Amora had never learned if her mother's blood gave her power over beasts, and today she meant to find out or die trying. She stood in the rose garden of the dark red keep, watching the caged silver beast pace behind iron bars. Her curls, half pinned in a bun, stuck to her neck. She wanted this creature calm at her hand. More than that, she wanted proof that the cruelty in her mother's line could be turned to something gentle. If it could, then maybe a man could love her one day too. Her mother watched from a garden bench. The Queen of Hearts sat straight, her twin red buns crowned in gold, her heart-stitched gown spread across the stone. "Beasts obey fear, girl," she said. "They smell it. Show it none." She smiled the way she smiled at executions. Amora loved her mother, but that smile made her stomach turn. Beside the Queen sat the White Queen, pale hair loose, purple lips pressed thin. Her daughter, Lumi, gripped the bench edge. The two white-gowned visitors had come to broker peace between the kingdoms. Now they watched a princess gamble her life on rumor. "Don't," Lumi said. Her braid swung as she leaned forward. "You have no idea if it will listen." "That's the point," Amora said. She unlatched the cage. The beast lunged. Amora froze her fear the way her mother taught. She raised one hand, palm flat, and spoke low. "Stop." The beast stopped. Its clawed foot hung above the grass. Its silver head tilted. Then it lowered, slow, until its snout touched her boot. Amora breathed. It worked. The cruel blood answered her. But the creature did not cower like her mother's servants. It pressed its head to her hand and made a sound like a sigh. Not fear. Something warmer. "Impossible," the Queen said, rising. Her voice cracked. "Mine kneel from terror. This one kneels from... affection." She said the word like a curse. Amora looked at her hand on the beast's brow. Her power was real, but it was not her mother's power. She could not rule by fear. The beast obeyed because it wanted to. "She's not like you," the White Queen said softly. She almost smiled. The Queen of Hearts turned red. "Cage it again. Now." But the beast would not leave Amora's side. It followed her steps and blocked the cage door with its body. When guards approached, it snarled at them, not at her. Amora understood then. She had proven her gift. She had also bound herself to a creature no cage could hold and no guard could take. Her mother's court would never allow a beast loyal only to her. "Get it out of my garden," the Queen hissed, "before the whole kingdom sees what you've done." Amora rested her hand on the beast's neck. She had found her power. Now she had to hide it, or lose everything.