“How come you’ve got blue eyes, Tatiana?”

I stare at Zaphenne. She’s sitting on the edge of the bed, her red eyes gleaming.

As soon as I woke up, I didn’t get a chance to explain the weird dream I had. Zaphenne was at the door.

Tatiana insisted that I let the girl in. I’d tried to get her to take control, but she said that she couldn’t.

‘You can handle Zaphenne,’ she’d said. ‘Just be friendly.’

I can’t get the image out of my head of the younger Tatiana in that pond. Glass raining. The bloody crown. Her running at me.

She’d had blue eyes for some reason, and then they’d turned brown. I couldn’t stop wondering why that was.

And now Zaphenne stares at me. She wears a loose, sleeveless black blouse and a thick gray skirt.

‘I don’t have blue eyes,’ Tatiana declares in my head. ‘What’s she talking about?’

“I don’t…” I start carefully, shifting in my still damp clothes.

“Yes,” Zaphenne cuts me off. “You do. At least you do now. They were even blue last night when I saw you. How come?”

I recall Zaphenne’s wide eyes meeting mine as she passed on that dark stairwell. How could she have noticed something like that?

“I didn't say anything because Lady Povenna was scary,” Zaphenne adds. “But—”

I push past her and cross the room in a few hurried steps. Tatiana doesn’t speak until I stop by the cracked mirror.

Sure enough, blue eyes stare back at me. One side of Tatiana’s face is covered with sleep wrinkles. The pink flower is squashed against her cheek.

‘What?’ Tatiana gasps. ‘Why are they blue?’

I start to ask what color they were before, but I cut myself off. Brown. They’d been brown, I remember that much.

Just like the dream.

“You didn’t notice?” Zaphenne pops up next to me. “How?”

“I don’t look at my reflection often!” I snap without thinking.

Zaphenne recoils slightly, worry spilling over her face.

‘Don’t talk to Zaphenne that way!’ Tatiana yells in my head.

“I’m sorry,” I add quickly.

Zaphenne just shakes her head slightly, looking at me in the mirror.

Should I lie? She already knows I didn’t know that they were blue.

‘It doesn’t make sense,’ Tatiana says while I poke at my face.

Zaphenne reaches around me, mumbling something under her face.

“Why do you—”

Zaphenne rips the flower out of my face.

“Ow!” I shriek, staggering back. I meet my eyes in the mirror, watching the glowing skin dull until there’s no sign of the wound or the flower.

“You’re gonna get seeds in your face if you leave Maya O’Hagan’s flowers for too long,” Zaphenne says, tossing the crumpled flower. But her eyes linger on me, searching my face.

‘We’ll have to be honest,’ Tatiana says. ‘You don’t know why they’re blue. Say you’ll talk to mother about it.’

Speaking of the golden woman. If Tatiana’s eyes were blue last night, did Povenna not notice? That seems fishy.

“I’ll have to ask Povenna,” I say. Then I catch myself. “My mother.”

Tatiana groans in my head.

‘You're making it sound strange!’ She snaps.

“Is that okay?” Zaphenne asks, rounding me and approaching the drawer. “Won’t she question you?”

I pause, waiting for Tatiana to supply me with an answer. I can’t imagine what made her think letting me interact with this girl was a good idea.

‘Say something,’ Tatiana says.

What? I can’t just talk freely here, does she not see how horribly this is going?

I flex my fingers, trying to swallow my frustration.

Zaphenne pulls open the third drawer and glances over her shoulder at me.

‘Alyssa!’

“I suppose she’ll have to,” I say.

“I suppose,” she echoes, digging around in the drawer. “Why’d you call Lady Povenna by her name?”

“I’m just tired,” I say, starting for the bed.

‘Wait,’ Tatiana says. ‘What’s she doing?’

I watch as Zaphenne produces a sheathed dagger from the drawer.

“There we go,” she says, drawing the curved blade and tossing the sheath aside. She fixes a flat smile at me. “Where’s Tatiana?”

