"You didn't tell him," Tarin said.

"You do not order me," Kieme murmured, sweeping the dress up in her arm. "Kreis may be here, but I am still Queen, as I shall be until the day I die."

"Where is he?" Tarin asked. Kieme began to change into the blue and gold garment, her back to Tarin.

"You will see him when I do," she said. "When he comes to see the Queen of Shadows."

"You have no right to keep him from me..."

"You haven't seen him in eighteen years, so I don't see how a few more hours makes a difference. It seems like you have another son you should be worrying about."

Tarin frowned, clenching her fists. "That's the reason I came here today," she said. "He can only be saved from Earth."

"Well, doesn't one of your keys open a portal to Earth?"

"One must go to the Well," Tarin explained. "He was sent there from Earth, so he must come out on Earth. However, the Well on Earth is buried underground, and has been for thousands of years. There's no way we could excavate it in our lifetimes..."

"Well, we can't just give up on him! There must be another way-we just have to find it-"

"He will be freed," Tarin said, "but even Triana couldn't tell me how far in the future that moment was."

Kieme lifted her hair, and Tarin assisted her with the buttons on the back of her dress. "Does he know?"

"Yes. He watched Triana dream it."

"So Triana has her powers under control?"

"She is quite likely the strongest Tresuan who has ever lived," Tarin replied. She braided Kieme's hair, then pinned it in a knot at the back of her head.

"Her skills will most likely make her a better Queen than I have been," Kieme said. She fitted the crown with its long train of gold over her head, the links on the back clicking against each other as Tarin tucked her hair into them. The metal felt cold on her cheeks, and it was heavy. She would only have to wear it a few more times...

"Finally," she whispered, "it's almost over."

"We still have one more battle to fight," Tarin reminded her.

"I said, almost," Kieme said, looking at herself in the mirror. It had been months since she'd seen the suite of rooms that belonged to the Queen of Shadows, and since she had donned the dress and crown that marked her as ruler of the world. The outfit transformed her into something colder, someone unfamiliar even to herself. She looked only a bit like Kieme Aemonstane, a resemblance even those closest to her would overlook.

Those closest to her...a sadly short list. And of those, how many would mourn her when she was gone? It was better this way, she thought, as she applied makeup to redden her lips and darken her eyes. For a second, it seemed as if she could feel the spirits of the dead looking over her shoulder, waiting for her to join them...

"Don't cry right after you put on your makeup," Tarin admonished her. Kieme lowered her brows, the last mask of the Queen of Shadows being her unreadable smile.

"I wasn't going to cry," she said. Her voice was the Queen's now, and Kieme had faded back from the persona that she played.

This would be a lot easier if her heart weren't so divided. She wanted to despise Kreis Delamuir, for the fact that her life was going to be sacrificed for him to become the ruler of Elorhe. Instead, she'd fallen in love with him. She was ready to die, but at least she could die for him...it seemed to be the best she could do. Perhaps it would atone for some of her sins...

Now was not the time to think of such things-or she would start crying. Not after all the work she had put into training her emotions...

"Aradel is returning to Thaliron. My grandfather is preparing to attack the first base under Aden's control," the Queen said. "It is almost over." She opened the door and addressed a servant. "Tell the emissaries of the Crane I will meet them in the audience chamber."

*

"It's about time," Triana said. "We've waited all this time to get to Thaliron, and now, finally, we get to see the Queen of Shadows." She frowned at Kreis. "What's bugging you?"

"It's a long story," mumbled Kreis.

"Well, tell it," Triana said. Kreis did as she asked, describing the events of the morning.

"She kissed you?" Triana gasped. "Kieme? Kissed you?" Kreis could feel his face burning. "And you didn't do anything about it?"

"There didn't really seem to be anything I could do about it at the time," Kreis said. "I just told her good-bye, and she left."

"Well, I guess I forgive you," Triana said.

"What do you mean, you forgive me?" Kreis asked.

"Well, I guess you didn't really encourage her...she was just being weird, as usual."

"But why should it matter to you whether she kissed me or not?" Kreis stopped in his tracks. "I mean, you shouldn't need to forgive me. It's not like I betrayed you-it's not like there's anything to betray!"

"Kreis!" Triana couldn't decide whether she wanted to cry or scream at him. "I..."

"I know that you like me," Kreis said. "But I'm not your property."

"I never said that you were!" Triana protested. "I mean, I guess it's about time you figured it out...you've been so dense about it before...but I love you." Crying seemed to be winning. "Kreis, I love you!"

Kreis felt sick to his stomach. He hugged Triana, who was becoming distraught. "I love you, too," he said.

"I can't imagine living without you," Triana murmured. "We've been together-well, our whole lives."

"Yes," Kreis said. "And you are dearer to me than any sister could be." He was beginning to feel choked up. How could he break it to her that he didn't love her-at least, not in the way that she wanted him to? "We should talk about this later," he said. "We have to see the Queen now. If you're going to be all right?"

Triana nodded. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, and Kreis tried to change the subject.

"Are you afraid-to meet her, I mean?" he wondered.

"No," Triana said. "A little nervous...kinda confused...but I don't think I'm really afraid of her."

"People have died at her hands," Kreis said. "A city burned at her command. I'm scared."

"Like you said yourself, if she wanted to do something to us, she would have a long time ago," Triana said.

"That seems like ages ago," Kreis replied. Their conversation was cut off as a pair of large doors opened before them, letting them into the audience hall of the palace.

At the other end of the room, the Queen of Shadows sat on a simple throne, another woman sitting beside her. The two from Norana walked slowly towards the throne, looking at the paintings on the wall as they walked. Their footsteps echoed through the silence.

"Eighteen years ago," the woman who stood beside the Queen spoke, "on a cold night not long after the Exile, two children were born. It was prophesized that these two children would determine the fate of this world."

"It has been a long time, and the children are grown. I see your mother in your face, Triana Mayfey, and your father in yours, Kreis Delamuir."

"Tarin," Triana gasped.

The Queen sat rigidly still as the two approached, her eyes fixed on them but her face expressionless. She had the same sort of icy beauty that Kreis remembered, but she was even more familiar now...

"Why do you insist on forcing Elorhe under your command?" Kreis demanded of the statue-like queen. "What gives you the authority to decide the fate of our world-to end the lives of others?"

"If not me, then who would do it?" the queen replied. Her voice was even more familiar than her face, and her words... "Who would put an end to the suffering of needless battles, one fool fighting another for control of another few feet of land? The war has been horrible, the bloodshed vast, but once it is over, there shall be no more bloodshed."

"Kieme..." Kreis whispered. The queen heard him, and froze.

"The prophecy," she choked.

Tarin recounted the prophecy Linde had spoken, her last vision before she died. "'...But shadow shall turn to light, and sadness to joy, clearing the path for one who has not stained his hands. The son of the crane and brother of the dreamer will take his place and bring lasting peace to the new world.' The Queen is the shadow, Kreis, and you are the light."

"Kieme!" he said.

Someone ran in through the door behind them. "Dralions-" the messenger gasped. "Dralions, in Thaliron-"