“Is there a change going on within me?”

He stared at her with pale blue eyes—so pale he almost appeared as a blind man. Then his eyes shifted above her, trance-like. Was he speaking to the Dark Lady? Lady Ragna wanted to turn around and see her patroness for herself, if the Dark Lady was indeed behind her, but reverence cautioned her to remain where she was. The Dark Lady was powerful, and Lady Ragna wanted that power on her side.

The priest’s eyes came back into view. He looked down at her, his hands still clasped in front of him. “The downfall of your house has begun. Your eldest daughter now surpasses you in power.”

Lady Ragna kept her head level with the platform as she glanced up at the priest. “What do you mean?”

“There has been a shift in authority. The headship of House Ravenwood has changed. It no longer belongs to you.”

Lady Ragna felt like her breath had been knocked from her chest. She reached up and clutched the front of her dress, her mouth gaping like a fish left on the dock, gasping for air. “Wh-what do you mean? Headship can only change when the previous grand lady passes away.”

The priest looked down from his place on the platform. “Or when someone with great power—greater power than yours—comes into her gift. That has always been the way with the Great Houses.”

Selene . . . was more powerful than she? Of course Selene was powerful; Lady Ragna had known that since the moment she laid eyes on the mark on her infant daughter’s back. But powerful enough to interrupt the natural flow of power within a house?

What did this mean for her? For House Ravenwood? For her alliance with the Dominia Empire? “Does Selene know?”

“No. Your daughter is ignorant of the change. At this moment, the Dark Lady is in pursuit of your daughter. Perhaps not all is lost.”

The Dark Lady was pursuing her daughter? The thought sent a chill down her spine. Deep inside, even she feared the patroness of her house, despite the power the dark one provided for Ravenwood. But if the Dark Lady could bring Selene—and her powerful gift—back to their cause, then it was worth it. But . . .

“What if my daughter chooses another way?”

“Then your house will fall.”

The fire that had been ebbing away within her chest came roaring back to life. Lady Ragna slowly stood, drawing on the power and strength not only of her own will, but that of every Lady Ravenwood who had served before her, all the way back to Rabanna. “That is not an option.”

The priest bowed in acquiescence, a slight smile to his thin lips. “It is the strength of the Ravenwoods—your desire to survive, no matter the cost—that drew the Dark Lady to your ancestor hundreds of years ago. Hopefully your strength will prove greater than that of your daughter.”

Lady Ragna gazed back at the priest. “It will. Because if Selene doesn’t turn back”—she clenched her jaw—“then I will take care of her myself.”