“Tatiana,” I breathe. What do I do? What do I say?

‘How did she know about my dagger?’ Tatiana whines. I really don’t think she’s understanding how serious this is.

I refuse to take the blame if this gets us stabbed. Tatiana was the idiot who’d insisted that letting Zaphenne in would be ‘fine.’

“If you’ve hurt her.” Zaphenne’s voice trembles as she says it. “Lady Povenna will have your head. I may not look tough, but I am.” She gives the dagger a wave, to emphasize the point, I suppose.

“Zaphenne,” I say, struggling to take her seriously. I'm fully aware of how serious this is, but her waving the dagger like a wand is making it difficult.

“Where is she?” Zaphenne demands.

“I am Tatiana. How could I have killed her when I’m standing right here?”

“If you’ve killed her!” Zaphenne snaps. “I won’t let you get away with it!”

“I am Tatiana!”

“Tatiana doesn’t let me rummage around in her things.” Zaphenne bumps the drawer shut with her hip. “And you’re not even in night clothes.”

‘Get Povenna,’ Tatiana says, finally deciding to speak. ‘She’s our best chance.’

I look to the door and start backing towards it.

“I’ll get my mother,” I say.

“Lady Povenna left with everyone else,” Zaphenne says. She claps a hand over her mouth. “I mean… yeah, she’ll kill you!”

‘What does she mean?’ Tatiana pipes up. ‘Where’d mother go?’

Forget that, I want to scream. Tell me what to say to stop her from attacking me?

“Where did mother go?” I ask slowly.

“Brevard O’Hagan,” Zaphenne says, lowering her hand. ‘‘Lady Povenna and Lord Castor are leading a group out to meet his party. Even if you run. They’ll be able to track you down.”

‘Brevard is coming back?’ Tatiana’s voice jumps an octave, and I flinch.

In that heartbeat, Zaphenne closes the space between us. The blade is at my throat before I process that she’s moved.

‘Wait!’ Tatiana yells. ‘Stop her!’

Now she cares?

I stumble back, and Zaphenne grabs my tunic, leveling the blade at my chin. I put up my hands, my breaths coming quickly.

‘Hit her!’ Tatiana orders. ‘Do it! She’s just bluffing!’

Won’t she just kill me?

“You smell normal,” Zaphenne says, her eyes wide. “Just what sort of magic is this?”

‘Alyssa!’

“I am Tatiana,” I blurt.

“Stop saying that!”

There’s a knock at the door.

“Lady Tatiana?” Abba’s voice comes through. “Are you awake?”

“Wait.” Zaphenne steps back. Her head whips toward the window. “What is that?”

‘Call Abba!’ Tatiana orders.

“Abba!” I yell. “Come in!”

Zaphenne whirls as the door opens. In the same moment, a shadow passes over the curtains.

The curtains whip apart, and a figure bursts through. It lands and rolls. The curtains fall to the floor, and sunlight pours through the window.

Abba lingers in the doorway.

Zaphenne stares.

I struggle to take my eyes off the dagger.

A man is there in the middle of the room. A black ponytail dangles over his shoulder. Plate armor glints in daylight, revealing cracks and bloody chain mail beneath.

A pair of stark blue eyes meet mine. They’re attached to a face that looks as though it should be carved in marble. Smooth and symmetrical to a frustrating degree.

‘Brevard!’ Tatiana wails in my head, making me flinch again. ‘Give me control! Don’t talk to him! You hear me?’

“Tatiana,” the man says, voice smooth as silk drawn from a bed. “Your eyes… are they—”

“What is going on?” Zaphenne shrieks, shoving me back.

The pane appears, then.

‘Brevard O’Hagan. Youngest of the O’Hagan siblings. Tatiana’s truest friend.’

Truest friend? What does that mean?

Brevard glances at her, and then at Abba.

“Good morning.”

Abba backs away and shuts the door.

