Page 75 of The First Spark (Dynasty of Fire #1)
A lump swelled in Kalie’s throat as she held the ring up to the limited light. Other than the gem, the band was simple and unadorned. In Aunt Calida’s massive collection of rings, it wouldn’t have stood out.
Yet of all her jewelry, this was what Aunt Calida had wanted to give Lexie.
“You know…” Kalie scuffed her shoe in the snow. “I’m not just her daughter. ”
Wind whistled past, stinging Kalie’s skin. A collection of decaying leaves circled them twice, then flitted away in the breeze.
When she summoned the courage to look up, Mother wore a tiny smile. It was so small that it would’ve been easy to miss, but her eyes shone with the quiet joy she’d seen every time Aunt Calida had looked at her.
Mother lifted the back of her pale blonde hair and unclasped Coriana Roth’s diamond pendant, motioning for her to turn.
Kalie’s mouth gaped open.
Again, Mother motioned for her to turn. She did.
“Lift your hair.”
Gathering the thick golden strands, Kalie pulled them over her shoulder. Chills raced across her skin as Mother’s cold fingers brushed against her neck, clasping the necklace.
The cool diamond pendant settled on her chest, and Mother’s glacial eyes glittered.
Were those… tears?
Kalie dropped her gaze to the sparkling pendant. As she raised her hand, with Aunt Calida’s ring on her third finger, she could’ve sworn a violet aura surrounded the gemstone.
The two pieces didn’t go together at all, an elegant diamond necklace and a gaudy violet ring, but they felt right together. Both of them were a part of her.
She smiled at Mother, and as Mother blinked her tears away, she smiled back.
“With the power vested in me by Queen Azura, I now present Her Majesty, Duchissa Kalista Hannover. Long live the Duchissa!”
The deafening cheer drowned out the trumpets and fanfare.
Kalie grinned. Judging by the crowds packed onto the mountain ledges and the veritable armada of boats in the lake below, every Dalian on the planet had come to watch her coronation .
A priestess placed Aunt Calida’s crown on her head.
The aged woman stepped back, and as Kalie thrust a replica of Azura’s Scepter high into the air, light glinted off her violet ring.
Another raucous cheer rang out as confetti rained down on her.
Laughing, she batted it away and smoothed her sapphire cloak, brushing her fingers across the white embroidery.
Behind her, her family crowded around the gleaming throne.
A miniature Heredem’s coronet was perched on Lida’s head, and as Theron and Sadini held their daughter, a rare smile curved at Theron’s lips.
Rian lingered off to the side, with Danae beaming in his shadow.
Mother stood between Father and Uncle Jerran.
Her fingers were pressed to her lips, and her teary eyes hovered on Kalie’s crown.
Kalie smiled at her.
Selene had gone crawling back to Etov, but the news that Mother had disowned her and sentenced her to exile had quickly splashed through the tabloids.
“I didn’t tell them who your allies were,” Selene had said in a desperate voicemail afterwards, as if that made it better, as if her betrayal hadn’t cost the lives of thousands and put Mylis through hours of agony. Kalie hadn’t spoken to her since.
Drawing in a deep breath, she strode to the edge of the stone platform.
“Before we conclude this ceremony, I have two awards to bestow.” Passing the scepter to a priestess, she raised a gold medallion. “I’m honored to present Azura’s Medal of Honor, for loyalty and bravery of the highest order, to Mylis Grant, newly restored Count of Oakwood.”
Mylis’s hoverchair hummed across the platform. Deep purple bags ringed his bloodshot eyes, but he flashed her a shaky grin.
Kalie’s lips twitched into a weak smile.
It would take some time to chase away the memory of the pulser and his betrayal—but it hadn’t really been a betrayal at all.
Her investigators had confirmed that. Fixing that thought firmly in mind, she let the hard edges of her smile soften into something a little kinder.
He had suffered more than any of them. They could heal from this, together .
He clenched his jaw, pushed himself up, and sank to his knees at her feet. His face crumpled, and he hunched forward.
