queen’s chest. Josef and the guards rushed forward, dragging Lenette off the queen, but Lenette twisted free with surprising strength. She staggered, the knife dripping red in her hands.
“Long live the Empress,” she said, raising the knife to her own throat.
Eli winced and turned away, but it didn’t save him from the unmistakable thump as Lenette’s body hit the floor. When he looked back, she was lying crumpled on the carpet at the center of a spreading, dark stain. Josef didn’t even look at her. He dropped the Heart and ran to his mother, falling to his knees as he dragged the queen into his lap. Theresa’s dressing gown was more crimson than white now, and her breath came in ragged little gasps. Her face, however, was calm.
“Josef,” she whispered. “Listen.”
“Stop talking,” he said, pressing one hand against her wound as he slid his free arm under her. “We’re going to get you to the surgeon.”
“No,” she ordered, grabbing his hand with surprising strength. “For once in your life, mind me.”
Josef froze, letting his mother guide his hand up to her face.
“Listen,” she said again. “You’ve never made a secret of how much you hated being a prince, and for that I’ve tried my best to spare you, but now I’m afraid we no longer have a choice.” She took a shuddering breath. “The throne of Osera has endured for centuries. Through our history we have lived as outcasts and pirates, shunned by all. I spent my life pulling us out of that pit, turning Osera into a land of prosperity and peace. Now the Empress comes again, and now more than ever we cannot fall. Promise me, Josef. Promise, no matter what happens after, no matter your feelings, you will take the crown and lead our people through this crisis.”
Josef gripped her hand. “Mother, this isn’t—”
“Promise me,” the queen gasped, pulling herself up until her face was inches from her son’s. “One last battle,” she whispered, clutching his fingers. “Swear to me you will not let Osera perish.”
Josef pressed his lips to her pale forehead. “I swear, mother,” he whispered. “I swear it.”
The queen fell back with a pained sigh. “You are all witnesses,” she said, glancing at her guard. When they nodded, she turned back to Josef, reaching up to touch his cheek with her thin, bloody hand.
“Hail the House of Iron Lions,” she whispered, her voice little more than a breath.
“Hail the House of Iron Lions,” Josef repeated. “I will not fail you, mother.”
For a moment, Eli thought he saw the queen smile. Then her body shuddered one last time, and she lay still.
The guards began to creep forward, but Josef didn’t move. He sat on his knees, cradling his mother’s skeletal body. He made no sound, no noise at all, but when the light shifted, Eli saw his cheeks were wet, and he realized Josef was crying. He looked away at once, painfully aware that he was seeing something he shouldn’t. But the moment was just that, a moment, and by the time he’d turned away, it was over.
“You there,” Josef said to the closest guard.
The guard stepped forward with a salute, and Josef stood up, bringing his mother’s body with him. “Take the queen,” he said, gently passing Theresa’s body to the guard. “See that she is laid in state.”
“Yes, majesty,” the guard said softy, taking the queen as gently as he could.
Josef stepped back, his hands lingering on the dark stain that covered the front of his shirt, though whether it was his blood or his mother’s, Eli couldn’t tell.
“You.” Josef looked at the next guard. “Bring someone to clean that up.” He nodded at Lenette’s body. “The rest of you, I want whoever’s in charge of the military to report to the watchtower at once. Every man who can hold a sword is to report for duty immediately.”
“Everyone, sir?” the guard said.
“Yes,” Josef answered, scooping up the Heart as he marched down the hall. “The Empress is here. We’re going to avenge our queen.”
The guards looked at each other, their faces pale with disbelief. Then, in unison, they saluted and began to divide the prince’s orders between them.
Eli watched them work for a second, and then he jogged after Josef.
“You’re serious about this?”
“I made a promise,” Josef said, walking faster. “I intend to see it through.”
“All right,” Eli said softly. “But if it’s war we’re talking about, I should point out that we have a problem.”
Josef sighed. “What?”
“The Relay,” Eli said. “Adela destroyed both of Osera’s points. I don’t know if you had a chance during all that to actually look at the ocean, but the Empress’s fleet fills the horizon. There’s no way Osera can stop all that on its own. If we’re going to survive, we have to get word to the Council immediately for reinforcements.”
“That’s not a problem,” Nico said.
Eli glanced at her. “Pardon?”
“We’ve got a Council representative following us.”
Everyone stopped and looked at Tesset.
“What a remarkably good point, Nico,” Eli said, all smiles.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Tesset said. “I don’t have a Relay point on me.”
Eli blinked. “That’s a bad joke, sir. You want me to believe that Sara let you loose without an ear in your pocket?”
“Relay points are short these days,” Tesset said with a shrug. “And I was going to a country that had two points of its own.”
“Well, that’s just perfect,” Josef grumbled, resuming his previous pace. “A Council watchdog with none of the benefits.”
“You should be counting your luck,” Tesset said, falling into step beside him. “I did just watch a known conspirator of the world’s most notorious thief become king of Osera without comment, after all.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Eli said. “But outing us would have hurt your cause too, so don’t pretend you’re doing us a favor. If you actually want to be useful, you could think of a way for us to get word to the mainland.”
Tesset scratched his chin. “What about the Spirit Court? Osera has a Tower just like anywhere, and Spiritualists are always talking among themselves.”
Eli looked at him, genuinely impressed. “That is a surprisingly good suggestion,” he said. “To think, the Spirit Court, useful at last!”
By this time they’d reached the back door of the palace. A crowd of guards was waiting in the kitchen yard, whispering nervously as they stared down the mountain at the fleet stretching across the horizon.
“You,” Eli said, grabbing the closest solider. “Would you be so kind as to fetch us Osera’s Spiritualist?”
The guard stared at him in confusion. “Sir?”
“Do it,” Josef snapped.
The guard, obviously not sure if the traitor prince’s orders should be obeyed, took one look at Josef’s bloody front and enormous sword and decided to save his doubts for later. He bowed and ran down the hall as fast as his legs could carry him, pausing only to salute the admiral as the old man appeared from another door flanked by the queen’s guards who’d witnessed her death.
“Prince Thereson,” the admiral said, falling to his knees at Josef’s feet. “My king, I just heard. Forgive me for insulting you with my suspicions.”
“Get up,” Josef sighed. “We don’t have time for this.”
“Yes, my lord,” the admiral said, standing.
“What’s our situation?”
“Not good,” the admiral said. “I’ve sent fast ships to all the villages and the bells should be ringing any moment now to summon the sailors to their posts. With any luck, the runners will be ready to sail within the hour, but without clingfire, I don’t know—”
A great jangling racket of bells drowned out the rest of his report. More bells followed, until the entire city shook with the clanging sound.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Josef shouted as a military carriage pulled up through the palace’s eastern gate. “What about the guard?”
The admiral’s face paled. “When the princess turned traitor, she killed out the barracks. The
