“Will it wear off? Maybe I can distract Sebastian in the morning so you can—”
“I appreciate the offer, but no. You could distract the prince for days, and they’d still keep me pumped full of that poison.”
“It’s hard for me to imagine Sebastian like that. If I hadn’t seen for myself . . .” I swallow my confusion.
“War brings out the worst in all of us.” Jalek shakes his head. “Tell Finn I’m sorry. Tell him . . .” He cradles his head in his hands, muttering a string of curses. “Tell him he was right about the queen. She is dying, but not fast enough.”
I wrap my hands around the bars, wishing I had something to say to reassure him. But all I have are questions. “Will the queen really keep the crown from Sebastian if he kills you? If that’s true, maybe he’ll keep you alive as long as she lives.”
He meets my eyes and gives me a sad smile. “You know too much and not enough.”
“Then tell me what I need to know!”
He closes his eyes again and seems to curl into himself as he whispers, “Curses are made of secrets and sacrifice. We will suffer as long as she pays the price.”
* * *
When I sneak out of the palace, the Litha celebration is still in full force, and it’s easy enough to sneak a horse from the stables. I’ve been escorted between the palace and Finn’s enough times that the route is ingrained in my memory.
I ride quickly, sticking to the shadows and not allowing myself to think about what lurks in the darkness beyond the trees.
When I arrive at Finn’s, I tie the horse up in front and don’t bother knocking. Instead, I cut through the alley and shift into shadow to walk through the wall and into the back of the house. Low voices are coming from the library and getting louder.
One belongs to Finn, and when I get closer, I realize that the second is Pretha’s. I could slip inside and spy—see what they’re saying when they don’t think I’m here—but I don’t have it in me tonight. Seeing Sebastian nearly strangle Jalek and then watching Jalek curl into himself in that cell, seeing the defeat in his eyes, like that of a man awaiting his execution, it broke something inside me.
I can’t bring myself to deceive these people who are my . . . Pretha said they were trying to be my friends. Are they? I don’t know. I don’t know if anyone is my friend anymore, but I can’t leave Jalek there. Even if he won’t betray me or Finn, I couldn’t live with myself if he died. So I emerge from the shadows, open the library doors, and walk inside.
Finn and Pretha stop talking and turn to me.
“What happened?” Pretha asks.
“Jalek. He was captured. Sebastian’s threatening to . . .” I realize I don’t exactly know what Sebastian will do if Jalek doesn’t give him the information he wants. Kill him, I assume. Maybe worse. “Sebastian said he’d make an example of him.”
“We know,” Pretha says softly, throwing a long look at Finn. “We were just discussing how to find and free him. No one knows how to get to the queen’s dungeons.”
“I do.” I swallow. “I followed Sebastian there tonight, but I couldn’t free Jalek. There is no door on his cell—only bars.”
“Only mortals are foolish enough to give their prisoners doors, Princess,” Finn says.
Pretha chews on her thumbnail. “We’ll trade something for him.”
“Like what?” Finn asks.
“I think I have an idea,” I say.
“Information,” Pretha says, continuing as if I never spoke. “There has to be something.”
Finn shakes his head. “There’s no information I can give Prince Ronan that he would think was worth the trade.”
“I know what we can do,” I try again.
“But there is,” she says, looking at me quickly.
“No,” Finn growls. “We’ve worked too hard.”
“Listen to me,” I shout, my voice loud enough to echo in the high-ceilinged room.
Finn raises a brow. “Pardon, Princess. We didn’t mean to upset you. Tell us your idea.” Condescension drips from his words and I almost want to walk away just to spite him, but . . . Jalek. I can’t leave him there.
“We can’t open his cell, so we walk him out through the walls.”
Pretha’s eyes light up, and she turns to Finn. “Could you—”
“No,” he says, cutting her off. “Not even on a good day, and definitely not right now.”