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The thoughts shiver away as we near the base of my tower. The path here is narrow, with little space between the churning river swollen with recent rain and the cliffside beneath the palace grounds.
Nadiya stumbles eagerly ahead, releasing her fairies on a grassy corner by the tower’s stairs. The fairies crawl up the wall. Before our eyes, they begin to brighten, their tiny wings fluttering as if a wind picked up, and the relief among us is palpable. Faint wispy ribbons of gold flow between thefairies and the vines, like something is being drawn out. The vines shrivel—
Blacken.
A stink of dead roses. It fills my nostrils so suddenly, I gag and pinch my nose.
When I look up again, rot has spread along the fairies’ trail. The smudge spreads into a blotch like pungent ink, threading outward in black veins.
I’m dizzy as I shove Nadiya aside, pressing a hand against the wall, trying to stop it. “What the hell?” I hiss, feeling the jostle of the others behind me. I can chip at the dead parts with my fingers, but there’s more rot underneath, continuing to expand. The blackened vines crumble off, petrified on the outside, oozing on the inside.
Like the corruption around the thorn I made.
Like the corruption in my dreams.
Whirling around, I grab Nadiya by her borrowed jacket’s collar. “What did you do?”
“I—I didn’t know this was going to happen, I swear!” she squeaks, hands raised. “I just know the Fairywood is where they recover. Please don’t strike me down, Sighted Mistress!”
“The fairies must have been containing the dark magic from the beasts and needed a place to release it.” A frowning Dante takes the lantern and inspects the vines himself, the hitch in his breath uneasy. The rot has stopped spreading, but the damage is already irreversibly enormous. “Their magic flows with the Fairywood, so they must be using it as a sponge.”
The revived fairies take flight and zoom around me,chirping as if in apology. All that makes me do is sneeze while I shake Nadiya roughly. “This would have been nice to knowbeforethey cursed my tower!”
“I-I’ll fix it! I didn’t mean to.”
“Good intentions do not negate your mistakes. Do you know what I see when I look at you?” I narrow my eyes. “A liability.” I let the girl go with a shove. I am never being charitable again.
Cyrus steps between us, glaring a warning. “Calm down. I’ll have workmen dig out the rot tomorrow.”
Easy for beloved Prince Charming to say. Never had to worry about an errant mark in his life. “Howwill you explain how it got here? Dark magic on my tower makes it look likeIam the one who is corrupted.”
“I’ll figure it out.”
As he reaches for my arm with the same gentleness he proffered Nadiya, I jerk away. I don’t want his act. Something in his stare wavers, but he brushes past me before I can decipher it.
“It’s fortunate we were able to save your fairies, Nadiya, but this is only the start of our problems.” Cyrus paces the muddy ground. “I have to mobilize soldiers to find the witch, who could be anywhere. She might be behindallthe beasts, and she clearly has confidence in her power and a plan under her belt. Ah, also”—he presses a hand to his chest—“I don’t think it comes as a surprise that I wasn’t in love with Raya, but my apologies if I’ve led you to believe otherwise. We’ll have to figure out a way to reveal the truth of your identity.”
“Notthissoon,” Dante protests.
“Why not?”
“If we’re choosing between headaches, marrying a fake Raya might be the lesser of them.” He wipes his hands on his trousers, leaving black handprints. “The people have faith in her. To break that trustnow?That damage will be worse for both of you. It wasn’t that long ago when your ascension was at risk because you hadn’t found a bride yet, Cyrus.”
The prince grimaces.
“And honestly, Nadiya, Violet is right. Youarea liability. There will never be a good time to reveal your identity, but while beasts are rising from the land, this isdefinitelya bad time to do it.”
Nadiya wrings a fistful of her dress. “I have to keep pretending?”
“I don’t like the thought of extending this charade,” says Cyrus.
Dante shrugs. “I’m only presenting an opinion.”
“There’s the wedding to consider—”
“Worst-case scenario, you two get married. It’s not as if you were planning to marry someone else.”
The prince tips his head back and sighs, battered by his friend’s reasonable tone. “No, you are right.”
