I knelt in front of the throne as the crown was lowered onto my head. The crowd that filled the royal courtyard gave a half-hearted cheer. I could sense their pain and confusion. They had not been given enough time to mourn—none of us had. My mother’s death had come too soon, and nobody had been prepared.

The official who had presided over my coronation placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing softly. I looked up, and could see the unshed tears forming at the corners of her eyes, her mask crumbling. Gathering the skirts of my blood red dress, I stood. This was not a time for tears.

It was a time for war.

“Women of Matrus,” I spoke, my voice ringing out across the crowd, thanks to the microphone attached to my ceremonial gown. The crowd started to hush as all eyes fixed on me. I placed my right hand on my chest and took a step forward. “My sisters. We have been robbed.” A few shouted out in agreement, but the rest of the assembly remained silent.

I took another step forward, my skirts brushing against the banister of the balcony. “We have been robbed,” I repeated, nodding. “It should not be me standing before you today. It should be my mother. It should be Queen Rina.” I could see the crowd agreeing in whispers that swept through the crowd like wildfire. “None of us expected that this day would come. But how could we have known? How could we have ever expected this?” I shook my head, letting my new crown glint in the sun.

Taking a deep breath, I looked out, setting my face into a mask of immutable sadness. “My mother was the truest queen Matrus has ever known. She knew when to be strong… and she knew when to show mercy. It is what I admired most in her. And I swear to you now that I will do everything in my power to be every bit the queen my mother was. I swear to you; I will be fair. I will be merciful. But most importantly, I will be strong.” I let the word roll out over the crowd like thunder, watching the people shift under the might of my voice.

“I will search out my mother’s killers, and show them what Matrian justice is. And if there is, indeed, a Patrian element behind this dastardly plot of murder… we must take our battle to their doorstep.”

The crowd stirred with tense murmurings.

I raised both hands. “I know, sisters. I know. Sparking a war is against every principle our motherland was founded on. My mother strived to maintain peace throughout her leadership, at all costs. But we all need to accept that if indeed Patrus is responsible for my mother’s death, we are not the ones causing the spark… Also remember: King Maxen is different than his father King Patrick was, and thus we cannot deal with him in the same way. Maxen is a man we cannot respond to with silence!”

I pressed my fist over my heart, and then thrust my hand forward, out toward the assembly. The crowd warmed at the gesture, and soon the courtyard was awash with applause.

I was pleased by the effect my speech had on them. Gone were the mourning faces, replaced by a righteous wrath that I had fueled. It was a better response than I had hoped for. And it had set the stage for future speeches. With timing and patience, I would fuel the spark into a flame, and that flame into a fire.

I basked in their cheers for a few more moments, and then turned on my heel and left, entering the palace.

“That was your speech?” a familiar voice called to me.

I turned to find my sister, Tabitha, leaning against the door of my mother’s library. She seemed pleased, which wasn’t very surprising—Tabitha was always itching for a good fight.

Tabitha was the second sister, next in line for succession, and she stood out like a sore thumb compared to the other members of our family. We were all tall, but she was heavyset too, her body roped with muscles that had always set us apart in our defense classes. She was wearing black now, like she always did, but had managed to dress it up in a way that clung to her muscular figure, in a manner that was both flattering and impressive. She had a semi-sardonic look on her face—one that she always seemed to have when I was around. She also had her dagger out and was using it to clean her nails. I lifted an eyebrow at her, letting my expression do the talking.

She slid the dagger into the hidden sheath at her belt before lifting her hand, twirling her fingers around in a circle. With a sigh, I turned around slowly, allowing her to inspect my new queenly appearance. After making the circle, I folded my hands in front of me and furrowed my brows.

“So, they went with the red,” Tabitha remarked. “It’s a good color, considering the theme of revenge and war.” She grinned, her wide mouth revealing a pair of wicked canines.

