Cali didn’t want to speak with him any longer. She was drawn to him in every way, and she hated it. How could she feel this for him, considering all he was trying to do?
It was so vile, so wrong. And yet, logical was the word he’d used, and she couldn’t help admitting he was right. King Emir had contracted a debt with the pirates. Something he should never have done. What had made the king withdraw from their agreement? Had made him stop allowing Captain Kelsey use of the crystal to speak with her father?
What had her father done to the boundary to cause the necrosis?
“Maybe you should ask her,” Cali said, making her voice as cold as she could muster.
Bae reared back, just enough. “You’re angry with me.”
“What else should I be?”
“You deceived me, Princess. I’ve been nothing but open about our plans.”
It wasn’t her choice to deceive him. She was only doing what she had to. But how could she defend herself without sounding pathetic? Or worse, letting him know she cared? Because whether she liked it or not, she did care, and it would come out if she spoke. She was an outsider, seeing both sides of the situation. Her heart ached for Soraya, for how she had to suffer the consequences of her father’s poor choice in an investor.
She didn’t know what Lunae Lumen was like before Captain Kelsey’s intervention. But it had to have been substantial, to appear as lustrous as it did now.
“Then answer this,” she said. “You suspected I wasn’t Soraya. Why did you take the risk of sailing with me? You knew what would happen.”
“Aye, that I did.”
“But you took me out there anyway. Without a word of warning.” The anger of it seethed through her teeth, mingling with confusion from his earlier admission.
The corner of his mouth drew up in the most intriguing way, a seductive quirk, saved for secrets. “What is life without risks?”
“They’re better untaken,” she argued. “You were risking your own life as well as mine.”
“Just because I risk my own life doesn’t mean I don’t care about living. Not the same thing.” His voice was the strum of a guitar and the melody sang along with it. Was he saying something else? That he cared about her?
Before she could figure out what to say, a guard stormed past, stopping at the mouth of the gardens and gripping the sword at his belt. “There you are, sir. Your father is requesting your presence.”
Sir. So this wasn’t one of Soraya’s guards. Had the rove found Roland? Were the guards who were still loyal to the Cressidas gathering even now?
“And yours, Princess,” the man said
“Mine?” Cali couldn’t mask her shock. Did the pirate king know she had been eavesdropping?
“He insists you hurry, Your Highness. He’s postponing his announcement until the two of you are present.”
Cali cursed under her breath, dropping her eyes to the glitz foil and firethorn. She was so close—she only needed to find one more plant. Why did the king have to summon her now?
“Very well,” she said. “I’ll come just as soon as we’ve found—”
Bae caught her arm, warning in his gaze. A chill swept down her spine at that look. What did he mean by it?
“We can’t ignore it any longer,” he said. “Shall we?”
Cali glowered at him. She didn’t take his arm, but treaded forward before he could say another word.
Chapter 17
The throne room hummed with nervous tension. One long stretch of blue carpet led from the gaping keyhole-arched door down the room’s span to the single throne with its back pointing up in a similar shape to the door. A domed ceiling plaited with honeycomb designs rose above them. Motifs with pointed arches adorned the walls along the way, depicting geometric, interconnecting patterns gilded with sparkling gold.
A multiple-pendant chandelier dangled from the dome’s center, and the room, like everywhere else in the palace, brought a sense of harmony and delicacy to the kingdom. Delicacy that was about to be shattered by the man standing beside King Emir’s empty throne.
Captain Kelsey wore a navy-blue coat with wide lapels that reached his knees, a revolver tucked into a sash at his side. A tricorn hat nestled on his head, topped with an angled white feather.
White. The color of surrender. Of purity. Cali wanted to tear it to shreds.
A parade of patrons stood along the left wall, from the highest born nobles in their embroidered finery, to the staff Cali had met her first day here, to mere sailors, stern-faced, sunburned, and bemused at the unease on display around them.
