Page 74 of The First Spark
Mother’s vulnerable tone caught Kalie off guard. The cold mask of Empress Hannover was gone, and unguarded pain creased her features. She seemed younger, less hardened. Between her conservative sapphire gown and her defeated posture, she looked like the girl she’d once been as Princessa Caira.
Utterly speechless, Kalie glanced at Selene. Selene’s brows had climbed to her hairline, and her painted lips hung agape.
“She was my sister,” Mother choked out, “and you’re my daughter.”
Scoffing, Kalie marched away from the window. “A selfish bitch? A naive fool? I remember all the loving endearments you had for us, so whatever you’re playing at, drop it.”
Mother looked down at her polished high heels. “I’ve made mistakes, yes?—”
“Let me make this clear.” As she yanked the door open, Mylis tensed, and Wells reached for his pulser. With a sharp shake of her head, she turned to Mother. “She was my mom, in every way that mattered.”
“You’ve made that exceedingly clear,” Selene grumbled, without moving from the sofa.
Mother stared at a cream-colored panel with a discolored square in the center. It was the only panel missing a painting. Once, a scenic view of the castle at Ashton had hung there. After GrandmotherMadeleine drank poison in Ashton’s high tower, Aunt Calida had removed it.
“You’re going to hate me forever, aren’t you?”
The door slipped from Kalie’s fingers, shutting with a softclick. The hitch in Mother’s voice had to be another calculated scheme, but desperation shone in her glistening eyes. The carefully constructed walls around Kalie’s heart splintered.
“I would’ve loved you,” Kalie whispered, “if you’d let me.”
“You weren’t the one whose love was rejected.”
Kalie ground her teeth together. She’d been fifteen when Lexie was made the new Heredem—fifteen when she’d been asked whether she wanted to stay on Dali or go to Etov. It wasn’t fair to blame her for choosing to stay in her home with the woman who’d raised her, who’d kissed her forehead and sang lullabies to her as a child. Compared to a father whose name was a curse on Dali, and a mother who’d always been distant on their rare visits, there shouldn’t have been a choice.
But therehadbeen a choice. She’d agonized over it for weeks, and that made it worse.
She breathed in the room’s tropical scent. This was the closest she’d ever come to a civil conversation with Mother about how things had ended. Shouting would lead to more arguments, more screaming, more tears.
“I never rejected your love. I wanted to love both of you,beloved by both of you, but you made me choose.”
“So it’s my fault again.”
“No, Mother, that’s not—” Kalie huffed, throwing her hands up. This was how it always started, with Mother twisting her words around. “I’ve lived here since I was born. My friends are here. My life is here. There was more to it than a choice between you and her.”
“But you always would’ve chosen her.” Mother said it like the words were acid, and heat burned Kalie’s face.
“Youmade that choice. You left me here. You came to visit, what, five times before my ninth birthday? You chose to let her be my mother.”
“And I regret it.” Her cruel tone made Kalie stiffen, bracing herself for the inevitable blow. “Look what you’ve become. All ofCalida’s worst traits have rubbed off on you. Naivety, selfishness, meekness. Gods above, you’re only twenty, and you’ve managed to turn your whole court against you!”
As the door swung open, Mylis poked his head in, sliding his hand to his pulser. Breathing heavily, Kalie waved him off. He frowned and shut the door.
A malicious grin curved at Selene’s lips, and Kalie dug her nails into her palms.
“You forget your place, Mother. This is my planet, I’m the Duchissa.”
“Your father and I preside over two hundred and thirty-eight dukes and duchesses on Etov alone, and thousands more across the other seven planets in the Empire. By no means am I intimidated by your new rank.”
“You don’t preside over anything,” Kalie spat. “You’re spoils of war to Father, not his equal. He doesn’t trust you with any power.”
Mother rocked back, and her mouth gaped open.
Selene’s cheeks reddened. “He sent her here as an ambassador.”
“No, he sent you here for a throne, and the moment that was gone, he sent his real ambassadors to do all the work.”
“You’re a bitch, you know that?” Selene snapped.
