Koraline’s lips flattened, and Lillith averted her gaze.
My mother arched an eyebrow. “It would be nice if you?—”
“Oh no, that’s not necessary.” I struggled to form a smile, something that just a month ago had been as easy for me as breathing. “I don’t want to intrude on their plans.”
Koraline plopped a hand on her hip. “See? She doesn’t even want to come.”
The crown princess looped her arm through Lillith’s, and with that, my tall, willowy sister turned them on their heels and headed toward the door. Lillith didn’t give me another glance, and I wondered if I’d imagined her flare of guilt a moment ago.
The door closed behind them with a resoundingthud, and the only sound left in the room was the crackling fire.
“Well, supper, um, didn’t go entirely as planned.” My mother’s smile trembled.
“I suppose you can’t blame them for hating me.” I stared at my lap. “Both were adults by the time I was born.”
During the meal, when our parents had been trying to bridge the gap between us, I’d learned that Lillith had been thirty-five summers old when I’d entered the realm, so while I had zero memories of either of them, they both clearly remembered everything about me.
“It’ll be fine eventually,” my mother replied readily. “They’re angry with us for hiding your existence from them, but that’ll pass, and they’ll warm to you.”
I clamped my lips together but forced a nod. “Shall I return to my chambers now?”
“Return to your chambers?” My mother cocked her head.
I nodded. “So I can remain safe from whoever’s trying to kill me or turn me into a monster?” I waved toward the empty vial that’d contained the potion that I now had to dump over my food and drink every time I consumed something.
“Oh, darling!” My mother’s face fell. “You’re not a prisoner here. That is not what we intended at all. You’re welcome to roam the palace just as your sisters do. You may even leave the palace if you choose to. Just make sure Kole goes with you everywhere you go.” She grabbed one of my hands and squeezed it tightly. She felt so familiar, so much likeAunt Opalin, that some of my despair lifted. “And rest assured, we’ll figure this out. The Imperial Council is working hard to find who’s behind this, and once they do, they’ll be stopped, and all of this will be in the past.”
“Have they found anything yet? Anything at all?” I thought of what I knew so far, that whoever was behind my assassination attempts as a child had also been behind Verin’s nefarious placement in my aunt and uncle’s home. And thatthey, whoever they were, had also given that potion to Verin with orders to somehow find a way to make me ingest it. It was only pure luck that Verin had failed to do so. And on top of that, it seemed that those things that Kole had been killing in the Wood had been let loose to hunt me.
My parents shared another veiled look, and the king replied, “What they’ve found is nothing for you to worry about. We’ll keep you safe.”
In other words, like Jamie, they also wanted to keep me in the dark. So far, only Kole had been forthcoming about the reality of my situation.
I sighed heavily. “Please tell me what you know.Please.”
I looked between the two of them, and the king eventually sighed. “What we know, from what the Imperial Council has been able to conclude, is that there have been several fae whosuffered a fate similar to your uncle’s, but they turned into different creatures, more like the one that you saw with Kole outside of Inisville.” He frowned, his eyebrows drawing sharply together. “It’s almost as if there are two versions of these creatures, and Timith was becoming the latter.”
“Who were the fae that were turned?”
He shrugged, looking baffled. “Most were burned immediately, so we don’t know, but of the other ones they identified before burning, they were simply fae who lived throughout the continent. All from different walks of life, all of different ages and pasts.”
“Why are they burned?”
My parents shared an uneasy look, and my father replied haltingly. “If they’re not, they can return to life even if it’s thought they’ve been killed.”
My jaw dropped. “Stars Above. And of those who were identified, before they were burned, there’s truly no connection between any of them?”
“None that we’ve found.”
I nibbled on my lip and thought back to what Nivinity had said in Inisville. The wildling, employed by the inn I’d slept at, had said that some fae in the surrounding villages had gone missing. At that time, I thought they’d been eaten, and maybe some had been, but it was also possible some had instead beenchanged.
I raised my eyebrows. “And all of those creatures, the ones that have been roaming the Wood that were apparently once normal fae who lived throughout the continent, and the one Timith was turning into, are all somehow tied to me or to whoever’s after me?”
The king scrubbed his face. “Honestly, we don’t know. We have more questions than answers right now, but your mother’s right. We don’t want you to be concerned about this. Let theImperial Council handle it. Eventually, all will be well.” He frowned heavily and gave me a pointed look. “But until that time, Kole is to stay at your side. He must guard you always, like he was when you hunted the Stone.”
My heart began to beat at the reminder of Kole’s true role in my life. During the hunt, Kole had stolen my carpet as a way to either force me back to the safety of Whiteolf or force me to stay in closer proximity to him. All so he could keep me safe.
Blood pounded through my ears, and my throat suddenly felt dry. “Why do you think those creatures were following me? What’s your personal opinion of it?”
