— CHAPTER TWELVE —

  Shattered

  I paced my chambers like a caged animal. The moonlight sliced through the curtains, casting thin ribbons of red, blue, and purple across the floor. My hands wouldn't stop shaking - not from fear, but from rage. Twenty years on the throne, and today I'd discovered I was nothing but a puppet with a crown. The realization burned in my chest, each breath fanning the flames higher.

  I open a drawer and stared at the photograph I'd managed to hold onto - the one I'd dropped. That child - that building. I had no words for the wall of fury rising in me, my thumb crumpling the edge of the photo until I dropped it back in its place and shoved the drawer closed.

  There I stood, braced against the desk and staring at the carpet until soft footsteps approached my door, followed by a woman's voice. Ariella's voice.

  "I'll watch the Queen. You're dismissed for now."

  "But Lord Cassius said-"

  "I am perfectly capable of protecting Her Majesty myself. You know my capabilities."

  A moment of hesitation, then the heavy footfalls of the guard retreating down the corridor. The door opened without a knock, and Ariella stepped inside.

  "Liv... come with me. You need fresh air."

  I didn't answer, just watched her with narrowed eyes.

  She held out her hand. "Please, Lavinia."

  I walked past her extended hand and into the hallway. She followed, close but not touching me. We moved through the silent palace corridors, our footsteps muffled on the thick carpets. Neither of us spoke until we reached the garden door, which Ariella unlocked with a small key from her pocket.

  The night air was cool, and the magnolia blossoms were as sweet as ever. Above us, all three moons hung in the sky. The same light that had illuminated us during our first kiss. The memory twisted inside me like a knife.

  We walked deeper into the garden. It was all very normal - constant. Every part of the palace was exactly the same as it had been for the past twenty-three years.

  "How are you feeling?" Ariella finally asked.

  The question lit the fuse of my anger. I whirled to face her.

  "How am I feeling?" I spat the words. "Everything around me is a lie! My kingdom, my court, my life. How do you think I feel?"

  Ariella reached for me. "Lavinia, please calm down. I understand you're upset-"

  "Upset?!" I backed away from her touch. "I'm not a child having a tantrum, Ariella! I've discovered my entire life is a fabrication! People are suffering, dying, while I've been kept in this... this cage!"

  "It's not... There are complexities to ruling a kingdom that-"

  "Don't." I held up my hand. "Don't feed me more lies. I've had enough of you to last a lifetime."

  "Lavinia, I've never lied to you."

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  The words broke something inside me. "Oh, I'm sure! You're the worst part of all of this! Every word, every touch, every moment between us - was any of it real?! Or just another duty assigned by Lord Cassius to keep the puppet Queen distracted?"

  "That's not fair. There is only so much I could-"

  "Fair? Fair?! I heard him, Ariella! I heard your father telling you to 'increase your efforts' to secure our marriage. Was that your mission all along? To seduce the naive Queen and tie the Winters family to the throne?"

  "My father's motives and mine happened to align." she said. "That doesn't make my feelings any less real."

  "Stop lying!" I screamed. "I'm sick of your lies!"

  Something snapped inside me. I lunged forward, my fist swinging toward her face. Ariella stepped back, her eyes widening before flaring a stormy gray. The air around me suddenly thickened, pressing against my skin from all sides. I couldn't move.

  "Lavinia, please." Ariella said, her voice steady. "I need you to calm down so we can talk about this."

  "Let. Me. Go." Each word forced out between clenched teeth.

  "Not until you're calm. I won't let you hurt yourself." Her eyes remained that dimly glowing gray. "I... need you to believe me. I need you. My feelings for you are real. They've always been real. Yes, my father wanted an alliance, but I-"

  "You what? Conveniently fell in love with your assignment?" I spat.

  "It wasn't like that. Please, Lavinia, you have to believe me."

  As she spoke, something happened inside me. A heat built in my chest, spreading outward to my limbs. It felt like liquid fire flowing through my veins, seeking escape. The pressure of Ariella's magic still held me, but I could feel something rising to meet it - something from within me.

  "How dare you." I whispered, and then screamed: "HOW DARE YOU!"

  The heat exploded outward from my body. Colorful sparks crackled around me, snapping and popping in the air. The magic holding me wavered, then broke entirely as my own power surged.

  Ariella stumbled backward, her eyes wide with shock. "Lavinia, your magic-"

  I didn't listen. Couldn't listen. The power coursing through me felt both foreign and familiar, like a sleeping part of myself suddenly awakened. Around us, magnolia petals began to sizzle and burn, falling from their branches in charred flakes.

  I rushed her again. This time, the magic in me was stronger, wilder, and Ariella couldn't hold me for a second. I crashed into her with all the hate and betrayal and heartbreak I'd stifled for years, and she stumbled. I raised my fist, ready to break her perfect, beautiful face, but my anger was already leaking out of me. My throat closed, and all I could manage was a choked sob.

  Ariella's arms came up, not to shield herself, but to catch me. I wanted to let her. I wanted to believe her. I wanted the comfort. I wanted the forgiveness.

  But... I couldn't bear it. Her hand felt like fire. Before I knew what I was doing, I shoved her away - hard.

  Her heels slipped on the mossy stones, and she fell. With a sickening crunch, her back slammed into the low wrought-iron fence that lined the flower beds. There was a horrible, wet sound, followed by a strangled gasp as one of the decorative spikes punched through her dress, through her ribs, and out the other side. Her head lolled, hair spilling into the bloody petals below.

  I froze. My vision tunneled: all I could see was the ruined blue fabric, the spreading stain, the bone-white knuckles clutching at the ironwork. Ariella's mouth worked soundlessly, her eyes darting from my face to the moons above us and back. She was trying to speak, but all that came out was thin, wet gasps.

  I dropped to my knees. "Ariella?" My voice was very small.

  She sat on the flagstones, legs sprawled, one hand braced on the ground. The other clutched her side, uselessly trying to stem the flow. She looked up at me, her eyes returning to that clear blue, no magic left in them, just terror and surprise.

  Her hand found mine, squeezing once, fiercely. She managed a wet, gurgling laugh. "It's okay. I had this coming, didn't I?"

  "Don't say that." I begged. I pressed both hands over the wound, trying to remember what the palace surgeons did, how they stopped the bleeding. "Don't say that. Don't say that!"

  "Shhh." she whispered, and for a second, the old smile was back. "It's alright. I never wanted to trap you. Just... wanted to be near you. Even if it meant... even if-" She coughed, spattering my arms with flecks of red.

  I sobbed, pressing my forehead to hers. I could feel her hairline pulse, faint and rapid. "Stay with me. Please."

  "We should have run away. I'm sorry I failed you, my general."

  Her grip loosened, and her arm slid off my wrist. I could feel the warm blood trickling down my hands.

  I held her body against mine, rocking back and forth, sobs tearing from my throat. The girl who had been my closest friend, my first love, my betrayer, my victim - gone in a moment.

  Behind me, boots pounded on the garden path. Guards, alerted by the flashes of magic and my screams, rushed toward us with weapons drawn.

  "Your Majesty!" one called out, then stopped short at the scene before him.

  I didn't look up. I couldn't take my eyes off Ariella's face. The moonlight caught in her honey-blonde hair, making it shimmer like a halo around her head.