“Lord B-Brevard?” Zaphenne chokes on the man’s name. “I thought…”

“Sorry.” The man tosses his ponytail as he straightens. “I skipped the big reunion. I didn’t wait fourteen months to see the king and the queen.”

“Something is wrong with Tatiana!” Zaphenne waves the dagger at me.

Brevard catches her wrist and takes the dagger.

“Hey!” She complains as he chucks it onto the bed. But he keeps going, approaching me.

Tatiana says nothing.

Brevard is inches from me now. He smells of sweat and grass. His eyes are fixed on mine.

I stare, still uncertain. I’m a bit lost in the deep blue of his eyes. There are piercings along his left brow: three gems: red, green, and orange.

He raises a hand to the piercings, as if my attention made him aware of them. As he runs his fingers along them, he falls to one knee. The armor at his knee clanks against stone.

I continue staring, my lips flat. Tatiana told me not to speak. So what do I do? And Tatiana isn’t speaking. Why isn’t she speaking?

“I’m sorry,” Brevard says. “I took a bit longer than I planned. Thirteen months longer.”

I blink and glance at Zaphenne. Thankfully, she looks just as confused as I feel. And Tatiana is still silent.

“Do you still…” he lowers his hand and starts to reach for me. But he stops himself. His eyes are on the floor. “Do you still need me, Tatiana?”

A sharp noise rips through my head.

‘That isn’t fair.’ Tatiana’s voice breaks on the words. ‘You said it would only take a month!’

I try to contain my wince. Has she forgotten about me? Should I say what she says?

Brevard raises his head, his eyes flicking to the side.

“I hope you can give me an answer soon,” he says under his breath. “We’re running out of time.”

“What do you mean?” I ask without thinking.

“Not me,” he says, propping an elbow on his knee. “I haven’t broken my promise. I’m not leaving without you. I’m saying that we have seconds before your mother gets here.”

“Oh.”

‘Wait!’

A cloud of smoke explodes between Brevard and me. It twists into the shape of Povenna.

Brevard’s ponytail whips around his squinting face as Povenna lands before him. She wears a black tunic laced with red and green.

“Lady Povenna!” Zaphenne calls. “Something is wrong with—”

“Silence, foolish girl!” Povenna orders. Then, she aims a finger at Brevard. “You tempt my patience, spawn of Garnavelle O’Hagan.”

I lean slightly to the side, watching Brevard pull his ponytail out of his face.

‘I didn’t know what to do!’ Tatiana complains in my head. “He’s going to suspect something is wrong!’

Well, you should have told me what to say!

“I don’t mean to ‘tempt’ your patience.” Brevard stands slowly, and his eyes meet mine for a moment. “I would say I was ‘testing’ it.”

“You believe being engaged to my daughter allows you access to this castle?” The air around Povenna moves. There are heat waves coming off of her.

She won’t just kill him, will she? My panic trips over the word ‘engaged.’ Tatiana is marrying this man? That throws my mind down a whole series of questions I don’t have time to think about.

“Tatiana,” I hiss under my breath. “Help me!”

‘I don’t know!’

“I merely wanted to see if our engagement still stood,” Brevard says, his eyes returning to me again.

‘Of course,’ Tatiana says lightly. ‘You foolish scoundrel.’

“Begone.” Povenna waves her hand, and Brevard vanishes. A gust of hot air whips through the room, and Zaphenne and I are blown off our feet.

Zaphenne lands on the bed, and I land against the mirror. I turn, jutting a foot out to stop the mirror from falling on me.

“Tatiana,” I grumble. “You’re useless.”

“Zaphenne, be off,” Povenna orders, turning to me.

“Did you…” I scan the room. “Did you kill him?”

‘She just sent him to Harken, probably,’ Tatiana says, sounding painfully gloomy. ‘That’s usually what she does when she catches him in here.’

Usually. This is a repeat incident? I feel as though I’m starting to understand Tatiana and Brevard’s relationship. They’re starting to sound like a pair of horny teenagers under the strict rule of a god queen.

