Despite every reason I had to consider him my enemy, something in me yearned to trust him. Like a moth to a flame, I was drawn to his glow, even as my wings burned and curled in the intensity of his fire.
I took one last look at the book in my hands. I offered a silent prayer for the children recorded inside and pressed my lips to the cover before handing it back to him.
“Tell Aemonn I will accept the bargain for his silence. I’ll take him to the ball.”
Chapter
Thirteen
My eyes traveled over the words I’d written. They were at once too much and not enough.
H,
It was a mistake to ask you to attend the event that we spoke of. It’s not yet safe for you here. Please don’t be angry. Protecting you is my only concern.
My hope for our future remains unchanged. I’ll send for you as soon as I can.
-D
There was so much I needed to say to Henri, but delivering this blow by cryptic, coded letter was bad enough. And I didn’t trust that Luther, or whatever courier he dispatched, would not find reading the Queen’s correspondence too strong a temptation to resist.
I folded the paper twice. Small drops of molten azure liquid fell from the candle I tilted over the letter’s seam. I did not dare use the royal seal. Instead, I pressed a small sprig of foxglove into the soft wax.
When we were young, Henri and I spent many afternoons wandering through the forest to collect foxglove for my mother’s use at the healer’s center while spinning tales of the great adventures we might have together someday.
I hoped Henri recognized the flower. I hoped he would understand what it meant—that I had not forgotten who I was. I hoped he had not forgotten, either.
“Here,” I sighed, holding the letter in the air. “He’s not going to be happy, so tell whoever you send to deliver it and get out of there quickly.”
Luther plucked the letter from my hand and tucked it into a pocket inside his jacket. “I’ll deliver it myself.”
“No!” I sprang out of my seat. That was a bloodbath waiting to happen. “Have someone else do it.”
He raised an eyebrow.
I carefully steadied my features. “You’re too recognizable. I don’t want anyone seeing you and connecting him to the Crown.” Not entirely a lie.
His mouth tightened. I couldn’t tell whether he was offended or amused. “I do know how to stay unseen. Especially among mortals.”
I stepped up to him with a wry smile and patted his chest where the letter lay inside his pocket. “Consider it a direct order.”
His steel-blue gaze dropped to where my fingers grazed his coat, hovering for long enough that I snatched my hand away. “As you wish, my Queen.”
I busied myself tidying up the desk to avoid his too-heavy stare. “I need to go home. I have to speak with my father, and I don’t want to do it here.”
“I would not recommend that.”
“It wasn’t a request.”
“The entire realm is watching your every movement. If you leave the palace—”
“I’m sure you’ll find a solution.”
Luther made a quiet, rumbling sound. “At least wait until after the ball. The majority of guests will leave that morning, so there will be fewer gossips to avoid, and it will give me time to arrange a distraction.”
Not ideal, but there was no denying the spying eyes. I’d already sensed Sorae’s apprehension at the new faces arriving throughout the day, their intentions toward me setting her teeth on edge. As much as I needed to see my father, I couldn’t risk leading the Descended to his doorstep. I would have to hope Teller could keep him isolated a little longer.
I grabbed my overcoat and strolled for the door. “Fine. I’ll be in the dungeon. Try not to barge in and pick a magical fight with me this time, will you?”
It took me five attempts to slip into the dungeon unseen.
I had not fully appreciated how right Luther had been—how right he always seemed to be, to my tremendous irritation—about the influx of new guests. A constant stream of arrivals trickled through the palace foyer. Making it down any hallway without an awkward introduction was becoming nearly impossible.
When I finally slid through the dungeon doors and down the chilly depths of the spiral staircase, Lily and Teller were already tucked into one of the iron cells. They sat beside each other on a cot, speaking in voices too soft to hear. Their hands were just close enough to touch, Lily’s pinky finger curled around my brother’s. Even from a distance, I saw the adoration on his face as he watched her talk.
I cleared my throat. They leapt apart, both of their faces flushing with mottled scarlet. Teller shoved his hands into his pockets and stared everywhere but at me. Lily curtsied. Twice.
“Sorry I startled you,” I said, biting my lip to suppress my grin. They looked incredibly guilty for two people who’d been doing nothing more than talking.
“It’s, um, it’s so very good to see you again, Your Majesty,” Lily said, curtsying yet again.
“Really, Lily, you can call me Diem.”
“Yes of course, Your Maj—sorry.” She smiled sheepishly. “It’s a hard habit to break. Luther has always insisted we use our titles, even with friends and family.”
“Is that so?” I cocked my head, mischief brewing in my mind. “Well, I must be sure to use his titles when I address him. What are they, exactly?”
She drew in a deep breath. “His Royal Highness Lord Luther Corbois, Most Honorable Keeper of the Laws, Warden of the Light, High General of the Guard, Esteemed Member of the Crown Council, Personal Advisor to the Crown and Prince of Lumnos, Realm of Light and Shadows.”
I snorted. “Oh, that’s all?”
Teller launched into a coughing fit to hide his laughter from a very proud-looking Lily.
“Do those titles even mean anything?” I asked her.
“Oh, yes.” She rolled her eyes. “Everyone fights over them constantly.”
“I know a few,” Teller chimed in. “High General means he’s in charge of the Royal Guard. Crown Council is the Crown’s closest advisors.”
Lily scrunched her nose. “It’s supposed to be. King Ulther just put his brothers and their sons on it.”
“The Keeper of the Laws hands out punishments for those who disobey the Crown,” Teller continued. “And they handle the, um…” He shuffled his feet. “The executions.”
I thought of the children from Luther’s journal and my heart squeezed tight. “What is Warden of the Light?”
“That’s the big one,” Lily answered with a hushed, almost reverent tone. “There are two—Warden of the Light is the Crown’s representative in public. Warden of the Shadows handles more private matters.”
“But what do they do?”
“Anything they want, really. Whatever a Warden orders carries the weight of the Crown. Luther always played it down and said he was just a messenger, but Father says being Warden is like being another King. Unless the Crown contradicts them, their word is as good as law.”
I tried to imagine anyone I trusted enough to exercise that power on my behalf. A week ago, I might have looked to my parents. Now, in light of the secrets they’d kept, the truths of my identity they’d denied me… that betrayal was an open wound that still needed tending.