“Did Vera interrupt you at a bad time? Or perhaps, maybe it was a good one?”
Vera’s necklace was red when she knocked on Iann’s door and I know with certainty the Queen was watching.
“You said, ‘do what it takes,’” I answer her quickly, trying to scour for a good lie. “I know the Prince has feelings for me, so I was using them to get information out of him.”
“Is that so?” Her grin is a wicked one. She either thinks I’m utterly stupid for trying to fool her or that I am growing accustomed to this new life in her court. “Information of what kind?”
I have no intentions of betraying Iann directly, but she doesn’t know that. I need her on my side until we leave for Farella. “Our mystery guest—all Saden’s royal sons are here, Your Grace.”
Her eyes expand to twice their size, and a few fingers play with her lips as she processes the news. I even have the attention of Vera and Sky.
“You’re sure?” the Queen asks.
“Yes,” I answer without hesitation.
“Do you know where the other brother is?”
“Not yet,” I lie. “But I can find out.”
“Do that and report back immediately. I have a parting gift for our princes. We mustn’t leave one of them out.” She gets up and walks past Sky, then Vera, and ends with me. “All of you are to go straight to your rooms and rest up for tomorrow. Any one of you caught outside your beds, or caught in another’s, will be punished.”
She is doing her best to keep Iann and me apart. For now, I will play her little game until tomorrow. All I need to do now is convince Iann to leave after the ball and not wait another day. She can’t stop me if she doesn’t see it coming.
In the hall, we wait until we’re far from everyone to speak.
I check Vera’s necklace before saying, “Be ready to go tomorrow.”
Vera nods. “Okay. Sky is trying to find a way to wake Chana. If she doesn’t, we’re going to have to leave her. Unless anyone has a clever plan to get her on that boat.”
“I told you I can’t wake her,” Sky whispers between us. “Chana isn’t just poisoned. She is in some kind of trance. One more powerful than anything I can pull off.”
“Wait.” Is he saying what I think he is? “Are you an enchanter?”
“Not exactly. My mother is one and she taught me a few things. Most of which I’ve forgotten since being here. The Queen doesn’t know, or she’ll use it against me, so you better not tell anyone.”
I surrender both palms. “You have my word.”
“There’s a bigger issue,” Sky continues. “The Queen isn’t responsible for Chana or the Saden servant. Which means someone more powerful is and they went after one of our own. We not only have the Queen to fear but whomever is responsible for rendering two individuals into an indefinite slumber.”
My clothes are still damp and starting to itch. “Great. Give me some time to think everything over. I’ll have a plan come morning.”
They nod and just as I’m about to walk away Sky stops me. “Here.” He holds out a hand and lets a chain dangle from his fingers. “It’s like Vera’s necklace only in bracelet form. It will let you know when someone is watching.”
“Thank you.” He helps put it on me. “You got anything for blocking her from seeing us completely?”
Sky’s tired eyes fall to a squint. “I might be able to come up with something.”
“Good. Once we’ve escaped, we’re going to need to ensure that she can’t find us.”
Ithink about going back to Iann’s room. Not even to finish what we started, though that would be a good distraction, but just to see him. To talk to him.
Instead, I find myself in a hot bubble bath, infused with peony and lemon. My chest has been feeling tight and I suspect stress.
The bracelet Sky gave me drapes over the side of the tub and I watch it with growing intensity, afraid at any minute it might flash red.
As a distraction, I use this time to catch up on the newest round of letters I received. Starting with Luna’s, she tells me of hers and Morren’s travels. She says they will be going north to the village of Kemp, where they plan to stay for a few weeks. She also writes about how unimpressed she is by my last letter to her and the measly few paragraphs I threw together. She threatensto come all the way here just to make sure I’m adjusting well. I laugh at her valiancy and the irony of just how poorly I find myself fitting into this life.
Moving on to my mother’s letters, she writes of two princes who stopped in Foxhead.
