Page 20

Twenty-One Years Old

The house was empty of everyone but Ivelle when Marlena finally rolled out of bed and freshened herself up for the day.

It had been a long night. One where neither Arlet nor Marlena got a wink of sleep before she snuck out and left with Khort.

When they’d heard him stir, his heavy steps echoing down the hall, Arlet slipped out with the lie that she’d fallen asleep on the couch in Marlena’s office after finding a book to read.

Arlet never read books…

Ivelle sat at the kitchen table with a danish and a cup of tea, watching the snow that had continued overnight.

“Good morning.” Marlena stood at the island, eyeing Ivelle as one of the maids poured her a cup of tea.

Ivelle didn’t turn around, ignoring her. And to no one’s surprise, that sent a fireball of anger roaring through Marlena.

Marlena’s wind shot out of her body like little tendrils, rushing around the room and pushing Ivelle’s chair back with a loud screech from the legs grinding against the floor. Ivelle’s eyes grew wide, searching the room for Marlena, but she was gone.

She dropped the cloak of her invisibility when she stood directly in front of Ivelle, bending at the waist to meet her eye level.

“It’s insanely rude to ignore someone in their own home.

In the home you now live in, mind you.” Marlena stared into Ivelle’s green eyes, watching her try to school her features into neutrality.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Ivelle asked, doing a good job at pretending she wasn’t flustered.

Marlena painted a pretty smile on her face, standing up straight. “You and your bad attitude. You’re acting like a child. No one would ever believe you’re, what? Four years older than I am? You should be grateful I’m willing to take you in.”

Ivelle barked a laugh laced with venom. “I should be grateful? No, more like you should be grateful.” Ivelle stood, not quite as tall as Marlena but tall enough to look her dead in the eye. “If it weren’t for this little deal, you wouldn’t be getting Amora this early.”

Marlena’s teeth ground together so hard they might shatter to bits.

“If it weren’t for me taking you in like a lost fucking puppy, you’d have nowhere else to go.

It’s clear your mother is at her wits’ end with you, and your father didn’t even show up to your own relegation.

” Marlena raised a brow. “What’s that about? ”

“You know nothing about me, Marlena. You know nothing of what I’ve been through.

” Ivelle was beautiful, with wavy red hair that reached the small of her back and green eyes the color of a blooming garden in spring.

All of her facial features were soft, her cheekbones round, her nose the perfect little slope.

Everything about her was Amora-born. “While you and your sister got handed everything you ever wanted, some of us were left in the dark, being stripped of what was rightfully ours.” A fire burned behind her eyes, its embers built off years of resentment.

She sounds just like me . A languid, bubbling laugh erupted from Marlena’s stomach. If only someone could have laid witness to what she’d endured as a child—up until a few years ago, Marlena was still wearing daily bruises from her parents' love.

Ivelle stood still as can be, watching Marlena until she caught her breath.

“That’s a good one.” Marlena’s smile fell from her face without warning, and she stepped in close to Ivelle, crowding her space.

“I want you to listen to me, loud and clear, you got it?” Of course Ivelle didn’t move, but that didn’t rattle Marlena.

“You’re not going to assume anything about me.

You’re not going to pretend you know how I was raised or what I had to do to get where I am now. ”

Marlena had lost parts of herself. What would she have been like if her parents weren’t her parents… if she’d been born into another life?

If they had loved her like they loved Vega…

“If you wanted the seat so badly, you should’ve tried to take it.” Marlena cocked her head to the side, feeling like a snake about to strike. “Instead, you turned into a spoiled fucking brat who’s never done anything but sulk in what was never meant to be yours.”

Ivelle’s muscles were taut and it almost looked like she wasn’t breathing from the rage inside.

“Your new job is to listen to me. That’s it.

Nothing else.” Marlena wouldn’t take the first step back.

She waited for Ivelle, who hadn’t decided she was ready to budge yet but who wasn’t saying anything anymore either.

“You are here because no one else wants you. Kind of like me. So if you think that for one second, you’re going to come in here and out-trauma me and make me feel bad for you, you are sadly mistaken. ”

Ivelle let out a breath and took a tiny step back.

“Now, should we try this again?” Marlena gestured to the chair Ivelle had been sitting in. “Good morning, Ivelle.” Her voice was quiet, returning to a normal decibel.

Through a still-clenched jaw, Ivelle sat while holding Marlena’s gaze. “Good morning.” Her tone was the grumble of a scolded teenager.

Marlena left Ivelle’s space, grabbed her mug off the table, and looked over her shoulder from the doorway. “We are hosting the Curia meeting tonight to make the announcement of my succession. Be ready by four-thirty.”

If they won’t listen, make them.