Vesta folds her arms across her chest and looks over to Zukar.

“I asked Nymera to talk some sense into Kalil because he isn’t acting like himself. He’s become arrogant. Cruel.” She shakes her head. “You saw how he responded to Zinna’s suffering. And he threatened to kill you because you asked him for help.”

Her brow furrows.

“I said if that’s how he treats the people closest to him, then I fear for everyone beneath his crown. Nymera is the only one that has a chance of getting through to him, and stop him from becoming a monster.” A faint, unapologetic smile tugs at her lips. “I wasn’t diplomatic about it. I said what I thought, and I didn’t soften a single word.”

Turning back to Jade, her expression grows more resolute.

“I am not one of the ‘heroes’. I am Ramtovi. I have no kingdom to serve, and no banner to kneel beneath.” She pauses. “I may have saved the world, but that doesn’t make me a hero.”

A shadow crosses her face.

“My loyalty has always belonged to my Queen. And now she’s dead.”

She goes quiet for a moment.

“They will make their decision. I have already made mine.” She shrugs. “I will not apologize for speaking my truth. I won’t bite my tongue because someone demands it.”

She meets Jade’s gaze without flinching.

“If they choose to kill me, then that’s their choice. I can’t stop them from murdering innocents if they decide my words are reason enough to condemn a kingdom I don’t even belong to.”

A bitter smile touches her lips.

“The stars you darken can’t light your path. And one day, when they’re lost in the dark, they’ll wonder why the sky no longer answers.”

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