Murmurs of agreement sounded down the line. Lira felt the truth of it in her heart, felt it beside that ever-constant whisper that seemed to ring out in her soul, keeping her eyes open and her loyalty true.

Nor is your queen, your goddess, your savior.

“A gift from your queen,” Aclisia said, lifting the rifle handed to her by one of the guards in red. The crowd roared in anticipation, eager to see another join their ranks. “Let’s show him the true power of the woman he claims is not his queen.”

When Aclisia squeezed the trigger, the round was silent. It slammed against the man’s forehead, knocking him back with the intensity of it. His eyes closed, as if he were dead. But in the center of his forehead, instead of a hole, instead of blood and brains...

Silver liquid swam against the man’s pastel skin, like a gentle caress of liquid moonlight. Then it began to fade, sinking beneath the surface until the liquid disappeared entirely. Lira waited for the change to take effect. For the man to finally see and believe the truth, to fully understand what light Nor could bring to his life.

His eyes fluttered open, his head bobbing slightly on his shoulders, chin dipping before a guard helped to lift his gaze to Aclisia.

“Who is your queen?” Aclisia’s two heads asked softly, the words as delicate as a kiss.

The man’s blue eyes lost their fog.

“Queen...” He seemed to fumble for the words, as if he were listening to the voice in his head. As if he were a child, learning the truth at last. “Queen Nor.”

Then he wept tears of joy, whispering Nor’s name over and over like a song, the words pouring from his very soul. Lira leaped to her feet, cheering alongside the other soldiers.

But beside him, the female captive began to scream. It broke through the power of the moment, through the joy of the man’s transition into the light.

“Enough!” Aclisia shouted. She lifted her rifle, set the woman in her sights and fired.

The scene was the same as before...and yet the effect was not.

For the woman did not lose consciousness. The liquid spread against her skin, but her eyes never closed. She kept screaming. “Let me go! Please, Godstars, let me go!”

The room should have felt frozen, a horror scene unfolding in rapid time. But Lira only felt calm as the woman began to howl and writhe against her bindings. Blood dripped from her wrists as she fought, shaking like a demon was clawing at her from the inside out. “LET ME GO!”

“Unaffected!” one soldier shouted. The others joined in, beating their fists and stomping their boots against the bleachers.

But Aclisia held up a hand. “Inject her.”

At once, the guards sank a tranq needle into the woman’s neck. Immediately, she fell silent.