I try to balance the mirror against the wall with my foot while Povenna runs Zaphenne out.

‘He’ll be back,’ Tatiana says. ‘I have to be in control when he gets back. And mother can’t know.’

“Have you forgotten that I can hear you, Tatiana?” Povenna shoves the mirror against the wall, and her golden eyes bore into me.

‘I was joking. He won’t come back.’

“Surely.”

“Tatiana!” I complain when I realize Zaphenne is properly gone. “You completely left me out to dry! Zaphenne could’ve killed us! And you told me not to speak to Brevard, so I didn’t!”

‘Well…’ Tatiana trails off.

Povenna takes my arm and drags me to my feet.

‘You’re right,’ Tatiana says. ‘I’m sorry.’

“I know I’m right!” I wipe sweat off my brow. “We can’t just jump into shit like this without a plan, Tatiana. Espescially if you’re going to flake out.”

‘Flake?’

“Castor will be furious,” Povenna says. “The O’Hagan boy broke away from his party and managed to avoid us on his way here. He always has had a talent for cloaking his magic…” she fixes a scowl at me as if that’s somehow my fault. I realize she’s likely thinking of Tatiana.

‘It’s impressive, isn’t it?’ Tatiana asks, either blissfully unaware or actively choosing to flick the shark in the nose.

“What do we do about this?” I decide to cut in before Povenna sets me on fire. I look into the mirror, finding the blue eyes staring back. Tatiana’s blonde hair is a mess. “How long have her eyes been blue?”

“Blue?” Povenna leans in. Her molten eyes seem to narrow slightly. I blink, distracted by that. “When did that happen?”

“Zaphenne noticed it last night,” I say. “That’s what she said. How did you not notice?”

Povenna’s lips tighten.

“I don’t have very good eyesight,” she says under her breath. Then she gestures to her eyes. “Surely, you understand.”

I blink, staring into her golden pools. I’d just assumed her vision operated like normal in spite of that.

‘We get ready for training,’ Tatiana says. “Abba is probably still at the door waiting for us.’

Povenna straightens, glancing at the door.

“You didn’t say Abba was here,” she says dryly. She turns, folding her arms behind her back. “You aren’t going to training, Tatiana. It’s too risky.”

‘But,’ Tatiana insists. ‘I have to see the knights! And Gideon. Espescially after I won against Annandale.’

“Will these knights not see your eyes?” Povenna asks, opening the door.

Abba is there, chewing on a thin stick. She glances past Povenna at me before raising her chin at the queen.

“Lady Povenna.”

“Why are you cloaking yourself?” Povenna asks.

“I thought I would spy,” Abba says. “What is the matter with the princess’s eyes?”

Povenna says nothing for what feels like an hour.

“Mind your business.” Povenna shuts the door.

This secret is doomed.

‘Wait,’ Tatiana says. ‘I can push again.’

Huh?

‘It’s as though there is a wall,’ Tatiana says. ‘When I took control in the arena, I found I was able to push that wall. But when you took control last night, the wall wouldn’t budge.’

I see. Likely because it was a forced swap last night. There must be some kind of cooldown.

‘But now…’

The floor falls out from under me. For a moment, everything blacks out and I’m spinning through open air.

I blink and realize I haven’t moved. I’m staring into Tatiana’s reflection. She has brown eyes.

Tatiana moves, grabbing the mirror and all but shoving her face into it.

“I’m in control!” she cheers. “And… my eyes.” She squints at herself. “Alyssa. Before you died, did you have blue eyes?”

“No,” I say. “They were brown, too.”

“Strange.”

Either way, the blue eyes are obviously a sign of my being in control. That takes me back to that dream of Tatiana in the pond.

Blue eyes becoming brown only after that twisted crown settled on her head.

It would make sense to me if it were the other way around. If her eyes started as brown and turned blue.

Maybe it's just a weird dream. Maybe God is trying to tell me something.

“Mother,” Tatiana says, getting up. “I’m going to training.”