Page 60 of The Gilded Cage

Zuleeka pulled a face. “His Golden Shield. I heard you’re close withher,too.”

Kiva was about to defend herself, but her sister raised a hand.

“Wait,” Zuleeka said, blowing out a breath. “I’m not doing this right.”

“Doingwhatright?”

“Apologizing.”

One word, and Kiva stilled.

“I’ve treated you badly,” Zuleeka said, semi-repeating her earlier words. “It’s because of Mother, but it’s also because I thought you’d turned your back on us. After what you’ve shared today, I can see I was wrong. Sneaking into a Royal Council meeting — evenIwouldn’t have asked you to take that kind of risk. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt from the beginning, and I’m sorry.”

Kiva had no idea what to say, unsure if she evencouldspeak around all that she was suddenly feeling.

“I can’t promise that I won’t still struggle with my behavior toward you,” Zuleeka warned. “I — I need more time, especially to come to terms with what happened to Mother, and to try and not see her every time I look at you.”

Kiva flinched.

“But if you’re willing to give me that time, I’ll try harder,” Zuleeka went on. “I promise I will.”

Once again, their eyes met and held. This time it was Kiva who looked away first, but as she did so, she whispered, “Of course I’ll give you that time.”

“Thank you, little sister,” Zuleeka said, her voice just as quiet. She then cleared the emotion from her throat and added, “You should probably go before Tor starts to worry that we’re killing each other in here.”

Kiva couldn’t believe it, but she actually chuckled. “He’s a lot more anxious than he used to be.”

“He’s a lot moreeverythingthan he used to be,” Zuleeka said with a comical roll of her eyes. “But no matter how much I want to wring his neck sometimes, he’s a damn good general. Our forces would follow him to hell and back if only he asked. That kind of devotion ...” She shook her head, wonder clear in her eyes. A hint of envy, too, but it was gone again in an instant.

As if unable to wait any longer, Tor peeked his head back into the tent and called to Kiva, “Are you coming?”

She sighed and rose to her feet, hiding a wince as she felt the movement in every part of her.

“Until next time,” Zuleeka said.

There was enough warmth in her words that Kiva’s heart filled with hope, the feeling remaining with her long after she refastened the silver mask, bid her sister farewell, and left the tent.

Zuleeka’s private conversation repeated in Kiva’s mind as she and Torell rode back to Oakhollow, their pace much more sedate than earlier.

Deep in his own thoughts, it was only when the trees began to clear in the distance that Tor broke the silence to say, “She wasn’t always so difficult.”

Kiva’s arms tightened reflexively around him. She hadn’t shared that their sister had apologized, and she didn’t do so now, curious to hear what Torell would say.

“She and Mother were really close, especially toward the end,” he explained. “They spent every minute together — they’d take off into the woods for hours, then return laughing as if they didn’t have a care in the world. There was such a sense of contentment between them, so much hope, so much love.”

Kiva’s heart gave a pang of longing.

“And then Mother left,” Tor continued, steering Olix around a fallen tree trunk. “Something changed in Zulee after that. A darkness came over her, a deep anger brimming just under the surface. At first, I thought it was just grief mixed with the pressure of being the commander, especially with Galdric gone, but it’s been months now, and it’s only grown worse.” His voice lowered. “She’s keeping secrets, sneaking out of camp at all hours. She won’t share her plans, won’t even say where she’s getting most of her information. The palace spies she mentioned? I have no idea who they are; all I can figure is that they’re in deep enough for privileged information.”

“You’re worried about her,” Kiva observed quietly.

“I don’t know who she is anymore,” he replied. “I don’t know the person leading the rebels. That doesn’t worry me — itterrifiesme.”

Kiva pressed closer, trying to offer comfort. “I thought you were coleading them?”

Tor snorted. “That’s what Mother wanted. Galdric, too. But it’s like when I tried to free you from Zalindov — if I make a call Zuleeka disagrees with, we can’t risk division by arguing. I care about our people too much to put them through that, even if I —” He broke off quickly.

“Even if you what, Tor?”

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