“She banished me from my homeland!” Helvia whirled on Lina, those amber eyes storming a shade darker than Bri’s own. “She sent me away with day-old babes in my arms. Tell me, Abalina, would you have done the same if you were Queen?”

Lina paused before saying, “No.” But that hesitation cracked through Bri. She’d considered it for a moment.

“Your mother and I were friends,” Helvia said, lifting her chin. “I trusted her and she sent me away. So yes, I spat upon her name and rallied people to support my children over hers. I used King Norwood’s interest in Bri’s prophecy to gain us favor and standing in the East, and I worked to make my family what it is. Her Majesty needed to know that she’d made a mistake, see that we were thriving.” She shook her head and swallowed. “I wanted her to apologize to me, not to die.”

“You waged a campaign against Queen Thorne,” Bri said. “What she did was wrong, but you were no better.”

Her mother scoffed. “I did what needed to be done to protect my family.”

Bri rolled her eyes, having heard that excuse so many times over the years, especially after her mother had lambasted her with barbed words and putdowns. Never in her life had she been good enough for Helvia Catullus, and it had taken Bri far too long to realize she could wear all the gowns and baubles, paint her eyes and demure behind a fan, and still, it would never be good enough.

“You were only protecting yourself,” Bri gritted out.

“I was protecting our legacy,” Helvia hissed, her tone and posture so similar to Bri’s that it made Bri’s anger flare even brighter. “And you and your brother went and undid all of my hard work by pledging your swords to that bastard, Hale Norwood.”

Bri released a growl that made her mother retreat another step. Good. Let her fear her daughter. Let that question of what Bri could do if pushed too far keep her from one more stinging comment. Bri could handle the jabs at her expense, but if Helvia spoke ill of Hale one more time . . . Let her wonder if Bri’s dagger would end up in her side. Hale was Bri’s true family, not this selfish scandalmonger standing before her now.