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“And Rothbart…” She turned to him and pressed her lips. “You cannot control every person and everything. Sometimes you are going to have to let things go. Sometimes you’ll have totrustpeople.”
“I beg your pardon, your majesty.”
“I will take some time and consider whether these interrogations can continue. Heaven knows, I have enough to focus on with the ball in a couple of days. My son now insists on everyone wearing masks.” She sighed. “I will see you first thing in the morning in two days at the rise of the sun. Until then, interview no one else and stay away from Kilron.”She paused, looking him over. “And get some rest. You look exhausted.”
“Yes, your majesty,” he answered. The queen was considerate, though he had no intention of doing as she said. Kilron may not be the skull pact’s benefactor, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t involved. Rothbart wasn’t fool enough to go after him again within the palace. If he wanted to find out what he knew, he needed to be more subtle. He would need to make plans. But his nerves didn’t permit him to be still or to rest. Already, his mind was running through fresh places where he might look for Zoya. He’d return home first and get more beans and then continue his search for his sister.
Plus, he needed to come up with an argument that would convince the queen to let him continue searching for his parent’s killer.
Chapter 13
Odette
Lina showed up the next evening at the pond in swan form. As soon as the moon rose, and they changed into humans, Odette and the others gathered around her.
“Are you all right?” Yessly asked, smothering Lina with a hug.
“I’m fine, Yessly. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m almost healed.” Lina pushed her sister off of her.
Odette stood back, relieved that the girl was safe, but preferred to let Yessly do the mothering. “Where have you been? Where is Zoya?” Odette’s fist closed over her swan pendant, wondering if she should call Rothbart.
Lina pouted. “After we escaped with the bean, Zoya told me to fly to the pond and then left me. It took almost a full day to arrive here.”
“So, you don’t know where she is?” Elna asked, disappointment etching her features. With Odette ready to break the swan curse in a few days, she probably thought it would be nice if they could get their hands on the sister so they could also solve the problem of the skull pact.
Odette knew she should be on board with that plan, but instead she recalled Rothbart’s panic over Zoya and her gut clenched.
Lina shook her head. “She took me to a spot in the middle of the woods, pointed toward the lake and then disappeared with one of those portal beans. I have no idea where she went.”
Odette dropped her grip on the pendant. There was no reason to call Rothbart if she had no information to give. The choice of saving herself, along with the others, from the skull pact by taking an innocent life, one that Rothbart cared about, was again forestalled. The pressure in Odette’s gut eased.
After a few minutes of reassuring her sister that she was okay and even longer emphasizing to the other women that she had no clue where Zoya was, Lina excused herself into the privacy of the woods, promising to gather wood for their nightly fire.
The next night the same thing occurred. After they changed into human form, and noting that their wood remained low, Lina offered to go out and collect more. An excitement laced the girl’s movements, and a flush filled her cheeks, her eyes alight as she eagerly made the suggestion. Not that Lina was ever against doing her fair share of work, but she’d never been so enthusiastic before to rush off and leave the group.
Elna wanted to review the plan for the ball in two nights when Prince Torsten would arrive and so Odette humored her, laying out their plan with the rest of the women. All Odette needed to do was show up and make sure that Prince Torsten followed through. After the curse broke, she’d use the portal bean she’d stolen from Rothbart and she’d rendezvous with the other assassins at their manor hideout. From there, they’d plan what to do about the skull pact.
By the time they finished, Odette itched to see what Lina was truly up to. After a little while searching for her trail, she picked it up. Lina wasn’t as good at tracking as Odette, and she hadn’t yet mastered the skills of hiding the signs of her movement. Using the disruption to the vegetation, she tracked her through the vegetation.
A soft giggle caused Odette to pause and split the bushes in front of her. Lina sat under a gathering of boulders that leaned together to form a type of shelter. Odette sucked in a small breath. Zoya sat next to her, wrapped in Lina’s arms.
“If you were free to do whatever you wanted, what would you do?” Lina asked.
Zoya smiled. “I’d love to travel, see the world.” She brushed the other young woman’s hair back. “And I’d take you with me.”
“In swan form?”
“This won’t last forever, Lina. I promise.”
“And I won’t let anyone hurt you. No matter what happens.”
Lina leaned forward and kissed Zoya. Rothbart’s sister leaned into Lina, deepening the embrace, the two girls lost in each other.
This was all Odette needed.
Lina pulled back, her cheeks flushed as red as her hair. “There is something I should tell you—”
Odette straightened and stepped out from the bushes. “Lina. Zoya.”
