Page 83 of The Throne's Undoing

Enough wasenough.

But then, all around her, more whispers swam in the air.

"Traitor."

"Liar."

"Snake."

"Manipulator."

Each whisper and insult wrapped its smoky tendrils around her body, curling around her frozen frame. The syllables snaked around her throat, strangling her tighter and tighter with each repetition.

And one by one, Kallie finally recognized the voices: guards whom she had sacrificed, innocent lives whose homes were destroyed in Pontia, the victims her father had her manipulate in Ardentol, the servant whose life she had tainted by following her father's plan, her allies, and friends.

Rian.

Dani.

Terin.

Esmeray.

Graeson.

Fynn.

Their voices joined in unison as they hissed one insult after another.

Kallie squeezed her eyes shut, bit her tongue, and dug her nails into her palms, hoping the pain would drown out their voices. Still, their words sunk into her skin.

"Who are you to them but the enemy? A liar, a traitor, a manipulator?" Domitius drawled with disdain. "They will never trust you. They willneverforgive you."

Guilt coated Kallie's stomach, twisting and turning over and over.

He was right.

Of course, he was right.

They would never forgive her. She could never earn their trust after everything she had done and all the pain and irreversible destruction she had caused. Not after--

"Kals," Fynn said as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. He squeezed once. "It's okay."

Tears sparkled in her eyes at her brother's words, but she could not accept them. She had never deserved his kindness when he was alive, and she didn't deserve it now.

"It's not okay," Kallie said as the tears fell. "It's not--"

"Kal," Graeson soothed, joining Fynn. "This isn't you."

Kallie shook her head. Graeson didn't know what he was saying. He had said the same words to her before, but he didn'tknowher.

How could he possibly know who she was when she didn't?

"Kalisandre," another man said. This voice, however, was foreign yet familiar, as if she had heard it in a dream once before. "You have to fight it, fight him."

A protective warmth exuded from the man's voice. Despite not being able to see him or even identify who he was, she felt safe. Yet, simultaneously, her heart ached, for somehow, she knew she would never experience his safety again--as if the man was beyond her reach.

"Our father is right, Kals," Fynn whispered gently.

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