Page 43 of The First Spark (Dynasty of Fire #1)

Kalie couldn’t move her feet as Theron stalked away. Despite all the insults Mother had hurled at Aunt Calida, she’d always insisted Mother was blameless. But whatever they saw when they looked at Mother was clearly not the woman she knew, capable of nothing but grudges and insults.

Theron stopped. Slowly, he turned. “Do you know why we resent you, Kalista?”

Kalie met his eyes, though something in her heart cracked. Resent . Not dislike, not begrudge . Resent.

“Selene and Danae will be married off to the highest bidders. Rian’s a king in name, but he’ll only ever rule under Father’s thumb.

At least the three of them get to leave this court.

” Theron yanked at his cufflinks and loosened his collar.

His movements were sharp, jerky, nothing like the methodical prince she’d always known.

“I’ll be stuck here for the rest of my life, watching our parents destroy each other, knowing this court will destroy my children, too. ”

Kalie winced. It was too easy to see him standing between their parents, as he always had and always would, tearing himself apart in the process.

“None of us complain. We accept it as our duty. But you, the golden child Mother saved—and make no mistake, it was Mother who saved you from this court—you complain about the gift she gave you. A court you can rule without Father dictating your actions, the choice to marry whomever you want, a planet where you can raise children without fearing they’ll be murdered in their cradles.

” Breathing heavily, Theron dropped his hands and met her eyes.

“She gave you all of that, and you’ve never once thanked her. ”

As he marched away, Kalie’s shoulders drooped.

Portraits of austere ancestors glared at her from the crimson walls. Ominous shadows curled at her feet, obscuring the slivers of sunlight sneaking through heavy black curtains.

She could’ve grown up here.

Endless darkness. Thundering storms. Oppressive laws, leering courtiers, temples worshipping fire and lineage. Instead, she’d grown up with the warmth of golden sunlight on her skin, water splashing through lush green forests, laughter, music, and love.

As Theron rounded a corner, she took a shaky breath and trudged after him. She tried to confess she’d never thought of it like that, but he cut her off.

“I’ve been assessing you as we walked here, and to be honest, Kalista, I’m not sure what to make of it all.”

“Oh? What’s your assessment of me?”

Stopping at a pair of rosewood doors, Theron pursed his lips. “I’m wondering why you haven’t asked about our uncle.”

Kalie’s breath caught. “Uncle Jerran? Do you have news?”

“You don’t know, do you?” He rubbed his eyes. “Of course you wouldn’t know. You just got here. ”

Her skin prickled as Theron dismissed the guards, opened the doors, and led her inside.

The sight of the dark sitting room added to the unease twisting in her stomach. Kalie yanked open a pair of burgundy curtains, desperate to feel something good. Artificial sunlight flooded into the living area, shining on overstuffed couches and armchairs, and Theron motioned for her to sit.

“Before I say anything, I want you to remember our uncle’s still alive.” Theron’s low voice sent chills up Kalie’s spine. “Lexington charged him with treason, and the Tribunal held a sham trial this morning. He’s been sentenced to life on Titan.”

The world slid out from under Kalie. Gasping, she pressed a hand to her heart.

It was a good thing she was sitting, or the thought of her frail, dignified uncle bleeding on the floor of the moon’s filthy prison would’ve made her crumple to the floor.

Life in prison was not a mercy. No, Iliana would make sure he suffered, the way she had surely suffered.

“On what grounds?” she whispered.

Theron met her gaze unblinkingly. “She claims he murdered Grandmother Madeleine.”

“That’s absurd. Madeleine killed herself at Ashton. Witnesses saw it.”

She’d been a terrible ruler and a worse mother, but Madeleine was Uncle Jerran’s sister. He wasn’t capable of killing her.

Then again, she hadn’t thought him capable of imprisoning one of his nieces.

“Is it really that hard to believe?”

“You’re actually buying this trash?”