Cali recognized Ayat’s round build, along with the three other girls who’d been considered to stand as Soraya her first day here, as well as Lenora, the girl who’d helped her find a dress to serve at the banquet in, and Dorin and the other woman who’d laughed when Cali suggested she wanted to find an apothecary. Guards were crammed in, barring the doors, and Cali and Bae were escorted to stand on the dais near the throne.
A door behind a drapery of stunning teal opened, and Princess Soraya was manhandled roughly into the room by another guard. Cali’s eyes widened. Not only at Soraya’s appearance, but also because the guard herding her in also carried a dead rove in his hands.
A cannon ball sank in Cali’s stomach.
Filo. So the rove hadn’t helped them after all. If anything, it had betrayed them. Or the guard holding it had.
Cali hadn’t ever seen Soraya’s Roland. But from the smirk on the handsome guard’s face and the tears in Soraya’s eyes, the other princess had been deceived by him, too.
That guard was her Roland. She’d put her trust in the wrong person.
“Let me guess,” Bae said, bending to whisper in Cali’s ear. “That’s the real Soraya.”
A bitter seed planted in Cali’s chest at the calloused words. She tried to catch her cousin’s eyes, which were bloodshot. Cali should never have left her alone.
Captain Kelsey raised his arms, signaling for the bystanders to quiet down.
“Thank you for your patience while we found my son and the princess. Young love isn’t easily torn from their solitude, it seems.”
Several of the guards chuckled. Cali glared at them, especially at the guard still holding Soraya’s dead bird. He didn’t notice, busy as he was returning Soraya’s betrayed, pain-filled glower with one of bemusement.
Captain Kelsey slunk over. Rested a hand on the side of the empty throne. “I have an important announcement to make. Your revered King Emir was found dead in one of his council chambers about an hour ago.”
A communal gasp swept through the room. Cali locked eyes with Soraya, then flicked a quick peek at Bae. If he knew his father had been the culprit, he showed no sign of it.
Captain Kelsey went on. “I’m sorry for the loss of your leader. But as the position is now open, I invite Princess Soraya to stand forward.” He gestured to Cali with a heavily ringed hand.
Cali’s entire body went numb. Something was off about this. He knew who she really was.
“Princess?” Kelsey said, lowering his hand. “Not coming?” Any hint of surprise in his tone was lacking. “I wonder why. Also, I’m curious why you don’t seem distraught at the loss of your father. This girl, on the other hand—”
He gestured to the real Soraya, and Roland, still gripping her elbow, ushered her forward. Soraya winced at his touch, shrinking from the sight of Filo in his other hand.
“She’s grief-stricken enough. It’s almost as though she saw the event happen. Won’t you tell the court who you are?”
“We know who she is,” a noblewoman from the sidelines shouted. “That is Princess Soraya.”
Captain Kelsey feigned surprise. “Is she? Then who is this imposter?”
Someone gripped Cali’s elbow as well, ripping her away from Bae’s side and shoving her forward to stand on the dais beside her cousin. Cali wanted to hug her, to tear her away from this awful scene. But they were both trapped.
Kelsey swaggered forward,
a hand on the revolver at his belt. “Are you Soraya?”
Cali lifted her chin. “No.”
“And yet, King Emir introduced you as such to me yesterday. Why would he do such a thing?”
Cali’s eyes slid to Captain Kelsey’s. They were the same heartbreaking blue shade as his son’s, but they held a teaspoon full of wicked delight.
“It seems,” the captain said, “King Emir was a liar.”
No one protested. No one dared move. Cali melted under the heat of his despicable attention. She wished he would look somewhere—anywhere—else but at her. Finally, he turned to the bystanders and raised his voice.
“And not only a liar, but your king was also a thief. I have proof here of money borrowed and never repaid, money enough to render your kingdom bankrupt.”
“I don’t believe you,” said one man in a red suit.
