Page 130 of A Reign of Embers

I shake my head. “No, I’ll focus better on my own. I’ll see you soon.”

And then, because I now dare to even with nobles departing from their own carriages farther down the drive, I lean in to give him a quick kiss.

The prince of Cotea’s pale skin flushes from neck to cheeks. A little of my giddiness returns, enough to carry me through the palace halls to the temple doorway.

As Marc peers into the domed space, he frowns. “Now that one devout has come at you, I’m not sure we should hang back even in here.”

“He only threw words at me. I escaped unharmed.” In any outward fashion, anyway. “I have faith that the gods will watch over me.”

He backs down, though his frown doesn’t budge.

I kneel on the now-familiar silk cushion beneath Elox’s placid statue and close my eyes.

My godlen didn’t lend his support during the confrontation I just faced. Did I offend him in some way before today?

I tip my head to the light that streams through the stained-glass panes above.Elox, I welcome your guidance as I always do. If you feel I’ve gone astray or that I’ve failed to do your principles justice, please let me see.

As my heart thuds on, the shapes on my eyelids barely budge. A sense of hopelessness has started to well inside me when my mind drifts into a dream-like vision.

The whole of the empire stretches before me like it does on the map table in the strategy room. I hold my arms toward it as I did to the audience in the city square, andgentle white light washes across every town and river, forest and mountain.

The vision dwindles as quickly as it rose up. I blink and peer up at Elox’s statue.

Is he saying that I’m on the right path to spreading peace as we always imagined? Or is he telling me I need to domoreto make it happen?

Why has he gone so distant when I need him most?

A cleared throat breaks through my uneasy contemplation. When I glance toward the doorway, Axius has joined my guards.

He stays where he is, but I’m not sure there’s anything more I can glean from this place.

I get to my feet and hurry over. “What is it?”

The high commander grimaces. “I apologize for interrupting your worship, Your Imperial Highness. We’ve had a new communication through your… most direct means.”

The mirror. My breath snags in my throat. “Valerisse again?”

What new threats could she throw at me?

Axius dismisses my suggestion with a twitch of his head. “It seems she wasn’t able to take control over every artifact you put in place. Although I don’t know what the message is.”

He doesn’t feel comfortable saying more when staff or members of the court might be near enough to overhear. I can appreciate his discretion, even as the suspense gnaws at me all the way to the mirror room.

Lorenzo is already in the office waiting for me, a cautious smile lighting his face. My heart skips a beat. “Your mother?”

He nods and beckons me into the mirror room.“I haven’t spoken with her yet, but Axius summoned me.”

I suppose it’s unsurprising that Valerisse’s reach couldn’textend to stealing back the relic I gifted to Queen Anahi. I’m not sure how quickly the tribune could communicate with any soldiers who might still be loyal to her all the way in Rione.

Small blessings.

As we position ourselves before the mirror, the queen of Rione studies both me and her son with an oddly tentative air. Remembering the news I’ve now made public, I let myself twine my fingers with Lorenzo’s in front of her. He glances down with a jolt of shock and then smiles far more brilliantly than before, adjusting his grip on my hand.

When I return my attention to the queen, she’s outright staring, but a trace of a smile has touched her own lips.

“An image came to me not long ago,” she says. “Of you standing with my son—and two of the other princes the empire has taken in?—and declaring what he means to you. It felt so real… It was, wasn’t it?”

Even if Elox has eased back, Ardone must have spread the pronouncement of my love. A heady shiver passes through my chest.

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