Chapter 101

I tensed.

“His mother wasn’t royalty. She was soft-spoken. Gentle. But unfit, in the eyes of the court. And so, from the very beginning, they were set against each other. The court made them rivals. The king encouraged it. Always pushing. Always comparing.”

Her face twisted, pain flashing across her translucent features. “But Darius didn’t need to try. Power came to him as easily as breath. While