Chapter Fifty-One – Scarlett
Chapter Fifty-One
Scarlett
Most people, when faced with the ultimate betrayal by their mother, would be furious.
When I thought about it, all it really seemed was inevitable.
I stood in the throne room of the Kalurian palace, staring out over the crowd of priestesses bowing before the throne – but I wasn’t the one sitting on that throne. I wasn’t the recipient of those bows and lowered eyes.
Instead, I was standing beside my mother. Cast off to one side, just like always.
Zandri dismissed the priestesses until we were alone in the echoing hall – alone except for Odessa.
My mother smiled at her, a fond smile, and murmured in her ear.
Odessa nodded and glided from the hall without sparing a glance for me.
I wasn’t privy to the deal they had made – whether because my mother had decided against trusting me or simply because she was too used to keeping secrets – but I knew that Zandri had put this into motion a long time ago.
I followed in Zandri’s wake as she strode through the stone fortress and down the stairwell leading to the dungeons.
‘What happens now?’ I asked, my chest tightening with every step. Was she taking me to the cells? To where Mira and Cassius and Lillian would be waiting?
‘Kasmira and your brother will be executed at dawn.’ Zandri’s voice was calm, the words matter-of-fact.
‘Odessa would like the honour of drawing first blood, as payment for Kasmira’s involvement in the deaths of her parents.
I promised her that months ago, when I visited her in the Ravalian dungeons. But the final strike will be yours.’
‘Mine?’
Zandri glanced at me. She was still dressed in blood-stained fighting leathers, but my eyes went to the crown on her head. Just the sight of it felt like a knife twisting in my heart.
It hurt almost as much as the realisation that Zandri had killed Aric. That she was now responsible for murdering two of my lovers.
And that I had been unable to save either of them.
But I didn’t let Zandri see the devastation on my face. Better that she thought I had swallowed her lies, that I still believed Severin had chosen to end his life without any assistance from her.
‘Yes. Yours.’ Cool fingers took hold of my face, until Zandri’s eyes were inches from mine. Dark and unreadable and as black as Velanthe’s. ‘If you want Kalure, you must be the one to execute Kasmira. To show your people that you are a ruler to be feared.’
To show her .
That was what she really meant. I knew it, because Zandri had once tried to force me to make a similar choice. Had thrown me in the dungeons with a rebel and a dagger.
‘ All you need to do is take one life. One life, Scarlett, and you will have access to your blood magic. You will be magnificent.’
Except I hadn’t been able to do it. Not when I stared into the woman’s face, lined with sadness and compassion. ‘What did you do to end up here with me?’ she had asked. ‘Why is the head of the Order of Masks punishing a child?’
I hadn’t tried to explain that in Zandri’s mind, this wasn’t a punishment. It was the ultimate act of love, from a mother determined to make her daughter invincible.
Zandri had left me in there for two days until she finally relented. And then she had killed the rebel anyway. Just to prove how useless my attempt at mercy really was.
But she had never forgotten my reluctance. Her displeasure had hung over me ever since.
‘I never intended to rule Kalure,’ I reminded Zandri. ‘I intended to rule the Ravalian Empire.’
‘And you will,’ Zandri said, her tone placating. ‘Once you prove yourself by executing Kasmira, I will make you my heir. You will rule the Ravalian Empire, Scarlett – just not as soon as you hoped for. But Kalure is still a prize. And it will be all yours. Yours to shape as you wish.’
Severin had warned me. He had told me that Zandri would always be the puppet master. And now here she was, pulling my strings. Dance, puppet, dance .
But what was she actually offering me? I would rule Kalure in her name, and supposedly I would inherit the Ravalian Empire one day, if she ever decided to give it up. If she didn’t find a way to cling to eternal youth like Velanthe had. I wouldn’t put such a thing past her.
In the meantime, I would have to wait. Be patient. Trust in her promises.
Trust wasn’t something that came naturally to me.
