The King of Serola studies me with dark eyes. He stares at me for a few moments before turning to the Lord of Rioda. "Where is your daughter? She is the one who discovered this, she should be here to directly address me."

The lord fiddles with some contraption on his wrist. "She will be here any moment, your majesty," he says. "But let us discuss the matter without her. She is not needed."

Pure loathing burns my skin at the sight of the lord. He took Jax. His daughter took Kaya. How many more lives will they extinguish?

The king doesn't relent. "As she is the person who brought this matter to light, she will be present when we begin. I have no other use for her other than to hear her fully recount the events that took place."

"My king," the lord presses. "If my daughter felt the need to bring this," he gestures at me, "then it is clearly of dire circumstance. The events themselves will be of no use – we have the girl. If anything should be known, she will tell us, whether it be by her own will or by force."

"You dare question me?" The king's voice does not rise, yet a dangerous tone edges in. "My decisions are made with the general knowledge of what occurred. If I choose to listen to your daughter, then I will listen."

"Of course, my king." The lord bows his head.

It's strange to see him obedient after the image seared into my head of him being demanding and arrogant. He hasn't changed, his pale hair still cut short and his body still tall and round. The lord doesn't look at me, but sets his gaze straight ahead to the other side of the room.

"The Lady Valentina," a voice calls behind me, followed by the click of approaching heels. I hear the rustling of fabric before Valentina walks past me. She stops at the bottom of the ivory steps to the throne and curtsies, her dark gown billowing around her. Why did she change before meeting with the king if what happened is so important?

"My king," she says as she rises. "Earlier today –"

"Did I give you permission ot speak?" the king interrupts her. Valentina's black clad shoulders tense and her hand clenches her dress. "Continue," he commands.

"Earlier today," she repeats in a slightly strained tone. She pauses for a second and resumes, her voice normal. "I went into the market for jewelry. On the way back, something hit the carriage and we discovered this," she throws her hand back at me, "attacked us, along with a companion. When I–the guard," she stumbles over her words for a moment, "investigated, they attacked us again and we were forced to defend ourselves. Her companion made an attempt on my life and the guard shot her."

"Liar!" I grab the hem of her dress. "We did nothing! You killed her in cold blood like the monsters you are."

Valentina whips her head around and twists her wrist. The bands cut into my arms and I release her dress. Blood drips down my arms and I scream as my skin splits.

"I apologize for the mess, your majesty," says Valentina. "However, you know their kind does not respond to simple commands and we must tame them somehow." A smirk touches her lips as her hands turn again, sending the ice deeper into my flesh.

"That is enough," the king orders. "We cannot have her dead before we finish, and such gruesome acts are no thing for a woman to partake in."

Valentina hesitates, her eyes flashing indignantly, then she reluctantly loosens the cuffs. A gasp of relief heaves from me.

"You said she showed a strange ability, but did not specify," the king says. "Why did you bring her here instead of executing her?"

"After her companion died," she replies, "the forest went up in flames."

Heavy silence descends upon the throne room. The tension and appall is palpable. But why? Valentina took Jax as her Transfer. The forest fire was by her hand, so why is it such a shock?

"Are you certain?" the lord whispers. All eyes turn to him, his orange skin pale. His gaze goes to my ice-encased arms to my face, and back again. "It cannot be. Not after the boy. He was the last one."

"You stole it from him," I seethe. "Your daughter has the blood of the dead running through her veins. It shouldn't come as a surprise that she possesses the ability to turn everything to ash with a mere thought.

"What are you talking about?" Valentina snaps. "Yes, the Transfer I had could wield fire, but that ability did not pass through." She bristles. "I only received reformation."

My brow furrows. If Valentina didn't let the flames loose, then who did? I look from the lord, to Valentina, to the king, all with the same curious and perplexed expression.

After a few moments it dawns on me in a freezing rush. "No," I whisper. "No, i-it can't be." My eyes flick around the room, searching for some sort of alternate possibility. "I'm not a Transfer, I-I can't be. I'm older than thirteen – I would be a Relict."

"That is what is so peculiar about you." The king leans forward. "We must see what this entails, what has resulted in –"

"The Crown Prince Aydrin," comes the voice again.

Another one speaks up. "Father? You summoned me?"

The king's gaze shifts behind me. "Yes, come. We have a situation on our hands, and as the crown prince, you must learn how to deal with scum who bring upon us interesting circumstances."

Footsteps approach behind me until a boy with brown curls topped with a crown of gold steps up to the king. He sits in the throne beside the king and gapes at the sight of me. I have to restrain my own jaw from dropping.

The boy from the market.

The prince quickly masks his surprise. "What is the issue?" he asks coolly.

"It seems we have a Transfer." The king nods to me and the boy's brow creases.

"But she is overage, she is a Relict now. Why is she here? She should be dead."

He says it so easily, without a care, as if my life is no more than a speck of dust on his sleeve.

"That is what I called you for." The king leans back in his gilded throne. "What do you propose we do with her?"

The prince doesn't miss a beat. "Execute her. She is a Relict – what more is there to decide?"

