glittering with diamonds. Beneath it, a crescent curved upward, like Ejarat cradling and receiving Sawehl’s brilliant light. A star flanked either side of the crescent, all of it shining with the pure clarity of perfect diamonds. It spoke less of Calanthe than of all the world, of the land flourishing under the benevolent fire of the sun and stars.
“It is pretty,” I echoed Con with a teasing smile, “but does it go with My gown?”
He didn’t tease back, turning it in his big hands, unexpectedly grave. With an almost reverent mien, he raised it and fitted it gently onto my head, the metal cool but warming rapidly. “I’d say it goes with the woman. It’s perfect for you.”
Looking in the mirror to check the position, I found it needed no adjusting. A perfect fit, indeed, as if it had been made for me. Ibolya with her finely honed timing returned then and clasped her hands at the sight, smiling in triumph.
“Where did you find this?” I asked her.
She shrugged a little. “It must’ve arrived in a smuggled shipment at some point, Your Highness. It’s been in storage for some time, I believe.”
Ah. A treasure hidden from Anure’s looting, painstakingly transferred from hand to hand until it found refuge on Calanthe, as so many works of art—and the people who created them—had over the years. Who knew what realm it had once belonged to, whose brow it had once graced. Likely we would never know.
I took it as an omen, however, of what I needed to do.
As much as I’d tried to cling to a relatively small responsibility—the island I’d been born of and had sworn to die for—the many forgotten and orphaned lands had still cried to me in the night. I had died for Calanthe, and now I must face that I couldn’t pretend to owing a duty only to my realm. All the kingdoms suffered and slowly died under Anure’s uncaring, rapacious rule. Con and I were the only ones free to help them, so help them we would.
“So,” I said, lifting my eyes from the crown to Con’s intent gaze, “any plan we devise to rescue your sister should include rescuing all of them.”
“That … we devise? Lia, you don’t have to—”
“I want to. I can’t go with you, but you’ll let Me help you plan this one.”
He capitulated immediately, surprising me. “I would be grateful for your help. But … all of who?”
“All of the captive rulers,” I explained patiently. “Anure can’t be allowed to keep them captive any longer. This has gone on far too long already.”
He studied me, clearly bemused. “I didn’t realize we’d been allowing it.”
“We haven’t stopped it, either. It’s time we did.”
“Oh.” His mouth quirked in a half smile then went serious. “It won’t be easy.”
“No, but we can do it.”
“How do you know?”
“You told Me,” I replied with just a bit of impatience. I quoted, “Take the Tower of the Sun, Claim the hand that wears the Abiding Ring, And the empire falls. We’re two-thirds of the way there. We’re going to bring down this cursed government before it grows even more powerful, more depraved, and destructive enough to take the world down. And now I see the way to doing it.”
“You do?” He still seemed bemused, struggling to wrap his head around me not resisting him every step of the way, perhaps.
“Yes. All this time, I’ve played Anure’s game, and I paid the price.”
He winced. “Lia, I’m so—”
“That’s not what I mean,” I said, cutting off his apology. “We paid the price. Because Anure’s been a step ahead of us all along.”
“He played me at Cradysica,” Con admitted, folding his arms. “He knew exactly how to do it.”
I nodded. “But now I know how to defeat him. We’re going to use what he cares about to undermine his grip on the empire.”
Con shook his head. “That’s what makes the Imperial Toad such a difficult foe. He cares about nothing. I tried to be like that, and I couldn’t do it.” His gaze burned into me as he again swallowed back the words. That I hadn’t reciprocated, couldn’t tell him I loved him in return, lay between us, huge and invisible, with sharp edges I had to avoid, lest I carelessly cut either of us.
“That’s not true,” I said, using the deflection ruthlessly. “Anure does care about something. One thing.”
“The land,” Ibolya murmured, and I nodded at her.
“Yes. Anure cares about power, and control, and possession. It’s all he lives