Theirs was not a love match, and Darya bore no children. Upon her death she gave the famed jewelry to her niece.
From there, the necklace made its rounds in Stel over the years, and eventually back into the direct line of governors. Governor Diana wore the necklace to a meeting of dissident Stellan lords and ladies who wanted the province to separate in the early reign of Queen Malka, in order to subtly remind them of the peace treaty symbolized by the marriage between Verlan and Darya, as well as show where her interests lay—in remaining a part of the empire. She quelled the movement to separate before it began.
Interestingly, the necklace’s absence was as significant as its presence. When Governor Ellian’s wife did not approve of her son’s choice of bride, she refused to gift the necklace to her to wear on her wedding day—as was the custom at the time. She also refused to pass it down to any of her son’s children, and it remained locked away until her death. The necklace had now become a symbol of approval and legitimacy within the Stellan ruling line.
By the time Lania of Stel—a beautiful daughter of a once-grand Stellan family that had fallen into poverty and disrepute—got her hands on it, it represented the power of Stel and its importance in the history of the empire. As such, it was an ideal symbol for her daughter, Pheronia, to prove her position and standing not just through her father, but through her Stellan mother as well.
—“Symbols of Power,” from Jewels of the Golden Empire by Ginevra, High Priestess of Mori, published 172 AE
It is a terrible burden you’ll have to carry,
but one I must pass on to you regardless.
- CHAPTER 46 - SEV
WHEN SEV HAD SNUCK into the tower the previous night, he’d been hoping for a chance to free Riella, and if he was lucky, to either free Veronyka too or to gather enough information for Commander Cassian to help her instead.
What he hadn’t expected was to find out that Lord Rolan was on his way, poised to marry Veronyka—who was actually Veronyka Ashfire, heir to the throne—or to learn that the Phoenix Rider who had imprisoned and handed her over was her sister, Val, the girl who’d threatened to cut Sev’s throat months previously. Was Val an Ashfire too, or was the sister thing a lie?
Sev stared, his brain whirling and spinning and tumbling out of control. He realized distantly that he should have put some of this together already—Veronyka had, after all, been raised by Ilithya, Avalkyra Ashfire’s spymaster. Was it so far a stretch to believe that Veronyka was an Ashfire kept safe by Ilithya for all those years?
When Lord Rolan first arrived, Sev had shrunk back, not wanting the man to notice his face—though the governor clearly had more important things on his mind. Then he’d simply followed the man up the stairs, pretending he was meant to be there like all the others. With Kade safely away from the tower, Sev could afford to be a bit more reckless.
When he reached the top, he peeked around the wall, heart hammering as he drank in the details. Veronyka stood there, looking stiff in her formal wear and completely different from the last time he’d seen her, mounted on her phoenix and hungry for blood. Her hands were clenched into fists as she faced Lord Rolan, and it couldn’t be clearer that she did not want to be here. Sev knew that, but it was one thing to know it and another to see it.
He had to help her. But how?
The problem was, Sev had to avoid being noticed by Lord Rolan and by Val, so he remained lurking in the hallway outside, poking his head in once or twice, but unsure how to proceed.
Just when he decided the best thing he could do was get out of there and get a letter to the commander, he peered through the open doorway one last time….
And locked eyes with Veronyka.
It was a strange thing, but he felt as though her gaze had taken him hostage—as if he were unable to look away, his eyes pulled to hers and held fast like a magnetic current.
Her expression was urgent, almost pleading, and a barrage of confusing sensations and images flickered across his waking vision. He staggered slightly, gripping the wall for support, when at last two clear words distinguished themselves from the deluge, whispered into his mind.