Ren knew her mother would never betray her, but could Mama be used as a pawn? Played by someone she trusted in turn?

“I can’t tell you what’s going on, Mama.” Ren refused to drag her mother into this mess. It was bad enough that she, Zofi, and Akeylah were caught up in it. “Just trust me when I say I’m handling it. As you say, I’m the daughter of a king now. I must learn to face my problems without putting those I care for in danger.”

She thought of Yasmin’s broken body, splayed across the cobblestones below the Keep. Ren had been so sure the countess was guilty. Her death had only proven it in Ren’s mind. A suicide driven by shame.

Now she realized Yasmin’s death signaled something more sinister. For whatever reason—perhaps because the girls had ignored the heir’s deadline and refused to leave Kolonya City by the Sun’s Ascendance—the heir had escalated from covert threats to outright murder. First Yasmin. Then the attempt on Ren’s life.

“Don’t be silly, Ren.” Mama caressed the back of her hand with a thumb. “I carried you in my womb. For nine whole months, we were the same person, you and I.”

“So you always remind me, Mama.”

“It’s a unique bond, Ren. You’ll understand one day, if you decide to have a child. The feeling of that new life within you… And Sun above, tithing when pregnant was a high like none other. The strength of two willpowers in one body…” Mama’s gaze drifted.

“So I’ve heard. It’s why Queen Suisa insisted on leading her own troops in the Fourth Genalese War, despite being seven months pregnant with the future King Floren.” Because the queen, like all pregnant women, had been able to tithe with her blood as well as the blood of her unborn son. Twice the strength. Twice the abilities.

“Your namesake, I might add.” Mama’s eyes sparkled with humor, only for a moment. “What I’m saying is, your burdens are mine, Ren.”

“I’ll explain everything,” Ren said. “After you tell me this news you’re so worried about. What’s going on out there?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Mama took a deep breath. “Ren, my warning about trusting your sisters wasn’t just idle speculation. At least, one sister in particular…”

Sun above. Ren’s stomach plummeted. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s not public knowledge yet. I heard it from an old friend, captain of the internal guard. I ran into him in town; he frequents the same abraca seller I do—”

“Mama.”

Her mother relented. “Zofi was arrested last night.”