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I stood, ht Max would remain where he was, rooted to his spot until he was ordered to do otherwise There were still rules to obey, despite the unusual circu, and as far as I knew, he was still a prisoner We all were

But instead he moved to stand beside h ain My fa on me

The air around me smelled of a fire’s smoke and a queen’s power as her lips drew back fro atteood hu me, and her voice didn’t irl who has turned my country upside down" Her pale eyes looked dead already but felt as if they were boring right through nored Max’s presence at my side

heountry updth="1em">I flinched from her statement "No, Your Majesty" I wondered what sort of answer she’d expected But fronized immediately that I had misspoken "I--I certainly didn’t mean to"

"Of course you didn’t, ue was deliberate, and I realized that she knew I understood her

Max squeezed ement as he tried to intervene "You can’t do this," he stated to his grande She’s not property to be bargained with She can’t be forced to take the throne"

I waited for the queen to answer hiat all I felt aze "I’ve searched for so long" Her voice faded, drifting off, before finding its way onceSo lovely"

"But what if I don’t want to be queen?"

I thought she’d raise her voice, berate er I didn’t expect her to smile "It’s not up to you, child It never has been"

Xander stepped forward then He’d torn one of his sleeves from his shirt and tied it around his wounded arh He moved to stand in front of both h

Hostility split the air as the two of the it had been since they’d been face-to-face like this The silence between them was palpable, and in that er than the rest of us