My

  hands still shook, so I kept them at my sides, I didn't want to give

  anyone the incorrect idea that it was from any reason besides a

  lingering exhaustion from stretching my powers towards their full

  extent. Despite the serious looks on the faces of Mari and Mistra, I

  did not feel any remorse or regret.

  The

  remnants of the men had been swept and pried from the floor by

  terrified servants, the work hastily done by two of the older and

  more trusted servants. Mari had hand picked both of the women, having

  known them long enough to be confident of their allegiance, though

  being commoners it would only be a matter of time before the word

  spread that the entourage had

  perished. I did not know for certain if any of the commoners would

  know King Leon had been among the men, but it was likely someone who

  saw them enter would put the pieces together.

  "Your

  father is going to want Toria's head on a pike," Mari said to

  Mistra. She sat in the closet seat to the throne, her eyes glancing

  back to the soot-stained spot where the king had perished. "He

  may have no love for human monarchs, but he is in no way ready for

  any sort of war yet."

  "Is

  the late king's kingdom prepared for war?" Mistra questioned.

  "Not

  according to traditional measures," Mari admitted, "but

  it's not like we pose much of a threat to them. We still have a bunch

  of wide-eyed little girls, not a band of hardened war witches yet."

  "They

  don't know that," Mistra countered. "This kingdom is not

  heavily talked about in general political circles, it is mostly

  whispered on the lips of commoners. Even then, the talk is often a

  tale of great magical power not to be trifled with. Surely that was

  enhanced by the fact a Yser used to be their queen."

  "The

  commoners of the kingdom are aware of our reputation," I

  confirmed. "Though my father was not overly impressed with the

  rumor. My mother being weak did not help his perspective."

  Mari

  straightened up in her chair and shook her head. "I can't

  believe the both of you are this calm. Toria has assassinated another

  monarch, her father no less, and has risked a premature war."

  "I

  could not allow the disrespect to stand." I leaned back in my

  throne and set my hands on the arms, holding the golden furniture to

  further steady myself. "I do not begin to think that any other

  monarch would have allowed anyone, even a foreign king, to belittle

  their power and literally spit on the floor in front of them."

  "Execution

  still likely would not have been on their mind," Mari said, a

  bit of sternness in her voice.

  "Perhaps

  it should be," Mistra

  murmured.

  Mari

  snapped her eyes to Mistra. A

  look of cold wariness passed over her features.

  "I

  reminded Toria to stay level-headed and not start an early war before

  the entourage arrived,” Mistra

  explained, “but

  I cannot deny that their demise did not cross my mind as well.

  Certain things are simply not tolerable, no matter the status of the

  offender."

  "Hmm,"

  Mari murmured, her eyes shifting between the two of us, "I think

  both your judgments are dangerously clouded for different reasons.

  This will not all blow over, we must be prepared and carefully plan

  how we are going to appease Rafe."

  "There

  is no need to tell him," Mistra said with a shrug, "having

  an ally never means letting them in on all their secrets."

  Mari's

  face screwed up into an incredulous look, like she had just taken a

  bite of something disgusting. "You can't be suggesting we keep

  him in the dark about this," she

  said with a short, disbelieving chuckle. "You're his daughter,

  you know better than anyone that prolonging the inevitable only makes

  it several times worse when he finally does discover it."

  "He

  need never discover it." I raised my head high and let out a

  long, controlled breath. "We are the only ones who truly know

  what happened, so unless one of us plans on telling him, he will

  never know for sure."

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "You

  can't be serious," Mari said with a raised eyebrow. "Of

  course he will eventually find out. It is known that King Leon left

  his kingdom with his men in tow, destined for here, then never

  returned. It does not take a great deal of thought to put the pieces

  together."

  "And

  yet, what will he do if I deny?" I

  countered.

  Mari

  cast a glance towards my consort and cracked a half-smile. "Far

  be it from me to stir the pot in this way, but your consort has a

  major reason to tell her father the truth. The admission would put

  her in even better grace with her father, who is not an easy man to

  garner favors from."

