Page 58 of The Prince's Fealty

Maybe Ada was wrong. Maybe the plan was simply to wipe all of them out. Maybe someone wanted to start over and didn’t think there should be a High Sovereign at all.

But… they were in Fila.

Ada blew out a breath and then admitted, “I can only think of one reason why someone would want to kill CalaandTorandme.”

Either Fernila was the best actor in the world, or she had nothing to do with this, because she stared at Ada for a long, uncomprehending moment before she went a bright, blotchy red.

“I would never harm any of you! How could you think that?”

The problem was, Adadidn’treally think that, and that must have shown on her face, because the color slowly washed out of Fernila’s.

“But… but that would mean….”

She couldn’t complete the sentence, but she didn’t have to.

“That would mean that the last to die will be you, dearest.”

Ada hadn’t visited Fila often, but she’d still seen King Nostex on a number of social occasions. She certainly wouldn’t say she knew him well, but it was still eerie how different he was now.

Gone was the joviality and good humor that Ada had always associated with him. His expression now was hard and utterly devoid of warmth.

Instead, his eyes glittered with satisfaction, which made it even worse.

Ada swallowed thickly.

“Very good, Princess,” Nostex said. His green eyes were like chips of ice. How had he masked it so completely before? Had they all just been too foolish to see the truth? “I think you’re the first one to have worked it out.”

“Father!” Fernila gasped out. She sounded bewildered and horrified. “I… I don’t understand. How could you?”

The hate-filled glare Nostex shot at his daughter made her rear back, clutching at Cala, even within Var’s shield.

“If it weren’t for you, I would have won the war!”

Fernila looked stunned—and as confused as Ada was.

“I don’t understand.” Fernila’s voice trembled. “I wasn’t even born.”

Face a rictus of anger, Nostex corrected, “Your mother chose you over me! I only needed a little more magic! And she chose you!”

“I… I don’t understand.” Fernila’s voice was high and reedy. “Mother died giving birth to me.”

“Your mother killed herself!” Nostex roared.

Fernila jerked back. “What? No.”

Nostex’s face was a snarl. “I only needed a little more magic! I could have defeated Ralexa!”

Ada watched as Fernila went white as snow until even her lips were pale and bloodless. Almost voicelessly, she said, “You were pulling too much from the Fealty. That’s how my brother died, isn’t it?”

“I just needed a little more magic!” Nostex repeated, as if that explained everything.

Almost tonelessly, Fernila said, “Mother stopped you.”

Ada stared in horrified fascination. Nostex’s wife had deliberately broken their bond to stop Nostex from pulling any more magic? To ensure that her baby survived? Ada could barely believe such drastic tactics had been necessary, except that faced with this man, it was all too clear. She swallowed against the lump in her throat, touched by the woman’s courage and sacrifice.

Nostex still looked enraged, but there was cold, hard triumph there now, too.

“No one can stop me now.”