concession had been that close to fifty soldiers had accompanied her.
She could feel their unease, and Zarrah didn’t blame them for it. She was a stranger to them. Worse than a stranger, in truth, because what they knew of her was primarily as the Usurper’s tool. Whereas
the commander had led them all these long years, a stalwart force at their backs. And she had an arrow they’d given her trained on his heart.
The commander alone seemed unconcerned. “You are not a figurehead, Empress, but you must earn the authority to command this army.”
“Then quit undermining my ability to do so.” Digging in her heels, she drove her horse forward, circling Keris and the commander, her nerves once again jangling with the familiarity of the man.
Where had she met him before? Who was he beyond his role as commander of this rebellion? “I would have your name, Commander.”
Their eyes locked, but it was his rich-brown gaze that looked away first. “You don’t remember, then?” He ran a hand over his shaved head. “I had hoped that you would, but perhaps that was foolish of me, given how much time has passed.”
Her heart increased its pace, and she glanced at Keris, but his eyes were on the ground. He knew, but it wouldn’t be him who gave her the answer. “Your name, Commander.”
“My name is Arjun Retva, consort to the late Empress, Aryana Anaphora.”
Zarrah swayed in the saddle as though she’d been struck, all the air gone from her chest.
Impossible. It was impossible. “Retract that lie, Commander, for it was my mother who told me herself that my father had died in battle.”
“Your mother was involved in falsifying my death,” he said quietly. “One of the hardest things she ever did was lie to you that I was gone, and it grieved us both deeply. But it was a secret too great to be left in the hands of a young child.”
Zarrah sucked in a breath, opening her lips to call him a liar. To tell him that she’d kill him for dishonoring her parents’ legacy, but nothing came out. All the tiny pieces fell into place, not the least of which was her aunt’s certainty that he’d rescue her. Her memory unlocked itself, revealing faded memories of this man as he lifted her into the air, both of them laughing as they spun in circles.
“Father?”
“Yes, Zarrah.” He met her gaze again. “I have thought of you every day that we have been apart.
Not being at your side has been the greatest pain I’ve ever endured. I will not ask you to forgive the lie, but I hope you will see that all that I have done has been for the sake of not just your mother’s legacy, but for you.”
“You left me,” she whispered. “You left me with her. ”
All around them, the rebels were retreating out of earshot, their eyes low, until only Keris remained. He said, “I never thought anyone would make my father seem a lesser evil, Commander, but commander’s chest. “Step away from him. All of you. Then put your weapons on the ground.”I think you have done it.” His blue eyes met Zarrah’s. “I’ll be close by.”
Keris strode toward the soldiers, leaving the two of them alone on the snowy field.
“I left you with your mother,” her father finally said. “She knew what horrors Petra would bring upon Valcotta, the death that would come as she fanned the flames of war with Maridrina, and she needed me to build her an army so that she could stop her.”
“What of after her death?” Zarrah’s horse snorted and pranced beneath her, sensing her agitation, so she slipped off and allowed it to trot away. “You left me to be raised by the enemy, to be the victim of they’d been following the commander’s orders since the beginning and did not wish to go against him.her lies and manipulation, to be used in an unrighteous war. You let her turn me into a monster even as you used my name to rally Valcottans to your cause. I was your legitimacy, your figurehead, but not once did you try to liberate me!”
She could feel their unease, and Zarrah didn’t blame them for it. She was a stranger to them. Worse
“I had to choose between taking you and continuing your mother’s fight. It could not be both, for taking you would have drawn Petra’s eyes down upon the rebellion before it had the strength to
withstand her. We’d have been crushed, and for all her faults, Petra treated you as though you were her own. I thought you’d be safe with her—”
The commander alone seemed unconcerned. “You are not a figurehead, Empress, but you must earn
“You left me with my mother’s murderer!” Zarrah shouted. “With your wife’s murderer!”
Confusion flashed in her father’s eyes. “Silas Veliant—”
“Swung the blade. But it was the Usurper who revealed to the Magpie that my mother and I were unprotected and near the border. Knowing what I do now, it wasn’t just my mother that the Usurper intended Silas to kill.”
Color drained from her father’s face, and he slowly dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead to the ground.
then?” He ran a hand over his shaved head. “I had hoped that you would, but perhaps that was foolish Pity softened Zarrah’s anger, for her father had believed the lie just like everyone else. “It was you she was supposed to meet in that villa, wasn’t it? I’ve always wondered why she risked traveling so near the border without a guard, but it was because she planned to meet you.”
“Yes. I was delayed.” The word croaked from his lips, drops of melted snow running down his cheeks as he lifted his head. “And if you think that hasn’t weighed upon my soul every day since, you are mistaken. Every day I curse that delay, for without it, Aryana might still live. But we came on the heels of Petra’s force, and we had to hold back to prevent discovery.” Tears joined the melting snow.
“I had to watch Petra’s soldiers lift your mother’s body down. Watch them put her on the ground and
… and make her whole.”
“If you saw that, it means you watched her take me,” she said. “You knew that my mother was dead, and you allowed the Usurper to take me to Pyrinat. Why?”
“We hadn’t the numbers to defeat her and take you by force.” His throat moved as he swallowed.
“Your mother believed it critical for her to be in Pyrinat. To live under the eye of the people, secure friendships with those in power, because we’d need those relationships when the day came to move against her sister. I … I hoped that you would pick up where she’d left off.”
It hurt, but she’d suffered worse betrayal. That, or she was beginning to grow accustomed to it; Zarrah wasn’t certain. Only that this revelation didn’t rattle her in the way learning her aunt had arranged her mother’s murder had.
“On my honor, Zarrah, I had no knowledge of Petra’s involvement. We had no reason to believe that she suspected our plans to take back the crown, for Aryana played her part as a submissive sister well. For all she’d usurped her, Petra behaved as though she loved Aryana. I thought she was safe, thought you were safe. If I had known, I’d have risked everything to take you then.”
remained. He said, “I never thought anyone would make my father seem a lesser evil, Commander, but An echo of her conversation with Aren on the ship filled Zarrah’s head. There are moments in life where one stands at a crossroads, and each path leads to a future so wildly different from the other that it seems impossible they stemmed from the same place. Most of the time, the ripples of those choices touch only a few. But sometimes a choice is made, and the ripples are not ripples at all but rather tsunamis that tear across the world, altering everything in their path.