A bone-curdling scream rents the air. More cries follow, and then two guards grab us. “Idalia!” Braizen shouts as he’s dragged away.

“Braizen!” I scream, reaching out my hand.

Our fingers stretch in full extension towards one another, but to no avail.

The guard’s grip is tight. I don’t know what’s happening, but everyone is shouting, and I see King Lester order Teddy and Lachlan to be taken from the room. The Deep’s King then claps a hand over his mouth. The wails heighten.

“It’s the Queen!”

“She’s dead!”

“She’s been murdered in cold blood!”

“Poisoned! It was her wine!”

“This was the plan all along, wasn’t it? Is this why we were all dragged here?!”

I kick against the guard’s shins in futile resistance until I realize I can use the crowd’s frenzy to my advantage. I squirm, and when his grip slightly loosens, I push against his chest as hard as I can and thrust myself forward.

He drops me with a curse on his tongue, and I land on my hands and knees. Shouting guests now flee the room, shoving each other aside on their way to the door. There isn’t enough space for me to rise, so I crawl toward the dais.

There, Braizen clings to his mother’s side, and she holds him tight against her voluminous skirts. King Vaskis grips his forehead and is shaking. Where’s my father? I crawl closer. He’s hunched over something on the dais steps. The guard shouts my name, and I swiftly crawl under the table until I can see what he hovers above. I gasp.

My mother lies still, her face turned towards the room. Her cheeks are flushed, but her eyes…her eyes are void. Crimson wine drips down the steps in the same direction as her outstretched hand. One that seems to reach out for me on the floor. A lifeless attempt to touch me one last time.

“You did this! You killed her! My Revna!” My father flares, rising and swiveling to meet King Vaskis’ stare.

The Baellilean king’s face slackens in shock, and he points at my father.

“I did no such thing! Poison your wife? Are you mad?”

“You did! You brought us here under the guise of peace, but you are merciless! You have killed my wife, the Verdanian Queen, as retribution for events now hundreds of years old! You hold a grudge that knows no bounds!”

King Vaskis shakes his head and then looks around the now quiet hall. All ears listen to their quarrel.

My father continues raging. “Is this the Baellilean way? Stealing our resources that come from Aeradian and killing our troops at the river does not satisfy you? You sin too greatly, Vaskis! My wife? My precious Revna!”

The crowd mummers and multiple sobs break out. King Vaskis looks to King Lester, who stares at the Baellilean King as if he is a monster.

“Oh. I see now,” King Vaskis whispers. “It is all so clear. This was the hidden agenda of the Verdanians all along.” My father stiffens. “Yes,” Vaskis resumes. “I always knew Verdanians to be sick people, but this… this is far worse than anything I could conjure up myself.”