Four Dead Queens(95)

Soon to be one, Arebella thought. While Jenri and the other advisors had yet to name her queen of all the quadrants, she knew it was the only remaining option.

Arebella couldn’t contain her smile. She knew she looked radiant—more beautiful than she could’ve ever imagined. For a brief moment, she wondered what her mother would say. She swallowed down the thought and let the moment sink into her bones.

Be present. Be here. Be happy.

Mackiel stood in an adjoining corridor; he tipped his bowler hat with his bandaged hands as she passed, a cunning smile upon his face. Everything had gone to plan. More than that. Everything had gone perfectly. No one suspected a thing.

And her mind was calm. She didn’t have visions of murdering queens, seducing black market traders or burying her ghoulish mother.

She would finally be a queen. And soon, the first queen of Quadara.



* * *



—

MACKIEL HAD WARNED her not to do this. He’d said Keralie would get inside her head; she was twisted like that. But Arebella needed to see her face, the girl who had fallen for Arebella to rise.

Arebella had often thought about the girl who sat in the palace prison. And although Keralie had served her purpose, Arebella struggled to leave her behind and focus on the future. Her presence troubled Arebella, like a pebble in her shoe.

If Arebella could see the girl, perhaps she could rid her from her mind.

Two guards escorted Arebella down to the palace prison. She asked them to leave her, but they refused, their destabilizers unhooked and armed. This was Jenri’s doing, Arebella thought. He wouldn’t leave her side during the day and posted guards at her door at night to ensure her safety. A promise to her mother, he’d said.

Arebella cursed her mother for controlling her life from beyond the grave.

“Hello,” Arebella said to the prisoner.

Keralie looked up. An expression shifted across her face as she took in the young queen, dressed in her favorite golden dress, matching the golden crown on her head. “Who are you?” Keralie asked.

“Queen Arebella,” she had the joy of saying for the first time.

Keralie studied her. “Queen Marguerite’s daughter?” Arebella nodded. “I’m sorry about your mother.”

Arebella tilted her head. “Sorry you killed her?”

Keralie harrumphed, but said nothing further. Clearly, she’d tired of arguing her innocence. “Have we met before?” Keralie said suddenly, tilting her head. “You look familiar.”

“No.” Arebella said firmly. She had to divert Keralie from this line of questioning, but she hadn’t put much thought into this visit. She no longer had anything to plan for. She had everything she needed and wanted, and her questioning mind continued to remain blissfully silent. Mostly. Aside from the ghostly thoughts of her mother and this pebble in her shoe. At least she could be rid of one of them.

“I’m glad to see you have guards with you,” Keralie muttered.

Arebella bristled. “Is that a threat?”

Keralie held up her hands. Her fingernails were stained green from something—food? “What could I possibly do to you, Queen Arebella?”

Arebella glanced at the guards behind her before replying, “You’re a resourceful girl. I won’t make the mistake of underestimating you. Not like everyone else has.”

All those queens, slain by this little thing?

Arebella could see how preposterous it would seem. She was so . . . innocent-looking with her large blue eyes and small features. Even bedraggled, her blond hair curled into dirty little ringlets. She looked like a doll that had been left outside in the dirt and rain.

Mackiel had chosen well.

“I really wish I could take all of this as a compliment.” Keralie waved her hands around the cell. “But the fact you all think I’m capable of succeeding in murdering the queens with no one seeing me is ridiculous.”

Arebella stepped closer, her eyes widening. “Compliment? That’s an interesting word to use.”

Keralie let out a ragged sigh. “Tell me,” she said. “Tell me what you came here for.”

Arebella grinned. It was a ruthless smile. “Your execution is set for later this evening. And you will die by your quadrant’s preferred method.”

They lived by the quadrant’s rules and died by them.

“My quadrant . . .” Keralie mused. “Your quadrant. How interesting. You know, you really do look familiar.” She stared at Arebella with such intensity that Arebella had to glance away.

“Hanging,” Arebella said, ignoring Keralie’s pointed look. “You will die by hanging.”

“Thought as much,” Keralie replied with a shrug, although her expression showed she cared more than she let on. “Anything further, my queen?”

“Is that all you have to say to me?” Arebella asked, one eyebrow raised. She thought she’d feel some closure upon seeing the girl who had taken the fall, but she felt nothing. She hoped it would be enough to let her mind move on to something else. “Anything further you wish to say before your hanging?”

“Yes,” Keralie replied, her eyes narrowing. “Keep those guards with you.”

“Another threat?”

She shrugged again. “Only that the assassin is still in the palace. You better be careful, or you’ll see your mother again sooner than you think.”