Page 1 of The Crimson Throne
Prologue
Alyth
9 March 1566
Holyrood Palace, Scotland
There are two types of power:
The kind that you’re born with, and the kind that you take.
Mary Stuart was crowned Queen of Scots when she was less than a week old because of her birthright. She is always obeyed. Which is why when she turns to me and orders me to do magic, I know I have no choice.
We’re in the queen’s private supper chamber, and Mary trusts the people in the room with us—David Rizzio, the queen’s noble secretary from Italy, and her half sister, Lady Jean.
She trusts them withmysecret. My power. Meant to serve only her.
“Don’t be boring, Alyth,” Mary whines, waving her hand at me. “Just do something.”
In Mary’s court, I’m Alyth Graham, a bastard daughter allowed to run too wild by an indulgent grandfather. I’m low-ranking enough to beignored but high-ranking enough to be tolerated, so I’m pretty much invisible. Which suits me fine, of course.
Because I’m only a Graham on my ma’s side.
I’m only human on that side too.
“I am not a performing bear,” I grumble.
“Please?” Lady Jean asks. She was born illegitimately but to the former king, so no one cares about a little bastardry. There’s lots of that in the Scottish court.
“You can trust us,” David adds.
I know he speaks the truth. I see the auras all around this room. Loyal purple wafts off David from the chair he rests on. Pink love and orange security weave around Jean and Mary, sitting together on the lounge couch.
Everyone here feels safe.
Even… I twitch to think it. Even me.
“Aye, all right, then,” I say, offering a tentative smile.
All along the wooden walls are tapestries in lush greens, depicting forest scenes.
David and Jean gasp in shock and delight as the woven plants come to life.
Ferns waft in a breeze that’s not real; leaves sway on the trees. The delicate flowers stitched in pink and red and yellow pop their heads up, tilting toward David as he steps closer, his violin forgotten on his chair.
“This is…” he starts. His hand reaches up, trying to touch a bunny peeking around a tree trunk. It blinks at him, real as anything, but as soon as he actually touches it, the illusion is gone.
The tapestry is just cloth. It always was. I merely made it forget its limits for a while. Glamours don’t change reality. They only change the appearance of things.
David turns to Mary, eyes wide, his aura wrapped in curious green. But I can already see a dark shadow passing over the queen. She rules us all, but she is human. Not a drop of magic in her.
“Enough, Alyth,” she says coldly. It’s all fun and games until the queen gets jealous. She might not have the same power I do, but she thinks she can control mine.
I pull my magic back. She can have this. She wanted to show me off, but I cannot show her up.
David, bless him, knows when to keep his mouth shut. But when he looks at me, I see a change in him. He has always been polite, but now I see awe in his eyes. Respect.
He holds one hand to his heart. “Thank you, Lady Alyth, for showing me—”