Captain Kelsey smiled at the challenge in the man’s voice. “Your diamond mines collapsed. Your economy was suffering as it never had before. I’ve been supplanting the income those mines provided for some time now. His intentions were to borrow money from me only until the mines could be reopened, but the collapse has never been repaired. The documentation is all here.”
He gestured for another guard to bring an overstuffed file, which leaked slips of papers out the sides like a sandwich with too much lettuce.
“King Emir made a bargain with me during the last few days I’ve been in your kingdom. In exchange for such a vast debt, my son would be permitted to court his daughter with the intention of eventually wedding her. Unfortunately, like his dishonest financial actions with me, he was also dishonest about this.”
“Take care of how you speak of the dead,” cautioned another guard, a shorter, older man with graying sideburns. Cali breathed in short-lived relief, doing what she could to memorize his features, the lines around his eyes, his wide forehead. At least not all of them were loyal to Kelsey. Soraya looked toward him with gratitude as well.
Kelsey ignored this. “You can imagine my surprise to discover the young lady my son was becoming acquainted with was not, in fact, Princess Soraya Keilani Cressida of Lunae Lumen, but a charlatan. Indeed, your king seemed shrouded in lies. And now, your king is dead.”
“Treason,” someone shouted. “You’re the liar!”
“I have his signature here, signing over his kingdom to me on the chance he couldn’t pay his debts. That debt was never met.”
Unease began to stir among the crowd.
“It’s now my obligation to inform you that my son, Baelor Kelsey, is your new king.” Kelsey spoke with pride. It was the pronouncement of a man who’d just gotten everything he wanted.
“Impossible,” someone cried.
Captain Kelsey flicked a hand. One of the onlooking sailors raised a revolver. Without an ounce of hesitation, he shot the protestor straight in the chest.
Screams tore the air. Men and women in formal dress ducked to the floor, covering their heads with their hands while the man who’d shouted against Kelsey toppled in his own blood on the white marble floor. Several of the sailors laughed, nudging one another as though witnessing a good joke.
“You can’t do this,” Cali shouted. Blood pounded in her ears. She tried catching Bae’s eyes—he couldn’t think this behavior was acceptable. He couldn’t. But his attention was on the slowly unraveling nobles. One woman fanned herself with her hand, while the man beside her caught her by the elbows before she passed out.
“But I can, Princess,” Kelsey said. “If you’d care to peruse the documents, you’ll see it’s completely legal, which presents me with another problem.”
Cali glanced at Soraya, willing her to speak up in defense of her kingdom. But what good would it do? If King Emir signed those documents as Kelsey claimed, the deal was done.
Soraya stood still as a statue, frozen from the shock of it all. She hadn’t heard Bae’s explanations in the garden earlier, so she hadn’t been prepared for something like this, not the way Cali was.
“Because of your king’s cowardice, Bae has spent the last few days courting a different princess than Soraya. It turns out this young lady is Soraya’s cousin, Caliana, from the kingdom of Zara.”
Ayat’s eyes widened. Cali’s cheeks heated as she took in the hateful scowls directed at her. This wasn’t her fault. She’d only been doing as she was told. What she had to do. She wished she could hide behind the plants in her arms, but instead she kept her chin up, gaze level with the crowd.
“There is no such place,” someone shouted.
“I assure you there is,” Kelsey said. “It seems Bae has developed feelings for this young lady. It would be unfair to force him into an alliance with the deceitful daughter of your deceased king when the girl he cares for is destined to rule another kingdom.”
Cali felt as though she were on fire. Bae had feelings for her? Was this true, or was it just another tidbit spoken to appease the crowd? Meanwhile, something was happening to Soraya’s skin. It began to flick away like fish scales, leaving glistening gaps in its place.
“Therefore, there will be no alliance between the house of Cressida and Kelsey,” the captain said. “It was an act of mercy we were willing to offer, but the deception has been made clear. My son has no wish to align himself with a woman he doesn’t even know. With a woman who is a liar.”
