A drizzle seemed too anticlimactic for my moment. We’d been trying so hard to give me something I could use to prove my worth to the council and the king. It was supposed to be a big reveal. A thunderstorm or a glowing sun would have been a better fit for my current mood, but Aereala had decided to bless us with a light drizzle.

Micah set me down in front of the council headquarters. We were flanked by Kael and Gaius. The light pattering of the rain tickled my skin. Gaius was holding the sapling and the seeds.

Part of my mind was numbed by the fact that we’d actually managed to make it work.

Frederick strolled up to us—he’d gone home last night and agreed to meet us in front of the council headquarters before the vote.

“You’re early,” I told Frederick. We still had fifteen minutes before everyone had to gather.

Others were early too, including Mei, who was shooting glances my way from across the courtyard. She was standing next to Vancel, and surrounded by scholars, as she often was. Sometimes I wondered whether people stood by her because they liked her, or because they wanted favors from the Gavril family.

Frederick said, “Tensions are high. Some people have been placing bets, and from what I heard, some pretty risky ones. There’s one for you, too. They’re calling you ‘the Dark Geckari.’”

“Did you place a bet?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“You bet on me, right?”

“Uh.” His gaze darted to the side. “Sure.”

“Okay, tell me honestly, who did you place your money on?”

He gulped. “Mei.”

“Mei!”

“She was the safest option! It wasn’t much. Just a couple silvers.”

“You put an entire week’s earnings on Mei?”

Kael smiled. “Is it too late to place my bet on her too?”

“You too?” I growled.

“I’m kidding!” He backed away, hands raised.

“Anyway,” Frederick said quickly, clearly wanting to avoid the topic. “The five—now four—candidates will be able to make one final speech before the votes are cast. You might want to ask Gisiroth if you can join in before all this starts.”

“Have you seen the king anywhere?”

“No.”

I turned to the princes, looking for answers.

“Don’t look at us,” Kael said. “We don’t know the whereabouts of our father most of the time.”

“He’ll be here,” Frederick said. “He’s always around when it comes to important matters like this.”

“Are you sure you three should be standing around me?” I asked the princes.

Gaius turned to me. “They’re not going to think of you the same way after this. It’ll be all right. Let’s hope it gets through Rylan’s stubborn head.”

There were people pointing fingers and gossiping, as usual. The conversations likely were along the lines of “Should she even be here?” or “Is she seriously still running for the vote?”

Or maybe I was being too self-conscious, and they were discussing more important things. I wanted to believe that.

Fifteen minutes passed too quickly. More people arrived. A bell rang, signaling everyone to enter the council building. The courtyard emptied as people drifted away. I steeled my nerves, stood up, and followed my ex-colleagues, with the princes and Frederick trailing behind.

Two guards were situated in front of the council. They were tall, but shorter than the princes, and had long spears at their sides. They wore the king’s colors—bright blue. And they lowered their spears, forming a crisscross, blocking our way.

Gaius’s eyes darkened. “What’s this?” One thing I could credit Gaius for was his pissed-off face. He probably had the best one I’d ever seen—with the right amount of abrasiveness and menace.

The guard on the left said, “We can’t let her in, Your Highness.”

Micah narrowed his eyes.

“And why is that?” Kael asked.

“Uh… because.” They looked at my gloves again. Always my curse. “She’s not part of the council anymore. You four are free to enter, but she’s not.”

Kael raised his right hand, forming it into a fist, and rubbed it in his left. “Are you sure about that?”

The guards exchanged nervous glances. They looked like they were about to drop their spears, when a woman’s voice interrupted them.

“Yes, they are,” the woman with the velvety voice said.

Queen Miriel, the princes’ mother, strode up to us. She didn’t show up often, only for large hearings, so I’d never seen her up close before. Next to her were her queen’s guard. She likely didn’t need them—she was rumored to be a powerful white-winged hidrae herself. But those guards made her look more important and regal.

She was beautiful. In every sense of the word. Long, flowing, dark hair cascaded down her oval face. She looked like Rylan, but a feminine version, and with dark, almond-shaped eyes. Adorning her tall, slender frame was a rose-gold gown that fanned out at the bottom and had silver details at their hems. She wore bracelets and crystal earrings—perhaps too many, but she managed to carry them in a way that didn’t make her look gaudy, but elegant.

I glanced down at my plain robes. I felt like a tree stump standing next to her.

Queen Miriel narrowed her eyes at me. “Sera Cadriel hasn’t been given permission to enter the council headquarters. She might cause a scene.”

Gaius started, “Mother—”

“Have you two been so infatuated with this girl that you’ve lost your senses? It seems like my poison didn’t do its job.”

Kael growled. “It was you?”