  Mistra

  let out a light light and placed her hand on my arm. "I am not

  some traitorous commoner with eyes wide at the idea of gaining power

  through such means. It would be ridiculous of me to jeopardize my

  position as consort to the Queen Yser, this position allows me to

  have powers in both the demon and human realms. There are a slim few

  who can earnestly make that claim. My lips are firmly sealed on the

  matter and had you not brought it up, the possibility would have

  never even crossed my mind."

  My

  blood pressure rose slightly and I felt my cheeks warm at the

  suggestion that Mistra might be tempted to betray me to gain power.

  It was not often I felt true anger towards Mari, but I felt a sharp

  retort blossom

  on

  my tongue, poised to cut her down to size. I had to physically put my

  tongue between my teeth and clench my jaw to prevent myself from

  saying anything before I had a moment to calm down.

  "I

  am not trying to be accusatory," Mari continued,

  "merely trying to do my job of quelling the possibility of more

  backlash against Toria."

  "I'm

  sure that is your intent," Mistra said, an edge to her voice,

  "but perhaps it is best in that case to not alienate the people

  already in your corner."

  Mari

  said nothing, but bowed her head in acceptance, though her face gave

  away that she did not necessarily agree, but would not press the

  issue further.

  "Rafe

  need not to know for now," I declared. "I do not need to

  even consider the idea that anyone in this room would betray my

  wishes. If he is suspicious and makes an accusation, we will deny it.

  While I do owe the demon court reverence and allegiance, I refuse to

  completely forfeit my power to them. The secrets and happenings in my

  court are none of their business unless I deem them to be."

  Mari's

  head almost imperceptibly shook with her disagreement, but she then

  locked eyes with me and let out a sigh. "Yes, my queen, I will

  keep a monitor on the gossip and anything more official." She

  stood and smoothed the wrinkles from her dress, casting a glance

  towards Mistra in a way I didn't particularly like. "I hope we

  are able to keep the leak of information to a minimum, the last thing

  we need right now is Rafe to overreact and do anything rash."

  "That

  is for me to worry about," I

  replied stiffly.

  She

  inclined her

  head to me again and looked toward the soot mark still on the floor.

  It looked as if she was prepared to say more, but instead turned and

  marched to the door, closing it behind her without another word said.

  Mistra and I sat in the silence for a long moment, the tingle of

  magic in the air still fading.

  "She

  really does not trust me." Mistra's normally light and even tone

  had been replaced by something more cold and serious.

  I

  nodded, still mulling over my anger towards my aunt's obvious

  accusations. It was out of character for her, generally she had been

  accepting of my consort's position as a confidant and advisor, it had

  not been directly called into question before. There had to be some

  mechanism behind her sudden change of heart, though I could not see

  an obvious one yet.

  "A

  monarch cannot have their two closest confidants at odds," she

  continued. "That will only end up with distrust being bred into

  you. I'm not implying that you will turn against one of us, but many

  monarchs have fallen into such situations. I would not want you to

  end up finding yourself considering a choice between myself and your

  family."

  I

  did not want to even imagine having to make that decision. I felt a

  deep affection for Mari as not only family, but as my savior. I owed

  her my upbringing and seat on the throne and I would not be able to

  easily turn my back on that. However, I could also not so easily

  forsake Mistra as well, we both knew too much about each other's

  plans and aspirations. My consort would not forsake me, I knew far

  too much that would destroy her if I were to utter a single word of

  it to the wrong person.

  "I'm

  not sure how we went from worrying about retaliation from your late

  father's kingdom to me being a possible spy, but I think we need to

  be focused on the possibility of the former," she

  sighed.

  I

  turned my head to Mistra and nodded. "Eventually they will

  suspect and it is not like I was without reason to want his demise

  even before his gross disrespect."

  "How

  old would your brother be now?" she asked.

  "Perhaps

  around 12 years," I answered.

  "Old

  enough to start taking on some royal duties, but still young enough

  to need guidance." A thoughtful look crossed her face followed

  by the gentle crack of a smile. " I doubt a war would be a wise

  idea with such a young regent, but I'm sure he will be pushed towards

  maturing quickly now." She leaned towards me and caught my eye

  as her smile grew bigger. "Perhaps even be guided towards

  choosing a wife."