"Why do you have that?" Kel demanded.
"And don't try to say you had no idea what it was."
Adriell sighed, allowing the purple pearl to fall from her fingers and bounce softly against her dress as she returned to her chair.
"I knew what it was," she said quietly. "I knew."
"Don't tell me…" Kel scoffed. "You were thinking of using it?"
"Ah!" Adriell's eyes widened. "No! I didn't meant-"
"At the very least, you could be generous enough to give it to your father," Kel continued bitterly. "Or Dash, since the one you gave him has already been used on someone else."
"Kel!" Adriell commanded in an unfamiliarly assertive tone. "Stop."
For the first time in her life, Kel felt a chill from the girl's blue eyes as they gazed icily and unwaveringly into her own.
She looked like a true royal.
Not like the weaker half of a crown they shared, but a strong-willed, independent princess.