“She is an inconvenience. A liability we should get rid of.”

I noticed how she didn’t acknowledge Micah. The crimson-haired prince seemed to stand a little less tall, his stature less confident, after Miriel strode in. I smoothed my hands over his. He looked at me and tried to smile reassurance, but I could sense the tension bubbling off him.

“Mother, please,” Gaius said. “Sera has important information and findings involving the high summers. She needs to use this opportunity.”

“What is it?” Miriel asked.

Gaius showed her a sapling. “We’ve designed a new plant that can withstand heat and fire.”

“Impressive.” Miriel took the plant from her son. “Then we won’t be needing her anymore, will we? Guards, take her away.” She made a nonchalant gesture, as if she’d just called for tea.

The sounds of metal on leather—weapons being drawn—pierced the air. The princes surrounded me in their fight stances.

“Don’t hurt my sons,” the queen said.

“Uh, but Your Majesty,” the broadest-shouldered guard said, “we’re afraid we’re going to be the ones getting hurt.”

“Mother,” Kael said, exasperation lacing his voice, “you’re being difficult. Again. We’re seeing Sera into the council no matter what. For once, can you not cause a scene?”

Miriel’s lips curved down. “You’re calling me difficult?” A whiny quality had taken over her words, which was jarring. “I’m just thinking about what’s best for my sons and family. This girl has been distracting you both from what’s important. She’s tearing us apart!”

Gaius sighed. “We promise to visit more often.” He still had his axe drawn, but a certain understanding had taken over him, and annoyance, instead of anticipation for a fight, showed on his face.

“It’s not about the visits!” And that was when I saw a little bit of Kael in her. Her tantrum reminded me of his childishness.

“I promise to take you out to the city tomorrow,” Gaius said. “And we can bring Anatolia.”

“Really?” Miriel said, letting her hardness slip. Then she put it back on. “It’s not about the visits,” she repeated. “Sera’s cursed. She’s a bad omen for the lot of you.”

“And I’ll help you pick out some jewelry from that store you keep talking about,” Kael said, flashing a smile at his mother. Kael had the most disarming grin.

“You remember?” Miriel said.

Kael rolled his eyes. “Of course I remember. You haven’t stopped talking about it.”

“I’ve been wanting you to go there with me for a month.”

“I’ve been… preoccupied.”

“With Sera Cadriel.”

“It’s about the visits,” Gaius added.

She scowled. “It’s not about them! But it’d be really nice if you looked for me more often. Your father’s always so busy with Constanria and all that…”

Gaius yawned. “Yes, yes.”

She flashed disdain toward Micah and me. “They’re my sons,” she told me.

“I understand, Your Majesty,” I said, feeling her gaze prickling my skin.

“Don’t toy with them.”

“I assure you, I’ll never do anything of the sort.”

She passed the sapling back to Gaius.

The broad-shouldered guard said, “Does this mean we don’t have to fight them, Your Majesty?”

She waved her hand again. The guards visibly relaxed and sheathed their weapons. If a fight had broken out, I didn’t doubt that they’d have their bottoms thoroughly kicked, by Kael especially. One of the guards actually smiled in relief.

“Let them through,” Miriel said to the guards who had previously blocked our way.

I tried to understand where the queen was coming from—she simply seemed like a mother who wanted attention from her children. But she had slipped poison in my food and almost killed me.

The guards finally lowered their spears, giving me a clear entrance into the council.

Kael looked at his mother. “Sera will need to talk to Father.”

The mention of my name made Queen Miriel’s left eye twitch. She rubbed her rose-tinted lips together, then said, “He had to answer some questions from the Council of Fortitude this morning. The neighboring Beyestirya has been giving us more trouble lately.”

“Trouble?” Gaius asked.

“With food. They’ve been hit hard by the high summers too, and tension during trade negotiations has been high. Maybe Sera’s new invention might be able to help with that.” She brought her hands together, intertwining her fingers. “I’m not sure whether to wish you luck.”

“Thank you for the kind words, Your Majesty,” I said reluctantly.

She snorted, then sauntered off with her guard.

I exhaled, before facing the council again, looking at its glass windows and towering pillars.

Together with my companions, we stepped into the building. My nerves were wound tight. What if Gisiroth didn’t like what we’d come up with? Would I still get sent away?

That was when the king entered from a separate entrance on the second floor. He padded over to a gallery that oversaw the entire operations of the council.

“There he is,” Kael said. “And looks like big brother’s here, too.”

I stepped my way through the crowd of scholars, not having to push past because once they realized it was me who wanted to cross, they gave me clear passage. My gaze met Rylan’s, and his face softened. He smiled when he saw the sapling in my hand, and that sent a warmth that I hadn’t been expecting through me.