Page 115 of The Gilded Cage

This life isn’t one I ever would have chosen for myself.

A lump formed in Kiva’s throat at the remembered words, and she pressed into his side, offering comfort in a way that, hopefully, Zuleeka wouldn’t question.

Tor exhaled loudly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. But then he stilled, his gaze focusing on her neck.

“What’s this?” he asked, lifting the golden chain.

“A gift from Jaren,” Kiva answered, pulling the amulet out from beneath her clothes. “I had a run-in with his mother last night, and he gave me this afterward to protect me from any future magical attacks.”

Both Torell and Zuleeka froze at her words.

“The queenattackedyou?” Tor exclaimed.

“Are you all right?” Zuleeka asked, her concern warming Kiva so much more than her earlier apology.

Kiva didn’t share how close she’d come to drowning in the queen’s sitting room — she’d already given them plenty to worry about tonight. “I’m fine,” she said. “Jaren used his magic to save me.”

“Fire magic against the queen’s water magic?” Zuleeka asked, arching an eyebrow. “How didthatwork?”

Kiva quickly covered, “He has wind magic too, remember? He used it to throw Ariana across the room.” That wasn’t a lie. They just didn’t need to know he must have also used his water affinity to counteract Ariana’s power.

“He didwhat?” Torell asked, gaping.

“And then he used it again to slam the doors shut behind us, locking her in her rooms,” Kiva shared.

“Whoa,” Torell said, with clear admiration.

“It was pretty impressive,” Kiva admitted. “The things they can all do with their magic ...” She shook her head in amazement.

“No one should have that much power,” Zuleeka said, a dark edge to her voice. But then it lightened as she added, “At least they’re all limited in some way. Imagine if we had another Sarana Vallentis among us, with all four elements? Now,thatwould be a concern.”

It took every scrap of acting skill within Kiva not to react. She should tell them. They were her family. But —

I trust you, Kiva. You have to know that by now.

Kiva had betrayed Jaren in so many ways — she couldn’t betray him in this.

“So this amulet,” Tor said, squinting at it in the dark. “It protects you from elemental magic?”

When Kiva nodded, her siblings leaned in for a closer look, with Zuleeka touching each of the colored gems as Kiva explained how it worked.

“You’re lucky the prince cares so much for you,” Zuleeka mused. “This is some gift.”

“Hopefully I’ll never need it again,” Kiva said.

Tor cocked his head. “I thought you said Jaren gave it to youafterthe attack?”

“He did,” Kiva confirmed. “But he also gave it to me in Zalindov — well, technically it was Mirryn who gave it to me — and it saved me from the fire Ordeal. Without it, I would have been turned to ash.”

Her brother’s face paled, but Zuleeka just continued staring pensively at the amulet until Kiva tucked it back beneath her sweater. Only then did Zuleeka shake off her thoughts and say, “We shouldn’t linger here for much longer. But with everything else that happened yesterday, we didn’t get to ask — how did you go with Nanna Delora? Your note implied she helped you?”

“You’re right about her — she doesn’t like us very much,” Kiva said. “I’m pretty sure she thought I was there to steal Torvin’s dagger — at least until I convinced her otherwise.” She turned to her brother and added, “She’s using it as her apothecary’s blade, just like you guessed.”

Tor snorted. “Figures.”

“She showed it to you?” Zuleeka asked, stunned. “I thought it was hidden.”

“Itishidden,” Kiva confirmed. “She keeps it in a hollowed black book called1,001 Pies and Pastries.And she didn’t show it to me in the sense of gloating about it — she used it to make a potion, something to suppress my magic.”

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