“Iwasgoing to tell you all this before you dropped me into—”
“Don’t need it,” I breathe, staring at my knuckles.
The dusting of rubies has vanished.
Something—somethingI did today—worked.
That’s the third time I’ve given Emeric an answer he neither wants nor expects. “What?”
“Don’t need it,” I repeat, grinning like a fool. “No thanks.Pass.”
I can cure the curse, I can get out of the empire, I can leave this all behind. And I can do itmyself.
I’d better hop to it, then. “Come on, Ragne.”
Emeric’s right hand twitches toward something at his side—the ledger, I’m guessing. Then he clenches his fist. “It wasn’t a request. Iwilltake Gisele to the margrave.”
I can’t help a little twirl as I waltz toward the doorway. He’s been bluffing about bringing in Gisele the whole time. It’s absolutelydeliciousto call it.
“The scary one you think’s shacking up withnachtmärenand whatnot?Thatmargrave? I doubt it.” I flick a little mud off his shoulder as Ipass by. “Appreciate the offer, though.”
He catches my other hand halfway to the ledger in his pocket.Damn.That really would have been the crowning triumph of today.
Ragne rumbles a growl until Emeric lets go. He gives me a livid, almost desperate look. “Von Reigenbach’s a monster, Miss Schmidt. He could bring down the empire.”
“Don’t I know it.” I all but dance through the doorway, into the harsh winter daylight, and tip him a mock salute in dismissal. “Good thing I’m on my way out.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Pearls inVinegar
A little over a day later, I am decidedly less confident.
It’s not just that when I snuck back into the castle and took a bath, I found new pearls blooming through the mud on my ankles. It’s that when I think back to everything I did before losing the rubies from my hands, the options for how I undid that much of the curse aren’t great.
I . . .redistributedfunds away from the Wolfhünden. I tried to help Fabine, disastrous as it was. I guess I saved Emeric’s life. (Almost certainly a tremendous mistake.)
And now that it’s Thursday, I have four days left to narrow it down and break the curse before Klemens arrives and I have arealprefect to worry about.
Theprinzessin’s sensitive stomach can only get me out of so much. I was really hoping to squeeze two full days out of the most recent performance, but Adalbrecht had a message delivered to my chambers this morning: The first wave of wedding guests will be arriving less than an hour from now, and I am to attend the welcoming reception. Worse, I’m to do it in the gown he chose for me.
Here’s the thing about playing the role of both maid and lady for a year: I pick what I wear specifically so I can manage dressing myself. There are some things, like bodice laces, that are tricky but doable. Other things, though, require a second set of hands. Like sleeves that have to be tied over the chemise, in multiple places, along both arms.
Would you like to guess what kind of sleeves are on the gown Adalbrecht hasrequestedI wear?
This is why when Ragne paws at the balcony door as a cat, she finds me fighting with an elbow tie as I let her in. Her head tilts. “Would you like help?”
“No, I’ve got it.” I wedge my arm against a bedpost to hold one of the ties in place. “Did you see anything?”
“The Gisele stayed inside all day, with the children. They like her very much.” Ragne slinks into a nightshirt I left for her on the hearth. A moment later, her human head emerges, limbs sprouting from the appropriate sleeves. She’s still forgotten to change her slit pupils, but at least she’s getting better at clothes. “I did not see the Emeric Conrad at all. And it was very cold.”
“You volunteered,” I remind her. A bitter chill swept over Minkja last night, leaving the rooftops gilded in frost. I’d still planned on spending at least the morning staking out the Gänslinghaus, but Ragne offered to do it for me.
“Yes.” Ragne sprawls over the warm hearthstones, then squints at me. “Are you sure you do not need help?”
“You really don’t have to do everything on your own, dear.”
Fortune’s voice cascades into the room like a coin purse bursting at the seams.
