I sense their fear, and use it to build my strength back up.
Thousands have gathered around the palace. As morning arrives in earnest, sunlight slicing through black clouds in thin patches, lighting up the rain, we make our way to the royal chambers. I need to address my people, and I need to look the part. I will walk out onto the balcony with my head held high, fulfilling the fantasy I’d had as a little girl in my father’s home.
You all live in a new era now. From this day forth, ill treatment of any malfetto shall be punishable by death. None shall live in fear, as long as loyalty is sworn to this crown. I will be your queen, and I will restore Kenettra to glory.
“Your Majesty,” Magiano says as we enter the room. When I turn to him, he gives me a quick bow. His eyes are still distant. “I’ll leave you to prepare, then. No need for a thief on the royal balcony.”
“No more need for you to be a thief,” I say.
Magiano smiles and, for a moment, the old flame returns to his eyes. He takes a step closer to me. It seems as if he wants to reach out for my hand, but then he decides not to, and lets his arm fall back to his side. It sends a stab of disappointment through me. “A stunning victory,” he murmurs.
I can see a reflection in his eyes of the final moments of battle, can hear in his voice an echo of his shouts from when we were on board Queen Maeve’s ship. Somewhere out there, Enzo calls through our tether, and I shiver at his pull. I want to reach out for Magiano’s hand too, as if he could pull me back.
But those thoughts are quickly replaced by the memory of Enzo’s final words to me during the battle. Of his black eyes. I would have killed you myself, if I’d had the chance. He’s right, of course. If I were him, I would have said nothing different. There is no question that we are enemies now. Shields go up over my heart, and my alignment to passion flickers lower, dying. It is the only way to protect myself.
So I don’t reach out for Magiano’s hand.
“I couldn’t have done it without your help,” I say instead. “And without Sergio’s.”
Magiano just shrugs. He studies me for a brief moment. What does he see? Then he utters a small laugh. “Just point me in the direction of the royal treasury, Your Majesty,” he says, waving a hand in the air. He turns away as he speaks, but not before I catch a hint of sadness on his face. “Then you’ll always know where to find me.”
I return his smile with my own bittersweet one. I nod at an Inquisitor to show him, and the soldier gives me a nervous bow. Magiano follows, but pauses for a moment to look back at me. His smile wavers.
“Adelina,” he says. “Be careful.”
Then he leaves us, and I miss him instantly.
Once he’s completely disappeared down the hall, I dismiss everyone except for Violetta and order the doors closed. The Inquisitors don’t dare hesitate at my command. How strange, to be able to say something and watch them obey. It almost makes me laugh. The room falls into silence, and all we can hear now is the roar of people outside.
We are quiet for a long moment.
“How are you feeling?” Violetta finally asks in a quiet voice.
What can I say? I feel everything. Satisfaction. Emptiness. I feel confused, unsure of where I am and how I arrived here. I take a shuddering breath. “I’m fine,” I reply.
“He cares for you, you know.” Violetta turns her head briefly in the direction of the closed doors. “Magiano. I’ve seen him standing guard outside your door, making sure you aren’t having another nightmare or an illusion.”
Her words sink in, and I find myself looking at the closed doors too. I wish I hadn’t sent him away to the treasury. I would have asked him why he told me to be careful, what he sees when he looks at me. Why his expression had seemed so sad.
“I know,” I say.
“Do you care for him?”
“I don’t know how to,” I reply.
Violetta gives me a sidelong look. I know she can hear in my voice the evidence that he means more to me than I’m revealing. She sighs, then waves for me as she walks toward the steps leading up to the throne. Our footsteps echo in unison. She sits down on the bottom step, and I join her.
“Let him in,” she says. “I know you’re holding back.” She stares out at the long, empty expanse of the chamber. “Keep him close. His love is light, and it calls out the light in you.” Her eyes come to settle on me.
Something whispers in irritation at the back of my mind, resisting the advice. “You’re telling me this because you think I love him?”
“I’m telling you this because he calms you,” she says, her tone uncharacteristically sharp and biting. “You’re going to need it.”
“Why?”
Violetta doesn’t say anything more. I watch her tiny movements—the tightening of the skin around her eyes, the way she squeezes her hands together in her lap. There is definitely something she’s not telling me. Again, the whispers in my mind hum their disapproval.
“What’s wrong?” I say, firmer this time.
Violetta’s fidgeting hands separate from each other. One of them tucks into a pocket in her skirt. She swallows, then turns to me. “There was something I found on board Queen Maeve’s ship,” she begins. “I thought it wise to tell you later, when we had a moment alone.”
“What is it?”
“It is … from Raffaele, I think.” Violetta hesitates. “Here.” She reaches down into the pockets of her skirts, then takes out a wrinkled parchment. She unfurls it and holds it before both of us. Our heads lean in together. I squint, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. It is a smattering of sketches, interspersed with words written in Raffaele’s unmistakably beautiful calligraphy.