Theron shrugged. “Madeleine refused to support him for Major Governor, and it angered him so much that he declared war on her. Think about it. He’s obviously a good ruler, but he was passed over for the throne when our grandmother was born.

The war killed his wife and son. After all that, don’t you think it’s possible he killed her to end it? ”

“No. I know Uncle Jerran, and there’s no way that’s true.”

“One of your nobles claims he was there. Count Hewlett. ”

“Perseus Hewlett is a lying snake. He was involved in Iliana’s coup, of course he’ll support her lies.”

But maybe they weren’t lies.

Kalie shuddered. Hewlett’s star had risen far higher than it ever should’ve—so high, that a man who was once a lowly baron from a crumbling house was now the second most powerful man on the planet.

Uncle Jerran had made that happen. And though he now bemoaned Hewlett’s rise, he’d done nothing to stop it.

Theron arched his eyebrows.

Setting aside her unease, Kalie shook her head. “Someone will appeal the ruling to the Collectivate. The government is loyal to Uncle Jerran. She won’t be able to pin Madeleine’s murder on him.”

“Maybe not.” Theron straightened his cufflinks. “But he’s charged with two counts of treason. One for Madeleine’s murder, and one for Calida’s.”

Scoffing, Kalie rose to her feet and stepped into the sunlight. “I knew you were a cold-hearted schemer, but I thought you at least had a brain.”

“They published evidence of a bank transfer tying him to a mercenary,” he said coolly, “and the man confessed to sending the drone strike. Jerran wasn’t at Pool’s rally.

Don’t you think it’s strange that his engine conveniently died on the way to the most important event of the decade?

He probably got sick of answering to Calida?—”

“Don’t be ridiculous?—”

“—and so did you.”

The words hit Kalie like a hammer to the head, dazing her. She crumpled into a chair. “You think I…?”

“Lexington says the mercenary implicated you. She claims it was a coup. You and Jerran conspired to take the throne.”

The accusation robbed her of speech. He kept parroting Carik’s obscene story, laying out the evidence that she’d killed Aunt Calida to take the throne.

Kalie slammed her fist down on the armrest. “I never wanted the throne!”

Theron scowled. “Oh, come on. There was a crown in the offing. You’d be a fool if you didn’t once think of wearing it. ”

“I didn’t!”

Blood pounded in her ears. Anyone with a shred of common sense wouldn’t believe Carik’s story. Yet here was her own brother, accusing her of murder with a visage carved from stone. Gods forgive her, but she wanted to claw that stupid, detached look off his face.

Kalie clasped her hands to keep from lunging at him. “I never wanted this. I loved Aunt Calida. Lexie was my sister, more than any of you ever were! Why would I kill them? Why would I kill Marcus?”

As Theron studied her, she searched his stony face for any sign of the child she remembered, the brother who’d tried to shield them all from the battlefield of their parents’ marriage.

She’d never been close with him, but she’d never thought he was capable of this—never thought he would accuse her of murder, for Azura’s sake.

He sighed. “You wouldn’t. I know.”

“Then why?—?”

“I had to make sure.” Theron raked a hand through his wavy black hair. “Lexington charged you with treason, and Carik put a bounty on your head. Fifty million credits. Every bounty hunter in the Federation will be looking for you now.”

Panic crushed the air from Kalie’s lungs.

Fifty million credits… it wasn’t just bounty hunters who’d be looking for her.

Mercenaries, criminals, greedy officials, ex-soldiers wanting to make a fortune.

Nowhere was safe. And Iliana had sent Uncle Jerran to Titan, where his political enemies and Dali’s worst criminals were waiting—including Landon Grant.

Bile burned Kalie’s throat. She lurched to her feet, bolted for the bathroom, and vomited until her stomach was empty.

If she didn’t act soon, Uncle Jerran would die. There was nothing she could do about it; that outrageous bounty would keep her trapped on Etov.

Kalie wiped her mouth. She needed answers, and only one person could give them to her.

Taking a shaky breath, she turned to Theron.

“I need to talk to Mother.”