Page 119 of Blood Beneath the Snow

He chuckled. “No, I imagine not. You were slightly delusional at best. Having your Lurae manifest so powerfully drained all your energy. You said something about remembering.”

The vague memory came back to me. Volkan reaching for my forehead, and stopping him with my Lurae.

I’d meant,I need them to remember.

Never again would the Lurae look at me as the young, godforsaken princess who caused nothing but trouble. No. Now everyone who looked at me would be forced to remember exactly how I had earned my power.

“How long was I out?” I asked.

“Only a few hours,” he said. “I haven’t been here long. I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. I meant it. As flashes of memory flowed through my mind, I took a shuddering breath.

It was all over. Erik and Björn were dead. My parents were dead.

And I was queen.

“Are people still fighting? What’s going on out there?” I pushed up on my elbows, trying to peer out the window. On the clearest days, I could see out into the city from here.

“The temples are burning. A few more priests have been killed, but most of them have fled. I don’t think Halvar has given any orders to pursue them.”

I relaxed slightly. I’d worried there would be more of a fight ahead of us, but it was as we’d suspected. Once the seat of power was filled with a Nilurae, the priests saw no reason to do anything but save their own skins.

Though…perhaps the seat of power was no longer filled by a true Nilurae.

“How often has this happened before?” I said, stomach twisting. “How often does a person manifest a Lurae only as an adult?”

I watched Volkan’s grin turn into a frown. “I don’t know,” he said with a shake of his head. “I can’t think of a single instance I’ve heard of. Were you declared Nilurae by the priests when you turned nine?”

“Yes.”

The prince shrugged. “Nine is supposed to be the age yourmagic manifests,” he said. “I’ve never heard of anyone else finding theirs afterward. Your case might be entirely unique. I don’t know if anyone has studied Lurae magic in people under duress. Perhaps stress is what caused it.”

“The Hellbringer wanted to know what my Lurae was when he held me captive,” I recalled. “He kept asking me why I had been hiding it for so long. I didn’t know what he was talking about. He was looking for me even before then.” I shook my head. “He said the Queen of Kryllian had reliable sources that claimed I was Lurae. How could either of them have known? Especially before I did?”

Volkan rubbed his temples. “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe they have a seer who foresaw you winning the Trials but didn’t know you were declared Nilurae. That’s the only thing I can think of.”

“She only wanted me on the throne because she thought I was Lurae,” I muttered, trying to work through it aloud.

“The Queen of Kryllian?” Volkan’s confusion was plain on his face. “She wanted you on the throne?”

I hurriedly explained my deal with the Hellbringer. “At first I worried she was looking to put a Nilurae on the throne so she’d have an advantage if she tried to take over. But when the Hellbringer tried to make me admit I had a secret Lurae, then the whole arrangement made much more sense.”

Before Volkan could respond, Freja, freshly bathed and clothed in finery I could only assume she’d stolen from my mother, burst through the door, launching herself into my arms.

“You won, you won,” she whispered.

I clutched her as tightly as I could, squeezing my eyes shut to keep my tears from leaking out. I would do it all over again for her to be free.

Volkan smiled and excused himself. Freja sat back and traced a finger lightly over my bandages. “Why didn’t he heal these?” she demanded. “Do I need to get him?”

I laughed. “No. I asked him not to. I want people to remember I earned my place on the throne.”

“Speaking of your victory, I need to hear everything that happened,” she said. “No one would tell me what was going on when they released me. Was it on your orders?”

“I think Volkan must have stepped in on my behalf.”

She grinned. “Tell me everything.”

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