Chapter 2 The Crystal Breaks

I opened the door.

He was taller than I remembered. Black coat. Dark hair. Eyes the color of cold silver. In my first life I only saw him from far away at my funeral.

King Kael Draven looked at me for a long time. Too long.

"Your Majesty," I said, and bowed my head. "I did not know the king would visit so early."

"I did not plan to." His voice was low and calm. "An hour ago, something in this house woke up. I felt it from the garden. I came to see what it was."

My heart jumped. The seal. The tea.

"Maybe it was the wind," I said.

"There was no wind." His eyes moved to my chest, then back to my face. "They say you have no magic, Miss Calder."

"They say many things."

One corner of his mouth moved. It was not a smile, but it was close.

"Then let us see who is lying today. I will be in the temple. Do not look away when the crystal wakes."

He walked down the hall and left me standing there with my heart beating like a drum. He never told me how he knew. But I had no time to think about it. Today was a big day.

The temple of Valen was full. White stone walls, gold lamps, hundreds of people. In the center stood the Awakening Crystal, tall as a man and clear as ice.

I walked in wearing my old white dress. A few girls laughed behind their hands. Someone said, "Poor thing. She still hopes for a miracle."

Good. Let them laugh.

Then Seraphine came in, wearing a gold gown with flowers in her hair. Everyone turned to look at her, just like I wanted. She gave me a sweet smile, the kind that hides a knife.

"Do not feel bad if nothing happens today, sister," she said softly. "Some people are just born that way."

"Thank you, Seraphine," I said. "You are so kind."

My stepmother, Lady Corinne, sat in the front row beside my father, wearing a worried face she had practiced for years. My father would not look at me at all.

Then I saw him.

Lord Damian Hale sat on the right side in a fine grey coat. Handsome. Calm. Smiling. It was the same smile he wore when he poured my wine.

My stomach turned cold, but my face stayed soft. He looked at me like I was just a quiet girl he would soon own. He did not know I had already died by his hand.

The priest raised his staff. "Let the Awakening begin."

One by one, young witches stepped up. Some made the crystal glow green. Some made it blue. The crowd clapped for each one.

Then the priest called, "Seraphine Calder."

She placed her hand on the crystal, and a bright silver light filled the hall. People gasped. Some stood to clap.

"A rare silver gift!" the priest cried. "The Calder house is blessed!"

Lady Corinne cried happy tears. I looked at that silver light and felt a sharp pain in my chest. Because it was mine. They had been drinking my magic since I was a baby.

"Next," the priest said, tired. "Mira Calder."

The hall went quiet. Then somebody laughed, a small, cruel laugh.

As I passed my stepmother, she whispered, "Do not shame us."

I smiled. "I will try, Mother."

I climbed the stairs. Near the wall, King Kael stood alone with his arms crossed, watching only me.

I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the crystal.

Nothing.

No light. No sound. The whispers started. Then the laughing.

The priest sighed. "It seems this girl has no"

Crack.

A thin line of light ran across the crystal. The priest stopped talking.

Crack. Crack.

Gold light poured out of the cracks, then black light, deep as the night sky, rising to the ceiling. The lamps shook. People screamed.

The seal on my chest burned like fire. But I felt no pain. I felt free, like a chain breaking after eighteen years.

Then the crystal exploded.

A wave of gold and black light rushed through the hall. When it settled, I was still standing. My hair floated around me. And on my right wrist, glowing gold, was a mark shaped like a crown of thorns.

Nobody spoke. Nobody breathed.

The priest dropped his staff. "The Witch Queen mark," he whispered. "It has not been seen for three hundred years."

Across the hall, Seraphine's silver glow flickered and died like a candle. She grabbed her chest and stared at me, scared.

Far back, King Kael did not look shocked at all. He only gave me one slow nod, as if he had waited a long time for this.

Then I searched for another face. Damian.

In my first life, he smiled at everything. At my wedding. At my sickness. At my death.

Now his smile was gone. His eyes were cold and sharp, and he stared at the mark on my wrist the way a hungry man stares at gold.

He stood up and walked slowly toward me. At the foot of the stairs, his smile came back, but it did not reach his eyes.

He held out his hand and said, loud enough for the whole city to hear, "Mira, my love. I think it is time we talked about our wedding."

Every eye in the temple turned to me.