Elurra gasped and sat up, almost smacking her head into her aunt’s. The regent queen recoiled in surprise.

“Good, you’re awake. How do you know about Cade?” she asked matter-of-factly.

Elurra stared at her, disgust plastered on her face.

“You are as bad as your father! No, you are worse than he ever was!”

“Excuse me?” Nitiri screeched, her face white with fury. “How could you, who never met my father, ever have the right to prosecute me? You know nothing of his atrocities against me, you little wretch!”

“I know everything, Nitiri. I know about Cade and your time with the Rhai Cudd. I know about your eighteenth birthday and the significance of the spider ring on your finger. And I know exactly what happened with my father and my grandfather. I saw what you saw. I felt what you felt—”

“You could never know how I felt!”

“I saw Cade’s lifeless body hanging from the gallows,” Elurra continued, her voice hard and unrelenting.

Nitiri covered her ears, like a spoiled toddler drowning out a nagging parent. “Stop it!”

“I saw his tortured gaze frozen in death, and in your grief, you unleashed Demons on them! You killed my grandparents and dozens of innocent workers in the castle. Workers like Crackle! What did they do to deserve punishment?”

Elurra refused to stop until the truth was out in the open. Her grandfather had been a terrible man, but Nitiri’s revenge was worse. Nitiri shook her head violently, and her lips moved as she tried to come up with some sort of protest.

“I could have forgiven you if you stopped there,” Elurra barreled on. “Your parents were horrendous. Perhaps they deserved an awful death, but the innocents you killed to take their blood did not deserve to suffer.”

Nitiri gasped, and a tremor shook her body.

“How—” she muttered.

“How do I know you sacrificed countless people to make your magic stronger? Is that what you want to know?”

Nitiri took a few deep breaths and composed herself enough to meet Elurra’s gaze.

“I made a promise. I will bring him back.” Her voice was like a hard-edged steel.

“You are ruining my kingdom and the lives of my subjects. How will any of that bring Cade back to life?”

“I am going to trade.”

“Come again? What could you possibly have that is worth reincarnation?” Elurra demanded. “And who would you trade with? The Demons would never—”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“The Demons just want to consume our suffering, but the Guardians are a different story.”

Her smugness started to show, and one of her ugly grins spread across her face.

“What could you possibly trade with the Guardians?” Elurra asked slowly. “I doubt giving them a twenty-year-old shriveled husk of your lover will suffice as payment for necromancy.”

Nitiri’s hard hazel eyes bore into her indignantly.

“I can trade the Demons, of course. That seems to be exactly what the Guardians want, so I will give it to them in exchange for my wish, my dear niece.”

It unfortunately wasn’t a bad plan. The Guardians did want Demons to stop going through the rift, and from what Elurra had seen, they’d be willing to make a trade if possible. Unfortunately, she doubted Nitiri understood the Guardians. She didn’t think they could bring back the dead, especially not someone more than two decades gone. Before Elurra could come up with a response, someone knocked on the door.

“Yes?” Nitiri answered.

“Sorry to disturb you, Your Highness, but I have urgent news,” a deep voice informed her through the door.

Nitiri sighed and called for the man to enter. Elurra was surprised she recognized him. He was the leader of the group of thugs they’d encountered on their way to Amora, but he was wearing the official armor of Lur Alava. Elurra snorted indignantly. Of course, he works for her.

“What is your news, Venric?”

“There are rumors of a revolution circulatin’ town. There may be some connection to tha Rhai Cudd.”

Elurra’s heart gave a leap of hope.

If everything went according to plan, Blade is the one stirring up trouble.

“Revolution? I think not. Find the source of the rumors and put a stop to them. Send your men in undercover and root out the problem. If you do find it’s connected to the Rhai Cudd, come back and report. I know where they will most likely be hiding if they are indeed connected.”

“Yes, Your Highness. They’re also talkin’ about the princess returnin’ to Lur Alava to lead tha revolution.”

Nitiri laughed and glanced at Elurra.

“I doubt the princess will be a problem. You have your orders.”

The captain turned, and his eyes bulged when he saw Elurra chained to the wall. The color drained from his cheeks, and she gave him a bright smile.

“Terrin is always watching,” she whispered so only he could hear.

The man stumbled over his feet in his haste to escape.

I hope that will deter him from doing a good job on his assignment. I must get a message to Blade. Time is running out, and I still do not know where Nitiri’s Kutsal Stone is.

“What do you think Cade would do if he saw you now?” she asked. “Do you think he would love such a demented witch? You killed fellow Magic users to gain power, and you murdered your family to take the throne. Do you think he would be pleased or ashamed if he heard you were hunting down the Rhai Cudd, which you both considered a safe haven?”

Nitiri bawled her fists angrily, and Elurra had to wonder which one of them was actually a child trapped in an adult body. Her aunt looked like a kid throwing a tantrum as she stomped across the room.

“You ignorant little girl! Don’t speak about what you don’t understand! The Rhai Cudd sold me out. I went to them for refuge after his death, and they rejected me and tried to turn me over to the guard for the money my father was offering for my capture. They did nothing to avenge Cade and Crackle. They deserved what they got,” she hissed angrily.

“No one deserves to be murdered for their blood,” Elurra contradicted.

Elurra found it hard not to compare her aunt to a wounded, spiteful animal, pathetically lashing out at everyone who dared to try and approach.

“It doesn’t matter what I must sacrifice in order to bring him back. This conversation is over. I didn’t bring you here to chitchat. Tiberius!”

The candles in the room dimmed, and the temperature dropped as the shadowy Demon appeared, his red eyes glowing fiercely in the darkness.

“It is time to find the Lur Alavian Kutsal Stone,” Nitiri said coldly, giving Elurra a pointed glance.