Page 64 of The First Spark (Dynasty of Fire #1)

Winter winds roared like crashing tides, flinging grit into Kalie’s eyes as she trudged towards the palace gates.

She pulled her jacket tighter, but the frigid air pierced through the thin fabric.

Shivering violently, she brought her numb hands to her mouth and blew into them.

The futility of it crashed down on her like a cloud of darkness, and she lowered her hands.

Warmth didn’t matter. She’d be dead soon enough.

As she reached the towering iron gates, topped with soaring golden doves, the sun’s last rays disappeared beyond the mountains. The faint lavender and periwinkle glows vanished from the sky’s canvas, and a blanket of night draped over the capital.

That was the last sunset she would ever see.

Kalie’s throat tightened. She had to do this. The battle was lost, but she could save thousands by turning herself in. Her people, her allies, their troops, Mira and Zane, Mylis and Ariah.

Ariah . Every time her eyelids fell, that horrific image of her rotting flesh was waiting, but it was no better when she opened her eyes.

Each landmark she passed—the swing they’d strung up between two withering trees, the river where they’d dared each other to dive, the burrow where Ariah had found a three-legged stray—all of it brought back memories of her laughing, golden-haired sister.

The woman she loved more than her own life. The woman she’d abandoned to die.

Tears slipped from Kalie’s eyes and stung her raw cheeks. She wiped them away with her swollen fingers.

It was Ariah who gave her the strength to trod through the squelching mud, towards the legionnaires who waited at the gates with their pulsers raised.

Maybe they wouldn’t let Ariah go. Maybe they would kill her, too.

But this time, she wouldn’t let her face death alone.

Kalie jutted her chin out.

Two of the legionnaires stomped through the mud, flinging it onto Kalie’s sweat-stained clothes. They seized her, but she didn’t fight. Not as they patted her down. Not as they ripped her pulser from its holster and seized her comm. Not as they smashed it in the mud.

Sparks fizzled from the broken wires, fleeing into the winter breeze. Kalie flinched. At least her messages were safe with Mira. Her parents would get her will, naming Lida her heir, and if Zane lived through the battle, he would find her goodbye.

She should’ve told him sooner. By the time he heard her message, she would be gone. It wasn’t fair to saddle him with a confession that would add to his guilt.

“Why are you here?” a legionnaire demanded, holding a scanner over her wrist.

“I came to turn myself in.”

The scanner flashed green, and a squat man guffawed. “She’s more of a fool than we thought.”

Kalie glared at him as they yanked her hands behind her back, shackling her wrists together.

Let them laugh. Someday, her allies would rise up against Carik and free the people he’d oppressed.

Even if she didn’t live long enough to see it, she would watch from Azura’s heavens as his men rotted in hell.

“Let’s go.” A man shoved her forward, and mud splashed onto her pants, seeping through the fabric. “We shouldn’t keep the Duchissa waiting.”

As her teeth chattered, she stumbled after them. A blaze of wind shrieked past, flinging her tangled hair into her face. She tried to whip it over her shoulder, but the howling wind was strong, and her hands were bound.

The gates closed behind her with a resounding clang.

Her pulse thumped as she took a step forward. Air wasn’t coming into her lungs. Her legs wouldn’t move.

Pain ratcheted up her spine as something hard slammed into her back, and a cry burst from her lips as she stumbled forward. They barked orders to move, but her hands were shaking. Her legs were trembling. Still, she couldn’t move.

Oh, gods, this was truly the end.

Now she could breathe, but it wasn’t really breathing; the rapid gasps of frigid air made her feel like she was suffocating.

Someone struck her back again, and she cried out as she crumpled into the muddy grass.

Her knees collided first—the impact of frozen joints striking solid ground was agony—then her chest plunged into the muck.

The grime seeped into her jacket and oozed across her skin.

She gazed at the withering gray trees, the shining marble columns, the high, vaulted windows, and the gleaming gold domes atop looming towers. This place had been her home for two decades. Now it would be her tomb.

I am Kalista Hannover, eldest daughter of the Etovian Emperor and niece of Calida Amador.

Her mantra did nothing. Aunt Calida and Lexie were dead and her parents would be dead and everyone she loved would be dead, just like her, and why had she come here?

For Ariah .

Kalie took a deep breath, letting it expand her lungs.

For Ariah. For Ariah. For Ariah.

It became her new mantra as she shoved herself to her feet and trudged forward.

She breathed in. For Ariah . Out. For Ariah .

