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Thorne

H e couldn’t be… dead . My best friend wasn’t dead. Our king wasn’t dead.

But there he was, his body rotted and turned to dust by his own Fates-forsaken curse.

Clarissa clung to me, but I could barely feel her over the pandemonium of the palace. People screamed and clambered from their seats. The priest fell over in alarm. And Isabella…

Galen’s mother threw herself from her wheelchair, clawing at the ground as she tried to crawl her way to her son. A coughing fit overtook her, blood splattering the floor and her blue gown.

I didn’t think I would ever forget the sound of her choked wails as she watched her son die.

My vision homed in on the dust, still in the shape of his body, and all sounds of chaos from the wedding faded. Until a voice split the air.

“Seize her!”

A knot twisted in my stomach.

It was my mother’s voice.

My neck snapped to find her pointing a wrinkled finger at the woman in my arms. The King’s Guard immediately surged forward .

“What?” I snarled, forcing Clarissa behind me. “No! Stand down. Empress Ar— Queen Grimaldi had nothing to do with this.” The title made me wince, but it was the truth. And it might be the only thing that could save her now.

The guards faltered and glanced at my mother as she stormed the raised platform, the cane she had to use since her injury on the island tapping viciously against the wood floor.

“Back away, Thorne. She has murdered your king and must answer for her crimes,” she said in a low voice of warning. She nodded again toward the guards, and they plowed behind me to grab Clarissa. I gripped one of them by the forearm and swung my fist into their jaw with a satisfying crunch .

“Stay away from her,” I seethed, keeping my hold on Clarissa’s wrist. The other guard reached for his sword, but I was faster. I unsheathed mine and held the point to his throat.

“Thorne, please,” Clarissa whispered at my side. “Don’t make this worse for you.”

“I’m not going to let them touch you,” I snapped.

“I raised you to be smarter than this,” my mother said, gathering her thick skirt in one hand. “We have all witnessed the assassination of King Grimaldi at her hands. Justice must be upheld.”

“Lady Reaux, you know I didn’t do this,” Clarissa said. Her eyes flicked between the rest of the crowd and my mother, knowing she couldn’t say the full truth in front of everyone—why would she kill him when she was trying to break his curse?

“Mother, what are you doing ?” I urged.

She ignored me. “Do you deny that you’ve been working against him?

Against our kingdom ?” she asked Clarissa.

“My son heard you utter the very words for himself. That your people would rip our kind to shreds . That Galen Grimaldi should not be King of Mysthelm. That sounds dangerously close to treason, Your Majesty .”

It was like a bucket of ice water had been thrown over me. Those were the same words Clarissa said to me the night before the Hunt. How could Mother have possibly known ?

Clarissa slowly met my stare, betrayal shining in her eyes. She pulled out of my grip and took a step backward.

My breath caught in my throat. Did she believe I had any part in this? That I would do anything to hurt her?

“Clarissa, no—I didn’t tell her—” I tried to reach for her, but she recoiled at my touch. My heart pressed against my chest, cracking and shattering at the look on her face, the wide eyes, the furrowed brow, the parted lips.

“You see?” Mother gestured between the two of us.

“I speak the truth. It’s been her the entire time.

She’s the one behind the failed assassination attempts, and she’s finally succeeded.

” She moved forward, motioning once again for the guards to seize Clarissa.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rose and Leo leap from their seats, but more guards held them back.

“What about Lord Reaux, Your Grace?” the head of the King’s Guard prompted. “Is he involved in this as well?”

Mother stopped when she reached me, placing a cold hand on my cheek. I jerked away from her.

“My son is loyal to Mysthelm.” Her blue eyes lanced through me like a dagger. “You’ve done beautifully, dear. Thank you for your help to the crown.”

“You’re lying,” I snarled. The guards yanked Clarissa’s hands behind her back.

“Stop! You can’t take her.” I struggled to get to her, but one of them blocked me, shoving me farther back.

All Clarissa did was stare at me in defeat.

My mouth went dry, every muscle in my body fighting against the guard. “Clarissa, I promise, I?—”

“Not only has she been plotting against our king,” my mother interrupted me, raising her voice to drown out my plea, “but she has brought a new threat into our kingdom.” She waved her cane toward the front row, where Rose and Leo were still wrestling with guards.

“ Veridians . They have crossed over our borders, without permission from the king, to hide among us, spying on our people. ”

Gasps rose in the crowd. Members of Galen’s council seated on the second row exchanged angry glances.

“The regents were right—they’re invading our land,” Lord Sadim barked. “Penworth was afraid of this. There could be more of them. Spies, entire armies , and there’s no way to protect ourselves—not when they have magic.”

Some of the guests nodded in agreement, anger evident in their features.

“How do we know she’s not the reason the blight came?

” my mother called out, and my mouth fell open in shock.

She was blatantly lying. She knew exactly how this “blight” happened, and it had nothing to do with the Veridians.

“Did our land not suffer exponentially more when she agreed to ally with our king? When she set foot on our soil? Look at what her mere touch has done to him.”

Many in the crowd were now standing and hurling accusations toward the front of the hall. Mother was riling them up. Priming them to attack, to demand retribution. They looked as if they wanted to tear Clarissa apart.

“Mother, stop this!” I grabbed her hand and spun her to face me. “What are you doing? You know none of this is true!”

“I’m doing what I should have done long ago.” She stepped closer, icy hatred blazing in her eyes. Her features were set in sharp determination. “Putting someone worthy of the title on top of that throne. And if you want your little plaything to live, you’ll keep your mouth shut.”

Her words sent a chill down my spine. This…this wasn’t my mother. This wasn’t anyone I recognized. Cold, calculating, vile .

I couldn’t believe I’d ever trusted her. Believed her. After all the years of her standing by my side, the nights she would rock Marigold to sleep as my little girl cried for her mother, the way we were there for each other when our worlds fell apart. Everything had been a lie.

Every consoling word she used to soothe me, to manipulate me…it was all for this. So she could have the power. So she could sit on that throne. As if this had been her plan all along.

She whipped back to the guards still holding Clarissa captive. “Take her to the dungeons to await trial. May the Fates have mercy on her soul.”