Book 5: One Step Forward

Amval

A few days after Kaloni’s coronation, I wait in the side room Ingrid let me into. Through a crack in the door, I watch staff rushing past with crisp precision. Ever since Kaloni took the throne, the palace has returned to its old self. Perhaps even more efficient than it was under Mother and Father, though I mouth a prayer to the sky after thinking that. It seems Kaloni is a better leader than any of us dreamed.

I inhale slowly. My people are in good hands—or they will be, just as soon as I root out whoever is hunting my family like a ghost in the night. Kaloni must be their next target, and this time, instead of settling for my siblings and I watching the carnage, they want the eyes of the whole kingdom.

My aching jaw informs me I’ve clenched so tightly my teeth are complaining. Releasing is an active force of will. The more I watch Kaloni thrive, the more I resent whoever stole so much of her family from her already. She deserves to be quee