Mud trickled down her pants and chilled her frozen skin, but as her chest rose and fell, she repeated her mantra, and she ceased to feel the cold and pain.

She ceased to fill the wind stabbing her skin, and the grit stinging her eyes.

She had one chance, a desperate, reckless chance, to save Ariah.

If it failed, they would meet the end together.

As they marched up the cobblestone path, past drooping trees and frost-covered statues of the gods, Kalie glanced at a sculpture of Azura. If the goddess had any mercy, she would make this quick.

Guards hauled open the looming doors, and wind barged into the foyer as the legionnaires dragged her across the threshold. Mud dripped onto the polished marble tiles, leaving dirty streaks on the sparkling floor.

This was the last time she would enter Aunt Calida’s palace.

I’m going to die.

As a band of panic crushed her lungs, she breathed in and silently added, for Ariah .

A strange sense of serenity washed over her.

The meadows of Elyndra awaited her in the Lands of Eternal Dawn, and Aunt Calida would surely be there with her arms outstretched.

There would be no pain, fear, or loss, just happiness and tranquility.

Kalie squared her shoulders and straightened her spine.

She would not face Iliana as a sniveling coward. She was stronger than that.

Some of her backstabbing Azurian Guards were posted on either side of the throne room’s towering doors. Their faces flushed, and they averted their eyes as Kalie glared at them. They deserved to feel ashamed. It was their betrayal that had led her here in the first place.

As the legionnaires hauled open the doors to the throne room, her blood boiled.

Traitor .

On the dais, Selene lounged on a stool beside Iliana’s throne. Lexie’s stool, Aunt Calida’s throne.

“You’re here.” Iliana pressed her fingertips to her gaping mouth. Aunt Calida’s crown of silver and sapphires glittered atop her raven-black hair. “I didn’t think you would actually come.”

“Ariah.” Kalie raised her chin. “You promised you would release her. ”

“The clone?” The legionnaire’s tone was dismissive, and Kalie dug her nails into her palms. “The Prime Minister never agreed to?—”

Iliana glared at him. “I’ve just delivered him his greatest enemy, which your men have failed to do for months. Call him. And take those wretched cuffs off, it’s not as if she’s going anywhere.”

Rough hands seized her arms, straining her joints as they tugged her hands back. Kalie winced and bit down on her tongue. With a metallic clink , the cuffs unlocked and thudded to the floor. Pinpricks of warmth stung her frozen fingers.

Legionnaires rolled a holoprojector onto the silk carpet, twisting the golden embroidery.

Taking a deep breath that smelled of lilies and springtime, Kalie straightened her aching spine and braced herself.

For Ariah, for Ariah, for Ariah . For Ariah, she would endure this final confrontation with that murderous, Zagan-damned tyrant.

For Ariah, her sister—her real sister, not the petty, backstabbing snake sitting at Iliana’s side—she would do anything.

Kalie glanced at Selene. Not her sister. Never her sister.

Selene wouldn’t meet her eyes.

A holo shimmered to life above the projector, and the back of an ornate armchair faced her as Carik’s voice rang through the hall. “Duchissa Iliana. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure? Do you have news of a victory?”

“Of sorts.” Iliana stretched an arm towards Kalie, opening her hand.

The holo swiveled, and Carik’s brows climbed as a smile curved at his lips. “Princessa Kalista! What a delightful surprise. Although you do look rather worse for wear.”

Kalie bit down on her tongue and willed back the repertoire of insults that sprang to mind. Any number of them would’ve made Mira proud, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She settled for glaring at him silently.

“You ought to make her kneel.” Carik flicked a hand, and two legionnaires shoved her down. “Traitors shouldn’t be allowed to stand so brazenly in the presence of Her Majesty. ”

Pain shot through Kalie’s knees as they slammed into the floor. Setting her jaw, she glowered at Carik.

Iliana frowned, but she didn’t overrule him.

“I made a deal with Kalista that if she surrendered, I’d release her spy and you’d break off your attacks, spare her friends, and let Miss Rivers go.

As you can see, she turned herself in. I’ll hand her over to you if you return Miss Rivers to Dali and order your forces to retreat to Oeksa.

You must understand, it’s important that I maintain a reputation for trustworthiness among my people. ”

Scowling, Carik turned to Iliana. “And pray tell, Duchissa, what makes you think you have the authority to make deals in my name?”

“I saw an opportunity to defeat a mutual enemy, and I seized it.”

“And what is to stop me from simply taking what is mine?”