Queen Razel had long, rose-gold hair that fell to her waist in loose ringlets, framing a thin face with delicate features and porcelain skin. She stood, revealing a slender, muscular frame, and smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes.

She embodied everything wrong in my life, and I had to stand there and pretend to be pleased to meet her.

The prince led us forward as she descended the dais. As we stopped before each other, her eyes scanned us all in a quick evaluation, their color pale blue as frozen ponds. A chill prickled at the back of my neck. Her eyes were like glass, cutting through me to see what was inside.

Despite wearing a deep golden dress with long slits up the sides of her legs, the grips of two weapons strapped to her back stuck up over her shoulders. Like most everyone in Illucia, she was a soldier, and her graceful step and powerful bearing reinforced the image with every motion.

Razel swept Ericen into a hug. I was surprised to see him stiffen until she let go. “Welcome home, my son,” she said. There was something about her voice that made me uneasy, a sweetness turned rancid.

Ericen stepped aside without looking at his mother, his shoulders back, hands clasped behind in a soldier’s stance. Her eyes fell on me, and she smiled again. The sudden urge to wipe it off her face forced me to concentrate on not fisting my hands. “Welcome to Sordell, my dear.”

The feeling came again when she spoke, as if each word carried a warning behind the pleasantries. A warning to remember I was very far from home.

“Thank you.” I forced the words out and performed a small curtsy.

The queen didn’t even spare Kiva a glance and continued, “I’m glad we were able to reach an agreement. It will be best for both of our kingdoms.”

Afraid I wouldn’t be able to control what came out if I opened my mouth, I simply forced a tight smile.

Razel laid a hand on Ericen’s shoulder, and he stiffened again. As if recognizing the effect her touch had on him, she gripped him tighter. “We’ll talk more at dinner. I’d like a moment alone with my son. Auma will show you to your rooms.”

I’d traveled across kingdoms at her whim, and she had dismissed me already. I forced my hands to relax, refusing to let her make me feel like an unimportant pawn, and turned the way she’d indicated.

I nearly jumped. A thin Jin girl had appeared beside us. Even Kiva hadn’t noticed her, judging by the uneasy look on her face. The girl wore a simple gray smock, the only color coming from a ragged red-and-gold scarf around her neck. She was pretty, with glossy black hair and dark eyes. She didn’t speak and kept her head slightly bowed.