It was a fine autumn day, but Matei found no pleasure in it.

He looked up at the glittering façade of the palace, wondering how he could once have called this opulent place home. He saw nothing inviting in it now. White walls stretched up toward the blue heavens, which seemed colder and more distant than they ever had before. The executioner's platform still stood in the Sovereign Square, a short distance away from where Matei and Mhera walked, arm-in-arm, toward the main doors of their former home.

Matei could recall being happy here, once upon a time, but that had been when he was a child; he was a man now, with a man's worries. And although the reminder of how close he and Mhera had been to death loomed near at hand, what was on Matei's mind in that moment was Rhea. What if she did not survive? Aun had seen to her the night before and had treated the ugly wound on her arm, but Rhea had not woken.

"What does Kaori want?"

Matei looked down at Mhera, whose voice had called back his wandering mind. They had just been summoned by Kaori, the middle son of the late emperor Korvan and one of Matei's half-brothers.

"He wants to talk about the succession," said Matei as they mounted the sweeping steps leading up to the grand front doors of the palace. There were usually trios of guards on either side of those doors, but today the attendants wore forest rangers' clothes instead of imperial livery, and on their cheeks were the tattooed markes of the Arcborn.

The days of Emperor Korvan's brittle silver stars and bloody roses had ended, that much was certain; what was to come was still to be seen. The elder prince, Koren, had fled the city with his wife and son after the chaos of the day before. Matei knew what must lay ahead: Kaori must wish to lay his claim to a throne that rightfully belonged to the people. But Kaori and his kind—including Mhera—were the losers in a rebellion for rulership of Penrua.

Mhera's voice was soft, but he could hear worry in it; she knew as well as he did that there could be no happy reason for them all to convene on such a matter. "What is there to talk about?"

"You'll have to ask him that, Mher." Once they had gained the top of the steps, the two Hanpean rebels guarding the doors nodded to Matei and opened to him and Mhera. Mhera's hand slid away from Matei's elbow, and she led the way inside.

Matei was struck by how familiar everything was and, at the same time, how out of place he felt. He had not lived here in so long it was a world he knew only from a dream. His mother, the Golden Empress, had walked these halls; so had Emperor Korvan, the man Matei had known as a father until his thirteenth year. Of course Matei, once a prince named Koreti, had walked them too. So had Mhera as a high-born girl.

Now, Matei was back as the so-called Rebel King, the leader of the movement that had brought unrest to the realm of Penrua and had broken the reign of the Starborn—hopefully, once and for all.

"It's strange to be back here," he whispered, half to himself.

"You should get used to it," Mhera replied, but her words were gentle. From her expression, he suspected she knew much of what was on his mind. She was a perceptive woman. She continued, "You're home...for better or for worse."

Matei thought, For worse. He said nothing, though, and followed Mhera up the stairs to the second level of the palace. "He wants to meet in his chambers."

Mhera led them toward where Kaori's private chambers lay, in the same wing of the palace in which Matei had slept as a boy. His eyes glanced off tapestries and paintings and gilded shields, seeing both the familiar and the unfamiliar eerily intermingling.

When they came upon Kaori's chamber, the door was standing half open. Now that they had arrived, Matei's heart fell into his stomach. He had not had time to properly consider the succession. Being taken off-guard by a discussion on the matter flustered him. He drew a deep breath, resolving to stand his ground.

Certain critical changes in government would need to be made—namely, the introduction of several Arcborn officials into the ruling of the realm. Their voices had been absent or ignored for long enough by the Starborn upper caste, to the detriment of all Arcborn people. Matei hoped Kaori, who had always been the most rational and logical of the three princes, would come to understand what had to happen next.

Inside, Kaori sat in a high-backed chair, supported by a pillow. His right arm, which now ended just above the elbow, was still swathed in bandages. The sleeve of his rich tunic had been rolled back and pinned so that the snowy linen showed beneath the folded cuff. To Matei's surprise, he recognized the red-headed woman who stood just behind Kaori's chair: it was Aun, the healer from Hanpe who had tended to Rhea—one of his dearest friends.

Matei made himself look at that bandaged stump of his brother's arm, his stomach churning with guilt. It was, after all, his own handiwork. As he tore his eyes away, he noticed something which cemented his fears for the conversation that lay ahead. On a small, low table standing next to Kaori's chair was a velvet cushion, and on that velvet cushion was the golden crown once worn by Emperor Korvan.

"Please, sit down," Kaori said, cutting off any awkward formalities before they could begin. He waved his remaining hand, gesturing to the chairs set around the tea table in his parlor. Matei and Mhera each chose a seat, and Aun stepped forward to pour tea.

"Thank you, Aun," Mhera said, looking up at her friend with a smile. Matei noticed the sadness, the tiredness in that expression, and he admired her ability to smile at a time like this.

"We're waiting on one more," Kaori said. "He's on his way."

As if he had been announced by those words, a man of middle years stepped into the room at that moment. Pausing on the threshold, the lorekeeper made an elegant bow in Kaori's direction. "Prince Kaori, how do you fare today?"

Matei was surprised at his own emotion upon seeing the lorekeeper again, a confused mixture of discomfort and relief. He had learned only yesterday that this man, this historian and scholar, was his father. Eovin had loved the empress, had loved her for years, and their forbidden love had borne fruit: a son. Matei and Eovin had not yet had time to discuss all that had happened and all that had been revealed. It was a matter of some personal importance to Matei, but he knew he had to focus on the issues at hand.

Kaori's voice broke into Matei's thoughts. "Come in, Master Eovin. I fare poorly, but not so poorly as I would without Aun to watch over me." He spared a brief, taut smile for the healer. "Please, take your seat. There is plenty of work to be done in the city after the chaos of these past weeks, and I don't see any need to delay getting started. I have set a few things in motion this morning, but there is much more to do. The people need leadership."

Mhera was holding her tea cup on its saucer, perfectly still. Matei had had a chance to observe his cousin in many circumstances over the preceding weeks—although now that all was unraveled, she was not his cousin by blood, was she? Only by marriage. He had seen those hands tremble, had seen them wet with tears and with blood. Now, they were unnaturally still, and he had the sense that these were truly Mhera's hands. Calm. Steady.

Mhera said, "I hope they shall have it, Your Highness. The Holy City deserves a leader who will raise up every person equally."

Matei waited to speak. He wanted to get a feel for Kaori's mind on the matter of the succession and the government of Penrua before he could be free with his own opinion. As a leader himself, Matei had much experience bringing men and women through a variety of difficulties, including battle, and he had learned early on that an idea is best received when a person thinks it is his or her own. He would learn Kaori's perspectives and then find a way to angle toward his own goals, if he could, before opting for arguments or force.

Kaori said, "Yes. We do deserve such a leader. All of us."

Aun, who was the only other person in the room to wear a marke like Matei's, glanced at him. Matei returned her look without smiling.

"Tell us what is on your mind, Your Highness," Eovin said, "and we will come to an agreement, I am sure." He looked at Matei, raising his brows, and Matei gave a slight nod.

"First of all, you can stop trading those furtive glances," Kaori said. He shifted in his chair, settling back against the cushion with a grimace of discomfort. "I've no desire to quarrel and no patience for secrets at a time like this. Second—and, well, it's the only other thing—Koreti, you're going to wear the crown." 

Well, my friends, here we are: it's time to determine who will rule Penrua in a new age. What do you think about Kaori's announcement? How do you think Matei will react?

We'll find out soon enough! Thanks for joining me on the journey!