“Father—” Cal moves quickly, putting himself between the king and us. “He is your son. There must be another way.”
Tiberias stills, putting aside the father to become king again. He wipes away his tears with a brush of the hand. “When you wear my crown, you will understand.”
The queen’s eyes narrow into blue slits. Her eyes, they’re the same as Maven’s.
“Fortunately, that will never happen,” she says plainly.
“What?” Tiberias turns to her but stops halfway, his body frozen in place.
I’ve seen this before. In the arena, long ago, when the whisper beat the strongarm. Elara even did it to me, turning me into a puppet. Again, she holds the strings.
“Elara, what are you doing?” he hisses through gritted teeth.
She replies with words I cannot hear, speaking into the king’s head. He doesn’t like her answer at all. “No!” he yells as she forces him to his knees with her whispers.
Cal bristles, his fists exploding into flame, but Elara holds a hand out, stopping him in his tracks. She has them both.
Tiberias struggles, his teeth clenched, but can’t move an inch. He can barely even speak. “Elara. Arven—!”
But my old instructor doesn’t move. Instead, he stands quietly, content to watch. It seems his loyalties lie not with the king but with the queen.
She’s saving us. For her son’s life, she’s going to save us. We bet on Cal loving me enough to change the world; we should’ve looked to the queen instead. I want to laugh, to smile, but something in Cal’s face keeps my relief at bay.
“Julian warned me,” Cal growls, still trying to break her hold. “I thought he was lying about you, about my mother, about what you did to her.”
On his knees, the king howls. It is a wretched sound, one I never want to hear again. “Coriane,” he moans, staring at the floor. “Julian knew. Sara knew. You punished her for the truth.”
Sweat beads on Elara’s forehead. She cannot hold the king and the prince for much longer.
“Elara, you have to get Maven out of here,” I tell her. “Don’t worry about me, just keep him safe.”
“Oh, don’t you fret, little lightning girl,” she sneers. “I don’t think about you at all. Though your loyalty to my son is quite inspiring. Isn’t it, Maven?” She tosses a glance over her shoulder to her son, still shackled.
In response, his arms snap out, pulling apart the metal shackles with shocking ease. They melt off his wrists in globs of hot iron, burning holes in the floor. When he rises to his feet, I expect him to defend me, to save me like I’m trying to save him. Then I realize Arven still has hold of me, and the familiar feel of sparks, of electricity, has not returned. He’s still holding me back, even though he let Maven go.
When Cal’s eyes meet mine, I know he understands much better than I do. Anyone can betray anyone echoes louder and louder, until it howls in my ears like the winds of a hurricane.
“Maven?” I have to look up to see his face, and for a second, I don’t recognize him. He’s still the same boy, the one who comforted me, kissed me, kept me strong. My friend. More than my friend. But something is wrong in him. Something has changed. “Maven, help me up.”
He rolls his shoulders, cracking the bones to chase away an ache. His motions are sluggish and strange, and when he settles back on his feet, hands on his hips, I feel like I’m seeing him for the first time. His eyes are so cold.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“What?” I hear my voice like it’s coming from someone else. I sound like a little girl. I am just a little girl.
Maven doesn’t answer, but holds my gaze. The boy I know is still there, hiding, flickering behind his eyes. If I can just reach him— but Maven moves faster than me, pushing me away when I reach out.
“CAPTAIN TYROS!” Cal roars, still able to speak. Elara has not taken that from him yet. But no one comes running. No one can hear us. “CAPTAIN TYROS!” he yells again, pleading with no one. “EVANGELINE! PTOLEMUS, SOMEONE HELP!”
Elara is content to let him shout, enjoying the sound, but Maven flinches. “Do we have to listen to this?” he asks.
“No, I suppose we don’t,” she sighs, tipping her head. Cal’s body moves with her thoughts, shifting to face his father.
Cal panics, his eyes growing wide. “What are you doing?”
Beneath him, the king’s face darkens. “Isn’t it obvious?”
I don’t understand at all. I don’t belong here. Julian was right. This is a game I don’t understand, a game I don’t know how to play. I wish Julian were here now, to explain, to help, to save me. But no one is coming.
“Maven, please,” I plead, trying to make him look at me. But he turns his back, focusing on his mother and his betrayed blood. He is his mother’s son.
She didn’t care that he was in my memories. She didn’t care that he was part of all this. She didn’t even look surprised. The answer is frighteningly simple. Because she already knew. Because he is her son. Because this was her plan all along. The thought stings like knives running along skin, but the pain only makes it more real.
“You used me.”
Finally, Maven condescends to look back at me. “Catching on, are you?”
“You chose the targets. The colonel, Reynald, Belicos, even Ptolemus—they weren’t the Guard’s enemies, they were yours.” I want to tear him apart, lightning or not. I want to make him hurt.
I am finally learning my lesson. Anyone can betray anyone.
“And this, this was just another plot. You pushed me into this, even though it was impossible, even though you knew Cal would never betray his father! You made me believe it. You made all of us believe it.”
“It’s not my fault you were stupid enough to play along,” he replies. “Now the Guard is finished.”
It feels like a kick in the teeth. “They were your friends. They trusted you.”
“They were a threat to my kingdom, and they were stupid,” he fires back. He stoops, bending over me with his twisted smile. “Were.”
Elara laughs at his cruel joke. “It was too easy to slip you into their midst. One sentimental servant was all it took. How such fools became a danger, I’ll never know.”
“You made me believe,” I whisper again, remembering every lie he ever told me. “I thought you wanted to help us.” It comes out a whimper. For a split second, his pale features soften. But it doesn’t last.