Page 65 of Fated to the Wicked King

Faint humidity brushed my skin, and the scent of damp earth tickled my nose as we walked through the large conservatory, its floor-to-ceiling glass windows letting in the mid-morning light, bathing the Duchess’s plants and flowers. Her usually whimsical potted plants, which would often jostle around for the best position under the sun, were stunned immobile in the imposing presence of the Wicked King.

“Your Majesty, you didn’t answer my question.” Fighting down the remnants of fatigue, I trailed behind him. “The reason you’ve been decimating entire villages these past moons… Was this why?”

He stopped only to give me a sideways glance.

My chest tightened as I took in his meaning.

“Are you saying there are more villages across Wünder that are afflicted with ghosts?” Sophie asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Chez’s head popped through the doorway, his big eyes swirling yellow and purple. “Ghosts?”

“Ghosts?” the Duchess echoed, her head poking out above his. Her tone pitched in breathy disbelief. “That cannot be.”

Dread skittered across my skin. I met the Duchess’s bewildered blue gaze. “Do you think someone else on Wünder has taken up the Red Queen’s old occupation of stealing hearts?”

“No,” the king said dismissively. “Its effects may seem similar, but I don’t believe it’s the same thing.”

“And you should know,” Gregory huffed as he strode through the doorway past the Duchess and Chez. “I do believe we have, under this roof, the two remaining experts in ‘heart harvesting’.” He settled beside his sister, his surly words still directed at the Wicked King. “In fact, how do we know this is not you backsliding into your former profession?”

The king averted his gaze. “That is all in the past.”

“Well.” The Duchess flapped her fan. “I shall say this: heart harvesting is a fairly involved business. I can offer my strongest assurances that our devastatingly handsome king, powerful as he is, wouldn’t be able to accomplish it on his own. And I, for certain, have been much too preoccupied with other hobbies of late.” Her face brightened. “I do invite everyone to have a look at my lovely decoupage collection. They are all sitting prettily right there by the foyer⁠—”

Not at all willing to acquiesce, Gregory tilted his head. “Are you certain? His Majesty seems intent on throwing suspicions at anyone else but himself.”

The pit of my stomach hollowed out.

Anyone else but himself.

Perhaps because the king already knew who was at fault.

This is all her doing, echoed in my mind once again.

My doing.

Could it be true? Was I somehow connected to the resurgence of ghosts across Wünder? To the terrible malady afflicting the land caused by the maelstroms and fantastic machines?

Not even simply “connected.”

I bit my lip.

Responsible.

I clenched my fists. “We have to do something—find a cure, help those people.”

The king’s words were curt, offhand. “I have to go back and raze that entire village.”

My jaw dropped. “What? You can’t do that.”

“Any remnants of this anomaly must be destroyed. Otherwise, it will spread until all of Wünder is affected.” With a frustrated sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair. “I’d initially thought the River of Tears was preventing the spread of the contamination. I had hoped the sickness hadn’t reached this far. But it seems that the source of the malady itself was on this side of the river after all.”

Sophie’s eyes narrowed. “Is there truly no other way? Perhaps this merely warrants further study. If we learn more about this malady, we might be able to purge it without hurting any more people.” She turned an imploring gaze toward the Duchess.

She was already shaking her head. “In my experience, ghosts cannot be restored to normal. However, if these citizens still have their hearts intact, and this malady is caused by something else…well, who knows?” She finished with a shrug.

“The risk is too high. Only the Duchess and I know the consequences of a growing ghost population.” The king shook his head. “All I can do now is destroy them and hope everything goes back to normal.”

“And if it doesn’t?”