Soraya began to tremble, as though the magic inside her was trying to take over and she was fighting to stop it.
“Say something,” Cali muttered to Bae.
“What am I supposed to say?”
“Stop him. Don’t do this.”
“It’s already done, Princess.”
How could he stand there while his father ordered guards to kill innocent people just for disagreeing?
Soraya’s body began to tremble. A rumbling sound shook the ground. More women screamed as the floor beneath their feet began to quake. Chills raked down Cali’s arms. Soraya’s head was bobbling, her eyes raising to the chandelier above, piercing it with golden beams of light from within her.
“What’s she doing?” Bae murmured.
The light beneath Soraya’s skin traveled from her eyes, snaking down her shoulders, her arms, and collecting in a single orb in her hands, like she’d shrunken the sun and wielded its power. Roland backed away in horror, dropping the dead rove to the floor. Other sailors and guards retreated, their faces mashed in fear.
But Captain Kelsey remained where he was, utter amusement on his face.
With a shriek that would put scraped metal to shame, Soraya thrust her hands in the captain’s direction, launching the glowing orb of angry magic directly at him.
Bae dropped to the floor. Captain Kelsey dove to the side, his tricorn hat tipping from his head. The sphere of glowing flame struck the throne instead, instantly creating a crackling bonfire of vengeance throughout the room.
Noblemen and women shrieked and scrambled for the exits. Sailors swore, calling out offhand remarks and shoving those in finery aside so they could be the first to leave. Even the guards did nothing to bar their way, but remained along the walls, gripping their belts.
Smoke crawled along the ceiling, clustering above the inferno. In minutes, the room was emptied save for those still standing near the dais with its burning throne.
Soraya panted. Her hands hung limply at her sides. Sweat dampened her hair. Her skin pieced together again, and she slumped to the floor beneath the gray haze.
Bae helped his father to his feet. Cali covered her mouth with her sleeve, searching for some way out. She couldn’t leave Soraya in here. Any minute, Captain Kelsey would attack Soraya as he’d done her father. What need would he have for the princess when he now had her throne?
Cali couldn’t stand by and watch him murder her cousin, too. Either way, she was going to die, whether she returned home or remained here. She might as well do it protecting her cousin.
Cali moved toward Soraya, pushing the other princess behind her, bracing her with an arm.
“Thank you, Princess Soraya,” Kelsey said, waving away the smoke. “That was exactly what I hoped to see.”
“What?” Cali said. Soraya trembled behind her, gripping her shoulders. The smell of smoke tinged the air with hints of destruction and despair.
“There won’t be any alliance between you and my son.”
“Then why keep her around?” Not that Cali wanted anything to happen to her. But Soraya was obviously in no state of mind to ask any questions, and Cali couldn’t figure out his angle. “Let her go. Let us both go.”
Captain Kelsey laughed. “That won’t be possible either.”
Bae stepped a few paces away from his father. He met Cali’s eyes with unapologetic confirmation. What did he want? What did they both want?
“Why not?”
“Because,” Kelsey said, gesturing to the guards. One knocked the plants from Cali’s arms, then moved around her and roped her arms behind her back. Roland tore Soraya away from Cali, restraining her as well. Kelsey strutted forward, meeting Soraya’s teary gaze. The orange pillar of her throne burned behind him, blazing the loss of her father and her kingdom all at once.
“She’s going to destroy the boundary for me once and for all.”
Chapter 18
They blindfolded her. Cali was thrust into a carriage and herded off, her bound hands making it difficult to sit in the rocking, enclosed carriage. It was so different from the one Bae had taken her out in earlier. That had been open, airy, and welcoming. This carriage was a cage. Dark, enclosed, and secluded.
The suffocation she’d experienced on the drive home was nothing compared to losing the plants. She’d had them within her grasp and lost them. Cali had nothing now, no resources with which to return home, and her time here was nearly spent.
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