Daria turned to Luxuros. “She really doesn’t know anything, does she?”
“By design,” the commander scoffed.
“You’re an incredibly powerful weapon. Your mother knows that. The moment she lets another court get their hands on you, she loses all control, and we just didn’t think she’d ever do it. Especially to someone like Mirquios. Mars, maybe.”
“She tried that,” Astra cut in. “But the king and I Tethered. She couldn’t fight it.” Daria held Astra’s eyes, a ruby streak of resentment painting the walls of her ribs. Whatever she wanted to say, she kept to herself.
Luxuros let a deep sigh sink between them, squinting as he revealed more information than he felt comfortable with, but they were in too deep now. Astra needed to know.
“The Mercurian rebels believe the queen is trying to get Astra out of the Lunar Court to protect her from Solan. If she was married and settled in another court, Solan would have to engage in yet another war in order to attack her. Mars would be an obvious choice for her—they were good enough to trust a Lunarian princess once, so why not a second time?”
Daria tucked her chin as she processed this. “That can’t have gone over well with Mars. There’s no trouble between your courts now, is there?”
Luxuros shrugged. “It’s not the first time a Lunar princess has Tethered her way out of a Martian engagement.”
“I’m sure Omnir is pissed. He’s young, his temper is nothing short of volatile.”
Luxuros waved his hand. “The child has been dealt with.”
“What does that mean?” Astra growled.
“It means the Mercurian treasury looked quite a bit lighter the morning after your engagement, Fire Queen,” Luxuros muttered. Astra’s cheeks warmed. She hated the idea of a bunch of men sitting around a table striking deals against her hand. “Mirquios believes you to be a worthy investment, though sometimes I’m not sure,” he said, a hollow grin on his lips.
“I don’t understand?—”
“The last Lunar princess with your… spark…” Daria began, a wicked smile pulling at her berry-stained lips. “...bled out on the Solar Court’s gilded tiles for a reason, Astra. Leona was a dangerous threat to them and they knew it. You’ve barely scratched the surface of what you’re capable of. Your little reading ability? Party trick.”
“Thank you!” The commander sighed. “I’ve been trying to tell her this. With a little training and, gods forbid, some structure, she could unleash gods know how many talents. She doesn’t listen.”
“That’s your first mistake,” Daria laughed, leaning back in her chair. “You can’t tell Astra Leona what to do. You have to let her come around to it on her own.”
“Time wasn’t on my side,” Luxuros laughed.
Astra’s head swirled, a thousand different thoughts dying on her tongue as she tried to process. “I believe you wanted my help with something,” she said.
Daria focused. “Yes. You saw that Ellume’s Gate is no longer under Ivonne’s control. The rebels have claimed it as a port for other rebels to use. We’ve taken half the city at this point. But Ivonne is still High Priestess and making our lives miserable. She’s conceded what we’ve taken, but her side of the city has fallen into ruin as she rakes in her tithes. It’s bad, As.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“We took over the gate near Spring Equinox.”
Astra winced. It had been half a year without a whisper of something so dire—her mother was even more out of touch than she feared.
Daria continued. “The Ellumian Council is doing anything they can to stamp out the rebels. Our ranks have grown to hundreds now, but we don’t have the funding or the sentry. They routinely sweep our barracks and imprison us, if not worse. Two weeks ago they arrested our Nova Captain, Lumas. We’ve been unsuccessful in locating him… but you could waltz into the temple council chambers and no one would bat an eye. We only need to know where they’re keeping him—I won’t ask you to risk your neck for a stranger.”
Astra tilted her head. “Does your mother know about your affiliation?”
“Does your mother know about your affiliation?” Daria returned, glancing toward Luxuros. “Ivonne suspects, but she would fling herself off the Ellumian cliffs before she’d let the council find out her own daughter is poised to gut her city once and for all.”
Astra flushed, her nerves flaring in her fingertips. “Understood.” Her lips twisted into a concerned knot. “I’ll help you. I have business with your mother. I’ll seek her out first thing in the morning.”
“Mother?” Luxuros asked, his brow arched.
Daria dropped her gaze, chuckling under her breath. “Astra is not the only Lunarian with mommy issues.”
Ameera clarified for him. “Daria Bloodmoon, daughter of Ivonne Bloodmoon, High Priestess of Ellume. Though you hardly get either of them to admit it.”
“At your service,” Daria quipped, saluting the commander. “I’ll escort you home. It’s dangerous in the streets, but we’ve built underground paths all over the city. The Crescent Manor still falls under Ivonne’s territory, but she hardly leaves the temple these days. She certainly doesn’t know her own daughter is raising an army against her,” Daria said, winking. She rose from her desk, tugging on the leather hem of her chest piece.
