That girl . . . she was the core of me, but she was weak. And I knew better than anyone that weakness killed faster than a bolt of lightning while you stood in a mud puddle.

“Let’s go see Bella.” I scooped my toes under the haft of my spear and flipped it up. Before I could catch it, Peta shifted, jumped into the air and caught it with her mouth. She spit it out to me and I caught it.

“Reflexes like a cat,” she said. “You should work on that.”

Laughing, and knowing that was her intention with her antics, I nodded. “I’ll do that.”

CHAPTER 3

elladonna, my oldest sister, one of my closest friends and now queen of the Rim, stood in nothing but the skin she was born in while a seamstress measured her.

“Ow, do you have to pull so hard?” She glanced down at the older elemental at her feet as she pulled a skirt tight around her waist, tugging at it to get it to overlap further. The seamstress was chunky, like a ball with legs, her body fluffed out like her namesake. Peony, if I recalled right. Only once had she measured me for a custom dress. When I was ten, right before my mother was killed. She’d called me a bastard half-breed and spat at my feet.

“Your Highness, I wouldn’t have to pull so hard if you didn’t insist on trying to fit into clothes you wore when you were sixteen.” Peony swatted Bella on the ass cheek. “Now stop squirming. I’d like to be done before lunch.”

Bella’s jaw dropped and she glanced at me as I stepped into the room. “Do you see this behavior? This is not how you treat your sovereign.”

I shrugged. “I’d have done worse than swat you on the ass. Probably would have thrown you into a mud puddle.”

The seamstress laughed around a mouthful of pins. “I always liked you, Lark. You say what you mean.”

I felt the lie as easily as if I’d put my hand out and touched it. One of the perks of having Spirit as an element—or downsides, depending how you looked at it—was that from time to time, I could pick up on the truth of someone’s words.

“Oh, I doubt you ever liked me. I am the half-breed bastard, after all,” I said softly. The seamstress stiffened and her movements became hurried.

Bella tipped her head to one side. “Really, Lark? Did you have to say that?”

I shrugged. “I can’t abide lies, Bella. They soothed me for too many years to swallow them now.”

Peony finished and left at a pace that belied the size of her belly. I watched her go, wondering what it said about me that I didn’t feel bad for embarrassing her.

Bella snagged a dress and pulled it over her head. “Since you scared Peony away, you have the honor of lacing me up.”

I stepped up behind her and took hold of the laces at the back of the dress. Working them quickly, I made sure to pull evenly on each side, her shape forming nicely under the material. “I don’t think you’ve changed since you were sixteen.”

“I’ve had a child, Lark. Of course I’ve changed.” She smoothed her hands over her hips and flat belly. “But you didn’t come to talk about the size of my rear, did you?” Her eyes met mine in the reflection of the mirror.

I finished lacing her dress, tying a perfect bow at the top. “No, I didn’t.”

“What then? You have been home for only a few hours and I see the restlessness in you already.” Bella turned and motioned toward a table and two chairs. I sat and immediately stood back up, unable to hold still. She was right, I had to keep moving.

Bella raised both eyebrows, but made no further comment on my inability to sit still. “Wherever you are wanting to go, Lark, you must do it without the armbands.”

That stopped me mid-pace. Did she mean to forbid me to leave? Anger swelled and with it, Spirit rose in me, wrapping itself around my connection to the earth. The Spiral shook, trembling.

“Easy, Lark,” Peta murmured. “This is your sister, not some errant elemental who wishes you harm.”

I kept my mouth shut and waited for Bella to explain, hoping Peta was right.

Bella poured herself a cup of tea, stirred in sugar and cream, and took a sip, acting as though she didn’t feel the tremor in the Spiral.

As if she thought the waiting was hard for me.

“I sat in an oubliette for a long time, Bella.” I crossed my arms. “I think I can outwait you on a simple explanation.”

She grimaced as if her tea were sour. “Goddess, I am an ass. Lark, I’m sorry. The games I must play to keep those around me believing me to be a good queen . . . they never stop. I had no idea.”

“You have been queen for only a few months,” I pointed out. She’d officially taken the role right before the battle with the demon horde, when our family had turned to her.

Her eyes flashed. “You think it was an easy task you pawned off on me?”

“It was never meant for me, despite what Father said. I am not a Terraling through and through. I cannot abide my feet to be in one place; you said it yourself. You, on the other hand, have always been ready to be the queen.” I pointed a finger at her. “You have it in you to be the greatest queen the Rim has seen. I know it.”

A tear welled and fell from one of her eyes, plunking into her tea. “Nothing has gone right, Lark. From the beginning. We lost people in the battle against the demons, and when we came back, there was dissent over whether I should be allowed to stay on the throne. Our people have been ruled by so much madness, they are no longer afraid to stand up to their ruler.”