“I knew you’d be pleased,” I said, pulling my skirts open to reveal my black pants and knee-high boots underneath. I unbuttoned the clasp on the inside, and the skirt fell into a puddle on the floor. I exhaled in relief—I hated wearing skirts. “Mother was always too soft when she dealt with the Patrians. I plan to take a different course of action—one that I think your skills are perfectly suited for.”

Tabitha grinned again, the predatory glint in her dark eyes intensifying. “Oh?”

I blinked at her. “Of course, sister mine. I am appointing you as the new Chief of Wardens.” I allowed a smile to cross my lips as Tabitha’s face contorted with anger and she spat a curse at me. We had never really gotten along. In fact, one time she hit me so hard, she fractured my jawbone—I had to have my jaw wired closed for six weeks as a result. But I returned the favor not long after by pushing her down the stairs that led to the roof. She had six broken ribs and a broken arm.

As royals, abstinence from violence wasn’t enforced on us within the palace walls… at least not when there were no visitors around.

“You selfish bitch,” Tabitha hissed.

I suppressed a smile. Tabitha had been petitioning me since mother’s death to give her a position over the war council, except there was no war council. She wanted me to create the position just for her.

I raised a hand. Instantly, six wardens materialized—royal wardens were good at lurking in shadows.

“Careful, sister,” I practically sang. “You wouldn’t want to be confused with a violent Patrian sympathizer, now would you?”

I watched as Tabitha tamped down her rage—a control that I knew would cost some man terrible pain later— and kept the smile off my lips. After she calmed down, I gave her a nod. “I have a meeting with Ms. Dale in a few minutes. Please remain here until after she leaves, and I will speak to you further about the details of your position.”

My sister bowed, stiffly, before I turned and swept through the library door.

I allowed myself a smile before taking my seat behind the large round desk. It felt wrong sitting here, but it also felt right. I looked over to where the wood had been sanded down and re-stained, obscuring the words that had been carved there in blood. Yet I would never forget them. They rattled around in my head like a mantra, fueling and sustaining my rage. For the boys of Matrus, indeed.

My mouth flattened to a hard line as I recalled the double murder of my mother, Queen Rina, and her advisor, Mr. Jenks. Clearly, someone had found out what Mother and Mr. Jenks were doing with the boys, and they had taken exception to it.

There was a rap at the door and Ms. Dale entered and bowed. I lifted my hand, indicating she should sit in one of the chairs facing me, and she did. She was a handsome woman, aging well, and still in remarkable shape. She had been acting as a defense trainer for almost all of her life, but Ms. Dale’s true occupation was one of a spy. Actually, she was the spy—a spider sitting on the top of a very well-placed web of informants.

“Ms. Dale,” I said, meeting her unflinching brown eyes. “Tell me all about Violet Bates.”

Ms. Dale took a breath in and then handed me the file she had been holding. “Violet Bates was one of my more promising students. I had been planning to recruit her for the warden’s academy when she broke the law and tried to smuggle her younger brother across Veil River after he failed the screening. She slipped into delinquency soon after that, but then, when Mr. Jenks’ lab was broken into, it provided an opportunity to utilize her skills for the mission to retrieve the egg—and what made her more suitable for the task was the fact that she was an orphan; relatively unknown and expendable.”

I thumbed through the file, pretending to read it, but listened attentively. “I see,” I said. I placed the file aside, and leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table and folding my hands. “And were you aware of her plot to assassinate my mother?”

Ms. Dale’s mouth formed a grim line. “I was not. In fact, I don’t believe Violet to be the killer.”

“Oh, really? Why do you think that?”

“Violet’s history is one of violence, certainly, but if you study the details of her infractions, it’s clear that it was only when directly threatened that she did harm. She has never intentionally hurt anyone who wasn’t a threat, and frankly, she didn’t have good cause to murder your mother.”

“Why not?”

