What?
“Of course not. No.”
Nothing was of equal value to Pa. That was the point. It was why she was here, demanding him back.
But what else could she offer?
“I have a proposition,” Rooke interrupted from behind her.
The king did not look away from Emeline. His prolonged attention made her skin prickle.
“Proceed.”
Rooke stepped up beside Emeline, brushing his black hair out of his eyes. “I have it on good authority that Emeline is a singer of some repute.”
The king’s head swung towards Rooke. “Is this true?”
Emeline was about to answer yes, that singing was how she made her living, then quickly stopped herself.
What if the Wood King took her voice?
Can he do that?
She hesitated. Was she willing to exchange her voice—the very thing she used to make her living, to pursue her passion, to realize her dreams—if it meant she could take Pa and go home?
Without her voice, what would she have to go back to? Not a singing career. Without her voice, her whole life would ceaseto have meaning. Her biggest, oldest dream would be smashed on the rocks.
She’d thought none of this through. She hadn’t considered what, exactly, might be taken from her in exchange for getting her grandfather back.
“Yes,” she said, ashamed of the tremble in her voice. “I can sing.”
A smile bent Rooke’s mouth, as if he was playing some game neither she nor anyone else was in on. “Well then. I believe I’ve found your solution.”
Sweat beaded down Emeline’s spine.
Please no,she thought, looking from Rooke’s twitching lips to the king on his gleaming throne.Don’t take my voice.
“You’re in need of a new court minstrel,” Rooke continued. “Seeing as the last one—”
He cut himself off as the king’s gaze darkened and those bark-like hands coiled into ragged fists.
“What if,” Rooke moved quickly on, “in exchange for her grandfather’s freedom, Emeline Lark takes his place in your court—as your new singer?”
“What?” Emeline whirled on him. “No. I can’t …”
She had a life to return to. Weekly gigs. An upcoming tour opening for The Perennials. And a contract with Daybreak Records hanging in the balance.
It was everything she’d worked so hard for.
“I can’t stay here,” said Emeline. “Iwon’tstay here.”
The Wood King’s lip curled as he sat back in his throne. “If she were a human male, of course I would consider it. But seeing as she’s …”
“Forgive my impertinence, my lord, but perhaps that’s the problem: you only ever take the men, and they only ever displease you.”
Emeline stared at Rooke. What didthatmean?
The air tingled then, making her skin itch. The damp, rotten smell of magic intensified. She took a nervous step backwards, wanting to put distance between her and the king, but her shoulders brushed against the armor of the hedgeman she hadn’t known was standing behind her.
