Page 13 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

But she hadn’t said it. She hadn’t even come to check on me.

I couldn’t help replaying that moment in the forest. WhenHeliconia had demanded I fight to prove myself and Sonoma had stolen my chance by slaying the Obsidian herself.

It stung, knowing she hadn’t believed I could do it myself.

Underneath my churning emotions, my new magic swam inside me. It pressed against the edges of my skin, whispering at me to release it. Curious, I opened my hand and concentrated on the center of my palm.

Heat rose to the surface.

Sparks shot out, fizzling across the room.

With a surprised yelp, I shut my hand and snatched it behind my back. But not before I’d seen the color of the flame.

Black.

Like the fires of Hel.

Sonoma had said so, but I hadn’t wanted to really believe it. Now, my heart raced as the truth settled over me like a cloud of dread.

All these years of frustration and fear that I had no magic at all—and here it was. Not like anything I’d expected. And definitely not something I could tell a soul.

Summer magic was sunshine and roses and rain showers and sometimes lightning flickering across the skies. This was fire and brimstone and death. A nod to the demons descended from the Furiosities themselves.

I thought of the priestesses who worshipped the Fates in the temples across the city. Who dedicated themselves to the light and condemned anyone who bore the mark of Hel. What would they say about me when they learned I contained such darkness inside me?

What would the Autumn prince think when he knew?

It would be a scandal to rival all others.

I might even lose my crown.

The longer I stood, weighing the danger, the more my stomach churned with my secrets.

A quiet knock on my door broke through the tumult.

I turned as my mother entered, her gown trailing softly behind her. She didn’t come to my chambers unless something weighed on her mind, and from the look in her eyes, this visit was no exception.

“Is everything okay?”

Her presence filled the room as it always did, regal and composed, but there was something softer in her tonight. Rather than comfort me, it put me on edge. I tucked my hands safely behind my back, clasping them tight.

She crossed the room, her steps slow and deliberate, and came to stand beside me by the window. For a long moment, she said nothing, simply looking out at the view as I had been doing.

I waited, hating myself for hoping she was here to change her mind about this ridiculous wedding.

Finally, she sighed.

“Sonoma told us what happened,” she said quietly, her voice barely more than a whisper in the fading light. “About the Obsidian who attacked you. And Heliconia appearing.”

I tensed.

Had she told them what I did? What I’d become?

“Where is she now?”

“She and Amanti are meeting with your father to discuss how to respond to the threat.”

“Did they find any other Obsidians?” I asked.

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