The king slams his fist down on the arm of the throne. "No." Despite his furious actions, his voice remains level. "Do you not see how she does not display the symptoms of Relicts? She is not mad, she does not appear to have lost her mind. Does this look like a Relict to you?" He glares at his son, expression conveying more rage than any words could. "You should investigate, see what sort of anomaly lies within. How are you to be king when you cannot take appropriate action? You have not even thought to question her ability? Do you truly think we would have an audience with the scum if it was not absolutely dire?"

The prince clenches his jaw. "Apologies, Father," he says. "I will strive to be a better ruler."

The king shakes his head as the lord and Valentina remain respectfully silent. "She has the ability of fire," he continues. "She attacked Lady Valentina earlier today, revealing her powers."

The prince's eyes widen. "Fire?" he whispers. "Impossible."

"That's because it is," I say. "I don't have powers, I'm a Standard. It doesn't make sense."

"That is true, it does not make sense." The king tilts his head, studying me. "Tell me, scum. How can you possibly possess an ability that has been near extinct for over a thousand years? How can you still retain your relative sanity?"

I stay silent. No matter how many times I tell them it wasn't me, it's not possible, they brush my claims aside. If I really did have powers, why didn't they show years ago like the other Transfers? Like Jax?

I stare past the king to the windows that pan out behind the five golden thrones, running from ceiling to floor. They gaze out to a clear sky, the high sun brilliantly shining down. A beautiful day that has had no shortage of horrid events.

"Answer me." The king's fist slams down on the throne, again his voice the same. "You dare to disobey your king?

My lips stay sealed. I should answer; my life is in this monster's hands. But there's no life left to live anymore, not without Kaya. Even if I somehow made it out, I'd bring chaos wherever I'd go. She was right.

The lord shifts and his eyes dart between me and the king. "Your majesty," he starts, his voice wavering slightly. Since when is he afraid? "Perhaps it would be better to execute her, as the prince suggested. Why entertain the threat of the mutant? She clearly isn't natural."

The king slowly turns to the lord. "This is my kingdom. This is my decision. I am not accustomed to such foolish words, Lord Galen, and thus have held you highly. Do not cause me to alter that perspective."

It takes me a few moments to realize he's addressing the Lord of Rioda. Knowing his name feels strange, as though I know more about him. Standards simply address Aurelians by their titles and rarely know their names.

Lord Galen quickly steps back and dips his head. "Of course, your majesty."

Suddenly, Valentina spins around and stalks toward me. I flinch as she approaches. She raises her hand and she slaps me across the face. My head snaps to the side and I spit blood. "Your king asked you a question," she hisses.

I refuse to open my mouth. Even if I spoke, nothing I would say could please them. I don't know what is happening. I'm entirely in the dark, yet they don't believe me.

"Fine," says Valentina. She runs her fingers across the upper bands of ice. I inhale sharply, my body trembling with the fear of what's to come. "Did you forget about these?" Valentina wraps her hands around the ice and squeezes. I cry out and she leans in. "Now," she whispers. "answer the question, scum."

"I don't know," I choke out. "I really don't."

"No," she says, clenching tighter. "A real answer."

"Release her," the king commands.

Valentina stares at me for a moment, then lets go. She straightens, smoothing out her gown as I gasp in agony.

"Lady Valentina," he says. "You should not go through with such violent acts. You are excused – you are no longer of use."

Valentina's lips press into a thin line. Then she turns around, bows her head, and walks past me.

The king directs his gaze to me once more. "I will give you one more chance to tell the truth." He leans back again. "How do you retain your sanity and how are you capable of such a power?"

I don't answer immediately, unsure of what to say. If I remain silent, I anger him. If I tell him the truth, that I don't know, I anger him. My mind races but I can't manage to think of a suitable lie. But even if I do, it would end up worse when they discovered I lied.

My eyes go to the prince, entirely quiet after the moment with his father. His elbows dig into his knees, fingertips pressed together. He looks at me with a strange expression, one of curiosity, confusion, and a hint of fear. The last one throws me off. Fear of what? Of me? Of my supposed flames? Of my probably lost sanity? My life is the one on the line – his is atop a gilded pedestal.

Finally, I speak. "I. Don't. Know."

The king remains still for a moment. Then he snaps his fingers and a guard comes over. "Bring me Lord Teren," orders the king.

The guard nods and rushes off. A minute later, the same voice sounds for the third time. "Lord Teren."

A man with black hair in auburn clothing walks out from behind me and bows. "You called, your majesty?"

The king nods. "The scum refuses to truthfully answer. You are to interrogate her on her powers and unveil any secrets. Additionally, test her for any other abilities."

The man turns toward me and I gasp in shock. The man that supported Darren in the Pits. Immediately, thoughts of the crew run through my mind. Has he told the city guards of the Pits? How did he get pas Wes's screenings? Why did he go through all the trouble?

But the question that repeated itself over and over was the one that terrified her the most: What is he going to do to me?

"Your majesty." An excited tone enters Lord Teren's voice. "Am I permitted full reign?"

"Yes." The king's eyes never leave me. "Use any means necessary. Go through her memories, sear them if you must." A terrifying glint touches the his eyes. "Set her mind on fire."