Erea had put my hair up tonight, using long silver pins to keep it in place. The braids wound across one another in a complicated pattern that had kept her busy while Daselis paced my room.
Erea hadn’t yet agreed to come with us. She’d seemed strangely unconcerned when we told her, and it infuriated Daselis.
“They will kill you,” Daselis hissed.
Erea sat on the edge of my bed and bit into her lower lip. “Surely if I explain, the king will know I had nothing to do with…anything.” She slid me a look that begged me to agree. But I couldn’t lie to her.
I sighed. “He’ll use his truth-seekers, Erea.” And because Daselis had explained the situation to her, if Erea did nothing now, she was just as guilty as us. I shouldn’t have told her anything. I should have known she’d prefer to stay here where she was content with her life.
“You’ve seen what happens in this place,” Daselis said. “It’s worth a little inconvenience for three hundred lives.”
“I could use you,” I said. “We need people to help with the prisoners. Especially the younger ones.”
Erea lit up at that. “You truly need my help?”
“Of course.”
“Enough of this,” Daselis snapped. “You have three choices. Either come with us, don’t come and burn when the truth-seekers tell the king about how you knew what Setella was doing, or tell the king and watch three hundred people burn at dawn.”
Erea’s lower lip trembled. I opened my mouth, but Daselis sent me a fierce look.
Erea got to her feet. “I understand. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t,” I murmured, guilt and relief warring within me. “Thank you.”
I would make this up to her somehow. When I’d first decided I could free the prisoners, I hadn’t even thought of the women who woke me each morning. Who picked out my dresses and did my hair. Of course they would be targeted by the king. The thought made me nauseated once more.
“Don’t you dare,” Daselis snarled at me. “If I have to slap you to put some color back in your face, I will.”
I stared at her. And burst out laughing. Her lips trembled, but she ruthlessly firmed them.
“Time to meet the queen.”
I followed Daselis to the queen’s chambers, where the other women were gathered. Madinia’s expression was a cold mask of amusement, which she turned on me when I arrived. I was so anxious, my tongue had begun to itch, and she looked calm, relaxed, and haughty as always.
“I like your dress,” she said. The first nice thing she’d ever said to me. She’d have to be careful, or the queen’s ladies would become suspicious just from that.
“Thank you.”
Madinia’s dress was crimson, cut off her shoulders and low enough to bare the top of her breasts. She looked like exactly what she was pretending to be—a confident, beautiful woman without a care in the world.
The queen perused me. “Very nice. My seamstress has always done good work, but she has outdone herself for us tonight.”
Just hearing her talk about my aunt in that proprietary tone made me want to punch her, but I forced myself to smile, bowing my head.
She was wearing a deep-blue gown cut in layers and sparkling with jewels of the same color. Her lips were painted the color of blood, while a diamond and sapphire necklace encircled her neck—matching the crown on her head.
We all filed down to the ballroom. Since the queen enjoyed making an entrance, the ball was already underway. The marble floors had been polished until they gleamed, reflecting the glow of thousands of candles. The king had chosen a forest theme—likely a mockery of the fae and their love of the wild. Ivy draped from the roof in long strands, with maroon and gold baubles hanging from it. The chandeliers reflected off their glassy surfaces, bathing everything in warm light. My hands began to tingle, my heart tripped, my mouth turned dry. This was it.
The music stopped, and everyone bowed to the queen. She made them wait, the hint of a smile on her face. Finally, she nodded, and the dancing resumed once more.
Marth was just foot-spans away, flirting with a courier. Lorian stood to the side, and his eyes met mine, cool and steady. I took a deep breath, and a strange calm filled me.
We could do this.
“Where is His Majesty?” I muttered to Madinia.
“The queen said he’s feeling unwell and will be here later.”
A shiver of apprehension made its way up my spine. I turned to find the king’s assessor watching us walk in, the High Priestess next to him. I gave them a nod, quickly glancing away as something cold and oily settled in my stomach. The king was evil, but the assessors were just as bad. And this assessor—