Victoria
I tried the summoning for the fourth time. In my previous life I’d known power existed, but the naïve me had dismissed it as a childish curiosity. Now I need it. I needed every advantage for the plan I was building.
My eyes lingered on the practice jewel in my palm, a test piece, not one of the real hearts locked away in my safe. Frustration flared and I tossed it onto the table.
The real jewels sat in their box, glowing like little temptations I couldn’t touch. Not yet. Not here. Not while I still had to hide what I was.
“Lady Victoria?” my lady-in-waiting called softly from the doorway. Her face was full of polite concern.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Your father… Duke Lombardy, has arrived,” she said.
I froze. My chest tightened.
Why was my father here? I slid the test jew
