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“It’s all a trick?” I asked. “She doesn’t even give the champions a chance to win?”
“Of course, not,” Cari said. “She doesn’t care about any of it. She only wants to make sure the one in the prophecy does not come to claim the crown and dethrone her. That’s all she’s thinking about.”
That made sense. The queen had chosen the two vilest candidates as her champions: Lugh and Cara. In a twisted way, that sounded right.
“Casja says Lady Queill is a double as well,” I asked. “Why does the queen let her be?”
“Remember when I gave you the monstrosity?” Cari asked. “Before you came to save me?”
I nodded.
“That meant you were under our control,” Cari replied. “I could have turned you into a monster whenever I wanted. At least, that’s what we thought. That plan would have failed since you probably would be able to transform yourself back to fae.”
“And Lady Queill also has the monstrosity?” I asked.
“Had,” Cari corrected me. “I assume she wouldn’t have it now unless you excluded her on purpose from all that monster healing stuff.”
“I didn’t,” I replied.
“Then she, too is healed,” Cari said.
“But when you gave me the monstrosity,” I remembered. “I kept almost turning whenever you went away.”
“That was...” Cari hesitated. “A part of our ploy. We wanted you to feel the urgency so that you wouldn’t stop to realize we were pulling you into a trap.”
I stared at her blankly but then nodded.
“So if Lady Queill is healed now,” I said. “How can the queen trust her?”
“She wouldn’t change her mind about being on the queen’s side,” Cari replied. “She hates that she is a double. The queen used that hate to start her transformation in the first place. She will not betray her. And I think the queen no longer suspects her of being the candidate for the crown.”
She gave me a knowing look that made my chest feel cold.
I ignored it.
“So this is all to keep her throne,” I said. “All this death and suffering... She did it all to keep her crown.”
“Yes,” Cari said. “After you guys escaped the arena, she went nearly crazy with fear. She believed that her time had come. It fed her paranoia. This was how the next ruler of the realm would appear.”
“But there is no way of knowing who it might be,” I said. “It’s been more than fifty years since the diviners had the prophecy. The one who will dethrone her might not even be born yet. They might be dead already.”
Cari pressed her lips together and met my gaze.
“What?” I asked.
“You don’t see it?” she asked.
“See what?” I replied.
“This is it, Jasmine,” she said. “This is what the queen feared. The monsters are no longer monsters thanks to you. Her secret is out. And now, everything she ever did will be the reason for her downfall. She will fall. And someone will replace her. She lived a long life. Longer than most... She is using her healing magic to extend her life, and if no one stops her, she might rule forever.”
That was the most frightening thing I had ever heard. A chill ran down my spine.
“Still...” I whispered. “It could be anyone.”
Cari looked at me. She didn’t try to penetrate my mind. She just looked.
I averted her gaze.
