Page 77 of The Uncrowned Prince

“You all know of our hereditary magic,” Karreya went on. “My grandmother, my father, and my aunt are all mirror mages. But that power did not come to me—instead, I have my magic from my mother. My grandmother arranged a match for my father with a mind mage, hoping for a dual talent, and instead, she got me.”

Vaniell could see Leisa regarding her warily, and with good reason. Her own kingdom of Farhall had only recently been subjugated by a mind mage with the ability to control others’ thoughts and force them to do his bidding. Iandred, minor Garimoran lord and Vaniell’s true father, had died in the attempt, but the dark memories would last far longer.

“What power do you claim?” Kyrion had shifted his position, perhaps without even realizing it, moving closer to Leisa as if to shield her.

Karreya did not miss the gesture. “You need not fear me for my magic,” she said coolly. “I cannot use it against you in any way unless you lie to me.”

“Truth magic?” Leisa sounded almost curious. “I have never met anyone with that gift before.”

“It can be disconcerting,” Karreya acknowledged. “I can sense truth or lies not only in what a person says, but in how they appear, and in the tone of their speech. Lies in any form make me uncomfortable, so I do not tell them.”

And suddenly, Vaniell understood her errand.

“That’s why you’re here,” he said. “Because your grandmother means to make you her heir, and you would be miserable at court. You’d be forced to lie merely to survive. In the end, it would destroy you.”

“Yes,” Karreya acknowledged, bowing her head for a moment. “But I have come to see that perhaps it is a sacrifice that someone must make. My grandmother is ancient, cunning, and cruel. My aunt”—she tilted her head towards Senaya—“also left so that her mother could not destroy her. I did not know it until after I came here, but my father desperately wants the throne, which makes him the sort of person who should never have it. He would be a weaker copy of my grandmother—with all her cunning and cruelty, but not enough power to hold the title for long. There would be a vicious and bloody war over the throne and many would die.

“Perhaps,” she added thoughtfully, “my true calling is to take what my father wants so badly, so that Zulle can begin to heal from the many scars of my grandmother’s rule.”

For a few moments, no one else spoke, as if Karreya’s revelations had stunned each of them into silence.

“But wait.” Leisa’s brow wrinkled as if with a sudden worrisome thought. “The empress clearly knows where her heir is, if she’s been sending agents against her.” The glance she threw Senaya was neither approving nor disapproving, but rather cautious. “If Karreya knew to come here after her father, then the empress would know where he is as well. And now that Karreya is here…”

“She’s lost three heirs to the same place.” Kyrion finished the sentence, having quite clearly caught her meaning. “Is she not likely to retaliate?”

“She is.” Senaya spoke up, her voice heavy with dread. “Sooner or later, her patience will run dry. My brother will be hoping to succeed in forming his own empire here before she decides to come in search of what she’s lost. His goal is to prove that he has the ability to rule, even without powerful magic, so that she will accept him as her heir. Agree to make him First Blade.”

“Then the fact thatyouare here as well…” Leisa’s gaze fell on Karreya.

“Yes.” Karreya agreed. “If I do not return, it may provoke my grandmother to act more swiftly. And if my father were to learn that I am here, he will not be pleased, because it will draw the Empress’s eye before he is ready.”

“Ah.” Kyrion nodded as if he understood. “It will force him to enact his plan in haste. Before he is fully prepared.”

“That is my hope.” Karreya let out a long breath. “I intend to go to him and beg him to return home. Revealing myself will either buy enough time for your allies to prepare for war, or it will hasten his preparations and cause him to make mistakes.”

Leisa and Kyrion exchanged glances, looking almost hopeful for the first time.

“Wait.” Vaniell strode across the sand and grasped Karreya’s arm, turning her to face him fully. “What guarantee do you have that he will not hurt you? You’re a threat to him in every sense of the word. You can expose him as a fraud, and even if you don’t, the Empress has already chosen you over him.” He did not want to have to say this, did not want to hurt her this much, but if it would save her life… “If he’s willing to go this far, I fear that he…”

Vaniell hesitated, looking for the right words. Was there any right way to suggest to her face that her father might want to kill her?

But knowing the man as he did, how could he not warn her?

Karreya’s hand rose to cover his where it rested on her arm. “Yes,” she acknowledged. “You are wise to fear him. And I do not know how far he will go. But he was rejected by the Enclave after only a year, because he lacked both the ability and the courage to succeed. I have trained for half my life. I will not give him the opportunity to cause me harm.”

“If you do this,” Leisa asked, “what is it you hope to gain? Why would you help us in this way?”

Karreya remained silent for a moment, as if considering. She looked up at Vaniell, her golden eyes reflecting the firelight, and though her expression was sad, it was also somehow hopeful.

“In Zulle,” she said, “there are no choices for people like us. There is no joy, no hope. I did not know another way until I came here. Until I saw a prince who chose to reject his crown in order to save others. Who spent his days providing joy and hope and safety to those who had none. Living on the streets of a foreign city and dedicating his time in service to a people not his own.

“I am an assassin—trained to take lives, to forsake my feelings, and to know nothing but the mission. To give my life gladly if that mission requires it. But now, I want more. I want other mages to live freely without fearing their gifts. I want this place to flourish, and I want to see justice done for those my father has destroyed. That seems far more worthy of sacrifice than any mission I might otherwise undertake.”

Vaniell wanted nothing more in that moment than to pull her into his arms. To whisper in her ear that he was not the man she thought he was, but for her, he would try to be that man. To tell her she was worth far more than a sacrifice, and that he would never let her go if it meant losing her forever.

But she was right—this mission was worth sacrificing for. No matter how much he wished he could protect her, to attempt such a thing would be to cheapen the trust and respect they’d granted one another. He could not deny her the right to choose the very road he’d chosen for himself.

And he’d already promised the rest of his life to Kyrion, provided there was anything left of it once he’d saved Garimore. What then could he promise to Karreya?

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