Let your light burn, Fire Queen. He beamed to her.
“I’m very ready,” Astra said.
Tula’s eyes sparkled with pride as she introduced Astra to the courtiers below, a hush falling over the crowd as the music stopped.
“Queen Astra Leona Aurellis, may she reign with the love of the Mother, Within and Without.”
Astra let a smile rest on her face, despite knowing what she was about to do.
What they were all about to do.
She stopped at the balcony’s edge instead of turning toward the steps. The first face she saw as she looked down into the crowd was Oestera’s, her lips set in a reverent smile as Nayson whispered something to her.
The second face she saw was Lunelle’s, braced for what was to come.
And the third?
Ivonne Bloodmoon, her dull eyes searing into Astra. She judged everyone in the room, but especially the young queen—the rebellious princess who was never good enough for the court, let alone the throne.
She shoved the midnight fear rising aside and found her center; found who she was in the chaos, the way Lux had patiently shown her time and time again.
“Thank you all for attending this joyous occasion,” she started. Hundreds of eyes cast over her as the room dripped in golden candlelight and silver moonlight. Moonshine and champagne floated around on trays as greedy fingers plucked the crystal glasses and drained them.
“For too long, we’ve thrown elaborate celebrations at this palace while our cities and villages fall into disrepair.”
The room shifted from metallics and rosy pastels to a confused murky gray, eyes slipping from her face to their neighbors.
“For too long, we’ve reveled in our wealth while entire villages wonder where their next meals will come from.”
The room plunged deeper into the shadowy grays, each rotted conscience sinking below the mire.
“For too long, we’ve been convinced by the gods that the Courts Between were chosen. Better than the Living Courts, but not good enough to stand up to the Court Above.”
The charcoal and dust swirled to a bruised maroon as skepticism gave way to outrage at her blasphemy.
“But that was merely an illusion, carefully crafted to keep us appeased and sow distrust amongst us. If they could make us feel like we held power over those below us, we’d never have a reason to look up.”
Astra stepped forward, the weight of the robes dragging behind her. She ran a finger along the banister before her, watching the faces below flush in shades of pink.
“There was a time when those same gods feared us. Feared what we might do if we knew who we really were. They kept us divided so that we might not come together against them. They made us hate each other so that we might not realize the strength that comes from embracing one another’s ways of life. They pitted Sun against Moon, and we never batted an eye.”
Chests swirled in shades of orange, red, and yellow. Some, though few, bloomed in excited greens and blues.
“The Court Above decided our Fates and made sure to never let us know how much control we had all along. But because the bravest among us were willing to turn away from their rules—to love without fear—our eyes were opened, and now we cannot close them. For too long, the Courts Between and the Living Courts have been home to corruption and greed at the hands of gods who feed off our fear. But that fear ends tonight.”
Astra brushed her hands along the carved banister one more time, resting them gently against the smooth stone. Ivonne’s lips twitched, the irritation rolling in red waves along her spine.
“Thank you, all of you, for bearing witness to the first and only night of the last Lunar Queen’s reign.”
Chests erupted in brilliant shades of burgundy fury. But something else rose with them, along the edges—a pale blue, like the rushing waves of the Somnia. Hope.
“Tomorrow, you will wake up in a new court, a new era. A world built on the strength of our community, and not on the fears of the gods who only interfere when they might lose something. A court that honors the least of us as the greatest. A court built for her people, not on their backs. Tomorrow, you wake up in the first of many realms to stand against the Court Above. And if that does not appeal to you, if you do not think you can stomach a world in which wealth is shared and greed is no longer a choice… if you do not wish to be amongst the workers and the builders, then I advise you to begin your exodus.”
She smiled at the crowd below, whispers already rising on a tide of crimson outrage as she plucked the golden crown off her head and set it on the banister. Steps echoed off the edges of the hall as black-clad Rebels poured into the seams, ready for whatever came next.
She held the crown in her mind, sending a righteous heat through the star-barbed twists. Two thousand years of anger slipped from her veins, melting the crown into liquid gold that dripped over the balcony like the blood of the gods who’d be next.
She set her face again, her amber irises flaring.