Page 110 of A Liar's Twisted Tongue

Before us are two long tables filled with the most notable members of the kingdoms of Soma and Lorucille on either side of the aisle. The second we step out I hear the gasps and murmurs, no doubt from the blood that stains my shirt. I keep my eyes directly ahead of me, looking at King Easton, though not making eye contact.

Lusia and Labyrinth are not here. This should be no surprise. They can control our lives but could never be bothered to show up to the disasters they orchestrate. I pray for a miracle—like a corenth breaking past the kingdom’s protective barriers and upending this entire mess.

Then I turn to Calista and clasp her hands in mine as I announce, “I, Lucian Aibek, agree to take Calista Contarini as my wife and future Queen of Lorucille on the day of our shared coronation. I will love her as I love myself, I will protect her as I protect myself, and our powers will become one, and the same, in the name of Sulva.”

Calista looks like she is going to cry. She clears her throat, “I, Calista Contarini, agree to take Lucian Aibek as my husband and future King of Lorucille. I will love him as I love myself, protect him as I protect myself, and our powers will become one, and the same, in the name of Zola.”

Kai arises from the staircase, alone, and the room yet again subtly gasps. “Lilac isn’t with us,” he announces. The audience sounds even more horrified than when I stepped out covered in blood.

For the first time, I look into the eyes of the king. “Very well, we shall begin the feast.” His voice doesn’t sound nearly as angered as he appears.

I make my way to the right side of the room, to the table full of Lucents, and sit next to Lilac’s empty seat. They feast on traditional Lorucillian foods—breads with and without seeds, jams made of every fruit the world has to offer, steaks from their cattle, and even some of the organs, all to be washed down with an array of wines. I don’t touch a thing.

I am too consumed by Lilac’s absence to consume their foods.

Halfway through the ceremony, Calista and Queen Melody both leave the room, one after the other, and I find myself believing there may be a silver lining apart from alcohol after all. Perhaps Melody found out Calista was snooping with her weapons. Following them could lead to answers.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I announce to the table, setting my cloth down and exiting the throne room.

I follow behind them until they enter the foramen room, to which I sneak into once they are out of sight. I make it to the back where the mirror lies and watch as Calista steps into the infirmary of Visnatus. This is not at all what I expected to find. I run to the nearest reflective surface and open my own portal.

If she is doing anything that pertains to Lilac, I will be there.

Calista walks into room twelve—Lilac’s room—as I arrive. I watch her through the small crack in the door. Calista plugs her nose and cups a hand tightly around her mouth while silent tears fall from her eyes and her silver makeup stains her cheeks.

“Oh, Lilac,” she whispers and picks up my sister’s limp hand to hold under her chin. “You have to know I’m sorry. I’ll always be sorry.”

I enter the room immediately, believing her words to be a threat. Then Calista pries open Lilac’s eyes and her own glow yellow.

She is going through her memories.

I find that I am eager to not only find out what happened to Lilac, but to also uncover what the queen has put her heir up to. It takes much longer than I expect for Calista to drop Lilac’s hand and close her forcefully pried-open eyes.

Her hands are shaking, and her jaw is chattering when she sees me.

“Why are you here?” I ask.

Calista looks between me and my sister’s body, unable to settle on either. “What are you up to, Calista?” Her breathing picks up, heavy and uneven.

“My mother told me to find out what happened,” her voice shakes. “I didn’t know it was Lilac, I swear.”

How is it possible that Melody already knows what’s happened?

“Why does your mother want to know anything?” I ask.

“She wanted to know who was nearby when it happened.”

Against my will, I think of Desdemona. The vision of her and the moonaro, then watching it run from her while she lied to me, over and over. I saw her in my visions when I was supposed to see Lilac. It’s not enough to convince me she has anything to do with this. Nothing would be enough. She couldn’t possibly.

Could she?

“What did you see?” I ask, and Calista shakes her head. “What did you see, Calista?” I can hear the tension in my voice.

Calista bites the inside of her cheek and her rounded face squishes together. She even winces. Whatever she saw caused her physical pain too. It makes sense, the more emotionally connected you are to someone, the more it will hurt to use any form of mental magic against them.

“She ran when she saw the corenth, but she tripped,” Calista says reluctantly. “When it was close, she grabbed onto the creature and then… I don’t know how to explain it. It just felt gross. Lilac almost fainted, and when she let go it slashed her stomach.” She wipes a tear from under her eye before it can fall. The emotion is gone from her voice when she says, “She watched herself bleed out before losing consciousness.”

All I can see is Lilac, alone in the mastick, bleeding out and believing she is going to die. I think about the power she must’ve realized she had in that moment and how that might’ve made her think of herself.

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