C H A P T E R  F O R T Y - O N E

A NEW
GENERATION

The door to the sitting room cracked open a bit, and then all the way, to reveal one person only—Amon Byrne.

“Your Majesty?” he said, looking first at the bed and then around the room.

“Amon. Come and sit down.” Raisa wasn’t sure she’d spoken loudly enough for him to hear.

Amon crossed to the hearth and knelt next to the couch, his expression one of shock and dismay. “Rai,” he said hoarsely, closing his hand over hers. “I had no idea it was this bad.”

Dear. Blunt. Byrne. I must look one step from the graveyard.

“Here,” she said, resting her hand on the seat next to her. “Sit here.”

He settled onto the upholstery, still staring at her. “You need a healer,” he said, swallowing hard. “Somehow, we’ve got to bring one in for you.”

“I’m not sure a healer can help,” Raisa said, leaning her head against his solid shoulder.

“This is about Alister,” Amon said. It wasn’t a question.

Raisa nodded. “It’s not just Alister—it’s everything else, too—but that was the tipping point. I meant what I said in the audience chamber—maybe we don’t deserve to exist as a nation.” She blotted at her eyes with the back of her free hand.

Amon cleared his throat. “I’m not sure how to proceed on that…Alister’s death, I mean. I can’t investigate what really happened while we’re bottled up in here. And Micah—I have to admit he’s been really helpful these past few days. He’s put up magical barriers that allow our soldiers to get some much-needed rest without worrying about a sneak attack.” He paused. “So it may seem like a coldhearted, calculating decision, but I don’t think we can deal with that…that situation until we get out of this mess.” He spoke as if they really would.

“It won’t bring Han back, will it?” Raisa said. “And when it comes to assigning blame, I’ll start with myself. The fact of the matter is, I loved him, and I didn’t want to give him up. And so I put him into an impossible position. There was no way he could succeed. And now he’s dead.”

“Alister made his own decisions,” Amon said. “You didn’t put him there—he did.”

“I should have done the right thing. I knew we didn’t have a future together, and I should have sent him away. Right after he found out who I really was, he was angry enough to go. I should have given him the push he needed.”

“You had no way of knowing what would happen,” Amon said. “And, anyway, this is his home, too. Why would he leave?”