She dived back into the story, telling the night for the second time – Evera filling in details that she missed on this telling. Kaian listened with wide eyes, his shock apparent as the story went on. Once she finished, they found an area of the garden hidden from view and sat on the grass, the early afternoon sun warm on their skin.

‘You can’t possibly believe that is true,’ said Kaian.

Evera and Sapphire exchanged a look that only they could understand, and Sapphire frowned. She wondered how she was supposed to move forward in this marriage. She wondered how she was expected to rule a country when she knew what she knew.

‘I’m not sure what I believe.’

‘Sapphire, you look exactly like your mother. Like Queen Aylara. And I’ve done plenty of studying – there’s no other bloodline of your mother’s anywhere in history. They orchestrated this to scare you, and it obviously worked if you believe that this could even be possible.’

‘Kaian, have you not realized that the history we are fed is not always the entire truth?’ Evera’s voice had an edge that Sapphire didn’t hear often. ‘There are thousands of books in the library that are not available to anyone but the highest-level scholars. Those books could tell an entirely different story of our history.’

‘Of course,’ Kaian said. ‘But this much history and cover-up of mistreatment seem highly unlikely. Either way, the final revelation would be impossible. No one could ever bring the barrier down. It’s the most powerful magic in the world.’

Sapphire chewed the inside of her cheek. To be doubted so boldly made something inside her stir. A thirst to prove herself, to prove her power. To prove him wrong. He meant well, but it stoked the monster inside her.

Foolish boy. He could never understand what you’re capable of. Unless you prove it to him. Why don’t you show him just what you can do?

The words sounded bitter in her mind, and she pushed the voice away.

A few more minutes passed, and she relaxed a little, grateful she had been successful. But then the familiar brush against her brain came, and the voice followed.

I know you because I once was you. But you won’t make the same mistakes. You won’t give them the chance to defeat you.

Kaian and Evera were arguing in hushed tones.

Sapphire closed her eyes tightly, trying to force the touch from her mind. A gentle hand on her arm caused her to jump, and she was met with the concerned stares of her two friends.

‘Sapphire, are you OK?’ Kaian asked.

‘I’m fine,’ she said, toying with the ends of her dark hair. ‘I’m fine. Just tired.’

‘You know, it’s OK if part of you believes it. You know that, right?’ Evera said.