‘I didn’t expect such hesitation,’ Zandri said, her eyes intent on mine. ‘It’s a generous offer.’
‘But not what you promised.’
Zandri smiled – a flash of white teeth. A hint of a threat. ‘I promised that you would be empress one day. That promise still stands.’
An empress of ashes. That was what I would be – because that was all that would be left to rule over.
I tensed as we reached the level where the cells waited. But Zandri continued deeper into the bowels of the earth, the darkness broken by the magical flame blazing in her palm.
‘This is the only part of the original palace that still exists.’ A trace of pride entered her voice as she slowed to a stop.
I knew immediately who this workroom belonged to.
Like my mother’s austere tower in Ravalia, the benches were cluttered with jars and vials – ingredients for her magical experiments.
As I walked amongst them, I noticed other things: remnants of Zandri’s past. There were very few; letters discarded in a pile, a woven tapestry depicting her hunting prowess.
But it was the portrait on the wall that captured my attention.
It was clearly meant to be a family portrait, probably commissioned by the king and queen of Kalure at the time, who stood proudly behind their two children. Yet their faces were burned and charred beyond recognition.
Only the daughter’s face was visible, her dark eyes glittering coldly down at me. And I knew that the painting of Zandri’s family was nothing more than a reminder of her failings – and her strength in cutting them down.
‘Why did you bring me here?’ I asked, turning to look at the adult version of my mother.
‘Despite my best efforts,’ she said, ‘there is a weakness in you. A humanity. I wanted you to see that I was the same once. I had a family I cared about, who ultimately betrayed me – all because I hesitated to do what needed to be done. If I had killed my brother when I had the chance, I would have ruled Kalure, and a great deal of bloodshed could have been avoided. I’m giving you the chance to learn from my mistakes. ’
‘No,’ I said, my voice hard. ‘You’re testing me.’
Zandri raised her chin. ‘I’m making you strong. As I always have.’
I had noticed the wrongness of Zandri’s eyes before, hadn’t I? But I had never known the true implications of what that colour meant. Not until I met Velanthe.
I thought of Velanthe now, of the hunger in her black eyes as she had prepared to cut me open. Like Velanthe, Zandri was willing to do whatever it took to succeed. Even betray her own daughter.
And still a treacherous part of me yearned for her approval. Clinging to the belief that we were a team. That she loved me.
‘What happens if I don’t execute Mira and Cassius?’
Zandri laughed, as if I was being ridiculous. ‘Why wouldn’t you? All your life, you’ve been surrounded by obstacles. I’m simply giving you a chance to cut them down – like you’ve always wanted.’
Except Cassius and I had come to an understanding. Except Mira and I had started to form a friendship. Except–
Cool fingers took hold of my hands, turning them over. I stared uncomprehendingly at the black veins darkening my palms, remembering how I had used up all the death magic I had invited into me.
‘That’s not possible,’ I breathed, even as Zandri’s skin darkened, my deadly power flooding into her without my consent–
I immediately snatched my hands out of her grasp. A few seconds later, the veins faded – but my horror didn’t.
You become as poisonous as the death you wield . The seer’s warning was deafening in my mind.
I felt sick as I watched the black veins webbing across my skin. I had thought I could control this power – could keep my death magic contained within me. But if I couldn’t . . . I would kill anyone who touched me.
And I would be alone. Completely and utterly alone.
‘Look at how powerful you are,’ Zandri crooned, also watching those black veins – but with satisfaction rather than wariness. ‘No one other than me could hope to stand against you now. Certainly not Kasmira or your half-brother.’
‘And if I fail?’ I had asked her this question once before – before I assassinated my father. In her silence, I had heard the answer: there was no room for failure. Failure meant death.
That time, the threat of death had come from Emperor Kalias and his Warriors. This time, the threat came from her.
‘If you fail, you would have proven yourself unworthy. And I will choose someone else to rule Kalure in my place.’
