes appeared once more, widening till they resembled orbs.

With a faint pop , sound returned, assaulting me in a wave.

“Tobias, is that you?”

The voice rang familiar in my head as the assailant lowered me to the ground, their grip lessening enough for me to draw a shaky breath. “Y-Yes, I am Tobias.”

Pulling the mask down that covered her face, the woman exclaimed, “You’re supposed to be dead!”

Familiarity sparked as I gazed down at the woman’s face, a memory of her staring back at me from across the table in Mother’s office rising to the surface.

“I will be soon if you don’t let go, Renata,” I managed, the air through my throat making a slight whistle.

Renata released her hold on me, sheathing the silver knife into the holster on her hip. “How is this possible? Madame Greene told us that you’d been killed by the Rebellion.”

Before I could answer her, I was rocked off my feet by an explosion outside of the tent, the very ground beneath us rippling from the force.

“You can explain later,” Renata said, drawing her dagger once more and stooping down to slice through the magical restraints on my ankles. The sound of metal striking metal rang, and Renata was suddenly very close as she spoke in a hushed whisper, “Stay close to me. Do not make a sound. The raid will be finished soon, but I need to get you to safety.”

Raid? So, this was Mother’s doing. She’d finally found the heart of the rebellion and was making good on her promise to eradicate them. From outside the tent, screams echoed through the night.

I wanted to argue. To tell Renata to go on and pretend she never saw me. But if the Rebellion wouldn’t survive the night, that meant I wouldn’t either.

Did they know Lynette was here, too? I had to get more information.

I nodded to her, shifting my weight back and forth to regain sensation in my toes. My whole body felt heavy and sluggish. I just hoped I would be able to keep up. Renata moved like a shadow ahead of me, her footsteps muted against the soft ground as she led me to the entrance of the tent. Noise washed over us again as we stepped into the cool air, the tumultuous sounds of conflict assaulting from all sides. Two bodies lay at the entrance of the tent, throats slashed open as inky blood seeped into the ground beneath. They were Unseen, I realized as I stepped over them, their glassy eyes staring up at me.

Another scream and a burst of flames erupted from the tent next to us. Renata grabbed me by the wrist, pulling me away from the structures and toward the dark trees that loomed at the edge of camp.

“This way, Your Grace,” Renata encouraged me. “Your mother will be thrilled to hear of your perseverance.”

Fear trickled down my spine. Was I walking toward my end no matter which way I went? If Mother had been the architect of Lynette’s assassination attempt, surely she would have been informed of the cause of my death.

“Not far now,” Renata muttered as we rounded the final row of tents on the outer edge of the camp. Beyond the structures, the night was nearly pitch black, the moon absent from the sky, and the stars a muted tapestry of pinpricks. “I’m going to get you to the extraction point, and from there they’ll?—”

A wet sound and Renata’s grip on me slacked. She spun around to me, her eyes wide again as red blood bloomed across her chest and spilled over her lips.

“R-Run.” The word gurgled from her as she slumped to the ground. A ghostly outline of a clawed hand shrank into the shadows behind, still slick with Renata’s blood.

Taking a step back from where she fell, I reached once again for my aura, projecting it out in front of me in an attempt to detect those nearby, but another debilitating lance of pain skewered my head, forcing me to my knees. I exhaled a hiss as invisible claws sank into my shoulder, shredding the fabric of my shirt as they ripped into my flesh. My aura withdrew once again, but I managed to grab hold of the assailant, the claws digging deeper with a pain sharp enough to force a groan from my mouth. I swept a leg out, catching the Unseen by surprise, and the grass indented where they landed, freeing their claw from my shoulder.

Scrambling to my feet, I took off, heading for the open field between the camp and the cluster of trees. I could make it. If I just kept running, I would make it to safety—another sharp pain raked across my back as claws tore into me, and I was sent reeling forward, losing my footing in the soft earth. My ankle twisted at a strange angle, and I stumbled, rolling head over heels till I was sprawled out, looking up at the inky sky.

The tall grass around me rustled, but I couldn’t see anything. Not in the darkness that seemed to seep up from the ground like a rising tide of nothingness. I braced myself, struggling to get a leg under me, but my ankle throbbed, radiating pain that I felt all the way up to my teeth. The rustling was close, a low growl permeating the air. I didn’t dare try and draw out my magic again, and without it, I was defenseless.

“I’m not your enemy!” I cried into the darkness.

More rustling. I cried out as claws bit into my chest, sinking deeper and deeper till I thought they’d puncture my lungs. I thrashed futilely, unable to detach my attacker as blood, hot and wet, soaked through my front. My vision began to narrow, the sound of my heartbeat drowning out the chaotic din of the raid.

I could only hope that Bastien and Lynette made it out alive, even if I was going to perish amongst the sea of grass. Then maybe, just maybe, my brief second life wouldn’t have been completely pointless.

With a flash of light, the weight of the Unseen attacker disappeared. For a moment, I thought it was Death who approached, returning for me and me alone. But the constant beating of my heart disproved that theory rather quickly. The sky above was still dim, an endless, speckled void bearing down, ready to consume me entirely.

Would Bastien find me out here, alone amongst the wildflowers? Or maybe the earth itself would swallow me up, drinking in the blood that seeped from my body and leaving the rest of my flesh for the worms.

But it wasn’t Death that came for me. At least, not unless Death was a pale man with flaming red hair streaked with white.

“Still with me, Toto?”

I cringed at the nickname, a trickle of blood leaking from the side of my mouth.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” said Cirian, kneeling beside me. “You look like a pin cushion, and your foot is nearly backward. Just what have you been doing out here?”

More blood spilled as I attempted to curse Cirian’s name.

“Ah-ah, let’s not speak with our mouths full. Come now, you can’t just lay here all night. Let’s get you someplace safe. Adoranda will not be pleased if they find you out here.”

Cirian hooked a hand under my knees, then the other under my ribcage, hoisting me into the air as if I weighed as much as a ragdoll. I groaned from the pain as gravity forced my foot to twist further, and Cirian muttered a half-hearted apology as he began to move, ushering us away from the blazing camp and sounds of Death’s approach.