Ian…he hadn’t been exaggerating. How could one fight an army that would just continuously rise after falling? Could Nyktos’s guards even defeat them?

“So…” Queen Ileana drew the word out. “This is what you would go to war against.” Her dark eyes settled on me. “The War of Two Kings never ended,” she said. “There has just been a strained truce. That is all. And now you must see how hopeless it would be to believe that you could fight against Solis.”

“Then why haven’t you just seized Atlantia?” Casteel demanded.

“Half of my armies would die or become lost crossing the Skotos. Even the Revenants wouldn’t fare well in the mist,” she stated. “Besides, I do not want the Atlantian people to hate me. I want their respect. Their loyalty. Not their loathing.”

“Well,” Casteel started. “That ship has already sailed.”

“Feelings can be changed,” she said dismissively. “Especially when their Queen is the daughter of the Queen of Solis.”

“My mother?” I laughed hoarsely. “I thought you were my grandmother.”

“I don’t know why that silly bitch told you that,” she replied. “Duchess Teerman was loyal but not exactly the most intelligent.”

I shook my head in utter disbelief. “Your claim of being my mother is such a ridiculous lie, I cannot believe you would even think that I would entertain such a statement.”

“Oh, please do not tell me that you still believe Coralena is your mother. That treacherous bitch did not carry you for nine months and then spend hours screaming in pain to bring you into this world,” she spat, climbing the wide, short steps that circled the entire chamber and led to the alcove of the curtained windows.

“Neither did you,” I growled.

“Is that so?” she replied.

“You’re a vampry.” Casteel’s hand pressed against my lower back. “You cannot have children.”

“She is not a vampry,” Ian said, looking at me. His features were drawn. “And she speaks the truth. She is your mother.”

“Coralena was Ian’s mother. Leopold was his father,” Queen Ileana said, placing her empty glass on a marble podium. It was then when I realized that there were no more servants in the room. “And Cora was my most favorite Handmaiden—my most trusted. I had her care for you so that none of those who sought to gain what I had could use you, my child, against me—and many would be foolish enough to try. I trusted her, and she betrayed me. She and her worthless husband thought they could steal you away. Apparently, she discovered my intention to marry you to Prince Malik, finally bringing the two kingdoms together, and she didn’t approve of it.”

My heart thudded as she spoke. “Coralena survived the attack, by the way. She was a Revenant, after all.” She smoothed her hands over the ruby chains at her waist. “However, she did not survive my wrath.”

I shuddered, and Casteel curled his arm around my waist.

“I didn’t want to do it. That hurt me more than you will ever believe. She was like a daughter to me, and she betrayed me.” The Queen drew in a deep breath and then motioned the knight away from the curtained window. “I am not a vampry. Nor is Ileana my name—my first name that is.” She curled her fingers around the edges of the curtain, and I reached down, gripping Casteel’s arm. “The first name I was born with is one you’ve probably heard. It was Isbeth.”