‘And what happens to me then?’
Zandri shrugged, but her eyes remained cool and assessing. ‘I suppose that would no longer be my concern.’
I couldn’t quite believe her. I wanted to, but the painting above me was a grotesque reminder of how Zandri dealt with threats – she killed them.
‘But none of this matters, because you won’t fail.’ Zandri’s gaze softened, and the strength of her belief surprised me. It reminded me of the way she had looked at me before I left Ravalia. Her certainty that I would succeed.
‘How can you know that?’
‘Because you remind me of myself. Of who I used to be.’ Zandri ran a finger along a jar with a human heart trapped inside.
‘I told you that I was unsure, once. But I chose power over love. Magic over mercy. And I know you will do the same. I know you will, because I’ve watched you make similar choices for years. ’
The truth of her words hit home. I had chosen power over Severin. I had chosen magic over countless lives.
All I had to do was make the same choice once more, and I could have Kalure. And if my mother didn’t give me the Ravalian Empire . . . then in time, I could take it. Perhaps that was what she intended all along.
A final demonstration of my ruthlessness. A final test.
Or perhaps, if that day ever came, she would kill me. After all, she was the one who had always advised me to choose power over love. And she had already let me die once.
‘Compassion is weakness,’ Zandri reminded me, turning away from the doomed family that looked down at us from above. ‘Rulers need to be able to do what is necessary, even if that means sacrificing others. If the roles were reversed, Kasmira and your brother would have to make the same decision.’
That much was true. But they wouldn’t choose this – an execution and a coronation in one.
I thought of Cassius telling me he didn’t want to kill his way to power. I thought of how Mira had saved me when she could have left me in a comatose state.
They weren’t as ruthless as Zandri. I knew that now.
And no longer did I feel the same need to arm myself against them. To commit monstrous acts in the name of my own protection.
‘What if . . .’ I glanced up into my mother’s coldly perfect face. ‘What if I don’t want to be like you?’
‘Then you’ve already lost.’
I didn’t follow Zandri back to the main palace. Instead, I found myself walking through the dungeons.
It was difficult to read Cassius’s expression as I paused outside his cell, but there was no trace of the warmth we’d shared during our battle with Roran.
‘Can you save her?’
I saw how much those words cost him. Cassius had always hated asking me for anything, and he would hate it even more now that he was at my mercy. But still he asked – not for himself, but for the woman he loved.
‘Why would I?’ I said at last, keeping my voice cool. Conscious of the guards listening to every word.
‘Because Mira saved your life, and you owe her.’
‘Not a good enough reason.’
‘She’s also your cousin. Your family.’
‘What makes you think I care about that?’
Cassius tilted his head. ‘I think we both know you do. Just like we both know you weren’t working with Zandri.
Mira might believe you betrayed us again, but I saw your shock.
You weren’t expecting her arrival any more than we were.
And I doubt you were expecting to see her wearing our father’s crown. ’
I didn’t reply, but my lips curved into a tiny, bitter smile that I knew Cassius would take as confirmation.
‘When will it happen?’ he asked, approaching the bars. ‘The execution?’
‘Tomorrow morning,’ I replied without inflection. ‘I’m to be your executioner.’
‘You can tell Zandri no,’ Cassius said with unexpected softness. As though he somehow felt sorry for me .
It was too much. I almost turned away from him, but instead I pressed closer to the bars.
‘No one tells Zandri “no”,’ I said, projecting my voice for the guard’s benefit. ‘Not without consequences.’
Intrigue sparked in Cassius’s dark blue gaze as my fingers brushed his – too quickly for my death magic to harm him. A seemingly innocent gesture from a sister who was saying goodbye.
I didn’t look back as I swept out of the dungeons. But I knew that when it was safe, Cassius would unfold the note I had written him.
Six short, hastily scrawled words that would change everything.
I have a plan.
Trust me.