“Because Violet wants to be with her brother more than anything in the world. Your mother was the key to that, and for Violet to murder her before getting what she wanted just wouldn’t make any sense… If you’re asking for my opinion, I think it’s more likely that Lee Bertrand, the spy we had already planted in Patrus, is the culprit.”

I refrained from rolling my eyes as I considered her statement. Lee Bertrand was a bit of a paradox, with his unorthodox birth in the middle of the Veil River. He technically had no nation of his own, but he had sworn fealty to my mother and Mr. Jenks. There was no reason to suspect him. Especially given what had happened to him. “His body was found splattered on the pavement in the courtyard,” I reminded her.

She nodded, her expression guarded. “Yes, and I think it’s likely that Violet killed him in self-defense.”

“Then why isn’t she here? Why has she fled instead of stating her innocence?”

Ms. Dale opened her mouth, and then shut it, sighing. “I don’t know,” she said. “That doesn’t make much sense to me. I imagine that she’d come if she could, but I have no idea how she got in or out of the palace undetected. I wasn’t given the details of that, as Lee was supposed to be handling the escape plan.”

I sat back, eyeing the older woman thoughtfully. Ms. Dale had served Matrus faithfully for a long time, and Mother had often trusted her counsel.

“Well, the fact is, Violet Bates still has Matrian property,” I said, drawing myself upright again. “So I am tasking you, Melissa Dale, with finding both her and the egg, and returning them here to sort through this… Take what supplies you need, and go.”

Ms. Dale rose to her feet and bowed. Her face locked in an unreadable mask, she turned and left.

As I watched her exit, I noticed two of my other sisters—the twins, Selina and Marina—waiting outside the door. I was glad they had arrived for their meeting now. I had timed things well.

I waved my hand, beckoning them in. They approached, their movements almost synchronized. It had always creeped me out when they did that, and I imagined they were doing it now for that purpose.

“Queen Elena,” they said, bowing as one.

“Sisters,” I said, allowing a smile to peel across my face. “I will keep this brief: I want you to tail Ms. Dale, and if she leads you to Violet Bates, I want you to secure the girl and what she carries first.”

Selina and Marina exchanged looks before glancing back at me.

“You do not trust Ms. Dale?” Selina asked.

I wet my lower lip. “It’s not that… exactly. The issue is that until we figure out how deep this conspiracy runs, I am not going to commit only one resource to finding Violet Bates. What she carries is far too important to leave to chance; you both can appreciate that.”

The sisters nodded. “We can,” Marina said.

“We’ll see to it,” Selina confirmed.

Good. Selina and Marina had always been the most obedient of my sisters… at least, the most obedient to me.

As the twins turned to leave, I asked them, “Can you tell Tabitha to come in now?” while slipping Violet’s file into a drawer.

Tabitha entered the room a few seconds after the twins had exited.

“Yes?” she asked. Her tone was level and controlled, though her brown eyes appeared darker than usual.

“Will you allow me to speak without you accusing me of lying?” I asked, holding her gaze firmly.

She nodded, and I gestured for her to sit down.

“Sister, I know that you wanted to be the Minister of War, but the problem is… we are not at war.” Tabitha’s eyes became slits, and I held up my hand. “Yet,” I amended. “Pronouncing you Minister of War now would only serve to indicate to King Maxen that we are declaring war, which I am not yet ready to do. As Chief of Wardens, your duties will be maintaining the walls, but also recruitment and training women, in preparation for the war.”

My sister’s face transformed as I talked, her eyes brightening and her lips beginning to curl.

Mother had always told me being Queen of Matrus was like being a clockmaker: you put the right people for the job in the right place, and let them do what they did best. My sister Tabitha was a hammer, one destined for a great battlefield. I merely gave her the opportunity to channel her abilities in such a way that would be productive.

And when the time was right, I would unleash her onto the Patrians. The world, after that, would never be the same.

I kept this thought in my mind as I picked up the phone to call King Maxen. I would offer him the pretty lies that would keep us from war… right up until the exact moment that we were ready to pounce.