Beatriz

Bessemia mourns its empress, and Daphne and Beatriz play along, dressing in black and arranging a spectacular funeral fit for an empress, a final act as the dutiful daughters, and one they play well. The story they spin is that Adilla murdered her—an unknown girl with unknown motives that may never come to light, but it's a good thing Daphne and Beatriz were there to subdue her before she could hurt anyone else.

The sun disappearing for a day is a harder event to explain, but the title of saint that has followed Beatriz from Cellaria helps matters, and when she tells a group of courtiers and palace servants that the stars turned dark after protecting her and Daphne from Adilla, they believe it easily enough.

But there are other questions that are more difficult to answer.

After the funeral, as Daphne, Beatriz, and Violie walk back to the palace together, Daphne brings up the one that's been plaguing her the most.

"Why must I be empress?" she asks them.

Both Beatriz and Violie stare at her. "Are you being forced?" Beatriz asks.

"It feels that way," Daphne admits. "It felt like it was just…decided. I suppose when it looked like you would die, I was the only option, but now…"

"Do you not…want to be empress?" Violie asks.

"Not particularly," Daphne says. "Not anymore. I want to return to Friv."

Beatriz laughs, earning a glare from Daphne. "I'm sorry, but if I'd told you last year you'd be saying that, you would have pummeled me."

"All the same," Daphne says, shaking her head. "I love Bessemia—truly I do—but they deserve better than an empress who feels yoked to the throne."

"Forgive me for saying so," Violie says carefully. "But I don't believe Friv will want you—or anyone—as queen."

"Oh, I know that," Daphne says. "But I do think there's much to figure out there, and it's a diplomatic knot I would very much enjoy untangling."

"With Bairre," Beatriz says, fighting a grin. "Your fingers grazing every so often, just so."

Daphne blushes. "He is my husband," she says.

"He doesn't have to be," Beatriz points out. "Now that Mama is gone—"

"I will throttle you if you say another word about that," Daphne says. "I chose Bairre, and he chose me, and Mama has nothing to do with it."

"Fine, then," Beatriz says, lifting her hands. "You want to frolic through Friv with Bairre."

"I don't frolic." Daphne scowls.

"Have you told him what Aurelia told me? About his true parentage?" Beatriz asks her.

Daphne shakes her head. "It isn't my story to tell. But I will be having a word with Aurelia to convince her to tell him. He deserves to know, and so does Queen Darina. Though I don't think Bairre will ever call her Mother after the way she's treated him his whole life."

Beatriz knows that's the right decision, but she's sure it isn't easy for Daphne to keep a secret from her husband, and she feels guilty for sharing the information in the first place; still, she doubts Aurelia would have told Bairre on her own.

"So you don't want to rule Bessemia," Beatriz says, and when Daphne shakes her head, Beatriz glances at Violie. "And you?" she asks. "We could keep up the pretense of you being Sophronia—we could say you were disfigured in a fire and when we healed your face with stardust, you looked different."

Violie laughs, shaking her head. "No offense to Sophronia, but I'm very much looking forward to being called the name my mother gave me again."

"Still," Beatriz says, almost hopefully, "you wouldn't be the first commoner empress of Bessemia, and you'd certainly be an improvement on the last one."

"Flattered as I am by that high praise, I'll have to pass," Violie says.

"Planning on running back with Leopold to Temarin?" Daphne asks. "I'm sure you'd make a fine queen there, too."

Violie opens her mouth, but she closes it again, considering her words carefully before speaking. "Perhaps one day," she says. "But there's a lot to do in Temarin just as Violie. And you?" she asks Beatriz. "Are you anxious to return to Cellaria?"

"Stars, no." Beatriz snorts. "Even if I didn't believe Gisella would have me assassinated if I tried."

"What will you do, then?" Daphne asks her.

Beatriz doesn't know how to answer. She told Sophronia about all the things she wanted to do, but now that she's here among the living with a wide future in front of her, she doesn't know where to begin.

"You'd make a good empress," Daphne tells her.

"Mama would roll in her grave at the thought of it." Beatriz laughs, shaking her head.

"All the more reason, then," Daphne says. "Empress Beatriz…it does have a nice ring to it."

Beatriz can't pretend she doesn't agree, but…

"I want to see the world," she tells Daphne. "I want to be able to go to taverns and dance all night. I want to flirt outrageously and kiss more boys than I can count. I don't want a stuffy life, stuck in the palace presiding over council meetings and courting favor at tea parties."

Daphne considers that for a moment. "Friv gets very cold in winter," she says. "I wouldn't mind being in Bessemia for part of the year, helping you rule. Ruling in your stead, should you wish to leave for a while."

"And as much as I love Temarin, Bessemia is my home," Violie adds. "And my mother would never leave, so I'll have to come here to visit part of the year. Should you need any assistance."

"You can't be serious," Beatriz says, looking between them.

"And why not?" Daphne asks. "Being empress is a big job for one person. You shouldn't have to shoulder the burden yourself."

Beatriz frowns. "I just…never thought I would be empress."

"I never thought I would want to live in Friv," Daphne points out.

"I never thought I would fall in love with a king," Violie adds.

"And," Daphne says, waving an arm at the cloudless bright blue sky, and the sun shining down on them, "I don't think anyone ever thought our sister would be the sun. But here we are."

When Beatriz doesn't respond, Violie nudges her with her elbow. "Well? Shall we call you Empress Beatriz?"

The more they say it, the more Beatriz likes the sound of it. And she did promise Sophronia she would make the most of her life—how many seeds can she sow as empress?

"Empress Beatriz it is," she says.