Kalie winced. He should’ve stayed in the hoverchair.
He bowed his head, and she hung the gold medallion around his neck. She’d done the same for Julian days ago at the ceremony promoting him to Vice Admiral, and she’d given Calla’s Order of Valor to Haeden at Ariah’s bedside.
Gazing down at the gold medal, Mylis brushed his fingers across the ribbon in awe.
“Guardsman Grant, in light of your service, I’m proud to swear you in as the Lieutenant of my Azurian Guard. Please repeat after me. I, Mylis Grant…”
He echoed the oath of service, and Kalie fixed a pin to the collar of his uniform.
“You may rise.”
Mylis pushed himself to his feet and collapsed into his hoverchair. Sweat trickled down his strained features.
Kalie bit back a sigh. His doctors would have strong words for him later.
“I now present Lieutenant Mylis Grant, Count of Oakwood!”
As the countryside erupted into cheers, Mylis shook his head. “I can’t believe… This is crazy. Thank you, Kalie. Thank you.”
Kalie covered her microphone. “I should be thanking you.”
A flash of a pulser ripped through her mind, bringing with it soul-chilling fear, then she swallowed and replaced those memories with his broken confession. Her eyes landed on a livid red scar peeking out from his collar, and the doubts whispering in the back of her mind vanished.
“You deserve all of it.”
Mylis’s grin broadened. He guided his hoverchair back to his spot in the line of guards, and for the first time since she’d met him, he seemed free.
Of course, he and Ariah would both need months of therapy to fully recover.
Kalie’s smile slipped away. The doctors hadn’t let her see Ariah since she woke up.
She was hallucinating, they said, and approaching her was dangerous.
Her room was a few doors from Mylis’s, though, and as soon as the doctors cleared it, she’d start morning visits to both of them.
Maybe she’d properly introduce them, so they could keep each other company.
Especially if one dance with Ariah had left enough of an impression that Mylis still remembered it, five cycles later.
A priestess cleared her throat, snapping her out of her daze. As she met Zane’s eyes, warmth spread across her cheeks.
“I’m also honored to present Azura’s Medal of Honor to Zander Wells, Baron of Avington.”
The crowd’s applause and thunderous cheers were louder than the cheers for her. Zane had become something of a celebrity after winning the duel.
Kalie beamed as he strode forward, waved to the crowd, and knelt before her with his crooked grin. His eyes didn’t leave her face.
She placed the gold chain around Zane’s neck, where Lysa’s military tag had been. He’d stopped wearing it a few days ago.
“Guardsman Wells, in light of your service, I’m pleased to swear you in as the Captain of my Azurian Guard. Please repeat after me. I, Zander Wells…”
As Zane repeated the oath, Kalie fastened a pin to the collar of his Captain’s uniform. He rose to his feet, and she called, “I now present Captain Zander Wells, Baron of Avington!”
The thunderous cheers that rang out were dull in Kalie’s ears. Zane was inches away and oh, gods , she wanted to kiss him. She wanted the warmth of his embrace, the touch of his lips to hers, whispered promises and sweet nothings—she wanted all of that, and more.
“Come find me later,” she murmured.
Zane winked. Her cheeks heated as he took his spot beside Mylis at the head of her guards.
Taking a deep breath to collect herself, Kalie turned to the crowd below.
“I want to take a moment to recognize all those who lost their lives to fight for freedom—fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. I won’t let their sacrifices be in vain, and I won’t let the murders of our people go unanswered. ”
A flash of white soared overhead, and Kalie’s mouth fell open as a snowy dove perched atop the Cathedral’s highest spire. Azura’s messenger, a gift from the heavens. A sign that someone, somewhere, was watching her—and approved.
“The days of tyranny are coming to an end,” she called, seizing the replica of Azura’s Scepter. “Our legend is only beginning. We will rise up. We will fight. And we will prevail. That, I promise you.”
With the cheers of the crowd and Zane’s radiant grin bolstering her, Kalie raised her chin and strode through the doors of Azura’s Cathedral as the Duchissa.