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“Your Highness!” she screeched and floundered into a low bow.
“There’s no need for formalities out here. I don’t want to call too much attention to us.” Arkimedes’s eyes darted about, worry etched onto his features. True to his words, several people on the other side of the street were glancing curiously at them.
“Please come in.” Leela’s freckles were prominent now that a blush covered her face. A deep crease appeared on her forehead as she looked up at the surrounding rooftops. “We don’t know who might be watching.”
Her friend hadn’t been at the castle on the night the king had sent his guards to apprehend Nava and Devon. Did she know everything that had transpired?
She led them through the shop, past a small desk piled high with knickknacks and pincushions. The back of the room was bathed in darkness, although Nava could spot large rolls of fabric lined up against the far wall.
Guilt churned deep within her. It was a good life the fae had here. And it might change forever if the king found out the palace’s maid had helped them.
Why had Nava brought her into this mess?
Devon’s harsh cough stopped her spinning thoughts. He needed more rest than what they could have found in a dusty abandoned shop on the other side of the city. This was by far the safest option for tonight.
Leela gathered her red tresses on top of her head in a messy bun. “I was not expecting your company. Although they came some days ago to ask me if Miss Nava came to visit me.”
Oh no.
“Who came?” Arkimedes asked, striding across the cramped shop floor. A couple of wooden benches sat next to a large window, which was hidden behind thick velvet curtains. “My father’s guards?”
“His ladies. Sir.” Leela hastily added the last word and pressed her body against the desk, allowing them enough room to stand without touching each other.
Nava’s heart was suddenly racing. In the absolute silence that fell, all she could hear was Devon’s ragged breaths and the sound of crackling embers coming from the fireplace.
“Are they here now?” he whispered, low enough that only they could hear.
“They left that same night,” Leela said, and her blue eyes dipped to take in Arkimedes’s wounded hand and Nava’s scratched skin. She frowned. “Nora said Miss Nava put a spell on you, sir.”
“I knew this was a terrible idea,” Devon said. “We should leave now.”
Ark raised his hand to silence him and stepped closer to Leela, his voice gentle when he spoke. “Do you believe them? Do you think I’m under a spell now?”
Leela flinched, her eyes widening as she stared at what Nava presumed were Arkimedes’s shadows. “I know Miss Nava was wearing the royal jewels when she was in the castle, and so was Mr. Black. There is no way she could’ve put a spell on you to betray us.”
“This fae is lying, and we walked into a trap,” Devon snarled, already shuffling toward the front door. Yet Arkimedes stayed right beside Leela, observing her quick breaths and studying her closely.
Was her friend lying? Nava didn’t know what to believe anymore.
“Leela is not lying,” Ark said. “Fae can’t lie openly, Devon. You know that.” His gaze flashed to Nava, whose mouth fell open at his words.
A flare of heat rose from the pit of her stomach all the way to her face. Fae can’t lie… what ridiculous claptrap.
“If they can’t lie, then how did they come here and lie to her about what happened?”
She hated to agree with Devon, and it pained her to think Leela would betray her—but she’d rather be safe somewhere else. This was a stupid idea. She shouldn’t have brought them here.
Leela backed away behind the desk, paling further at Devon’s sharp question and the wet cough that followed it.
“Nora believes Nava put me under a spell, which is why she attacked me in my father’s room. It’s also why my father’s guards attacked me on the island and forced me back here.” The tension in Arkimedes’s face eased, and he nodded as if the pieces were falling into place. “They were convinced I was under a spell there.”
Leela gasped, and the truth behind his words clicked for Nava as well. If the royal guards genuinely believed the heir and savior of the land was under the spell of an evil witch, then they would do anything to remove him from her reach.
Herous, the guard who’d hurt her the very day she’d arrived in the Copper Kingdom, had called her a witch. It made sense now.
“They all believe Nava has me under a spell.” Arkimedes met her eyes, his expression heavy with meaning. “But Leela isn’t lying because a full-blooded fae can blatantly not do so. They can bend the truth or avoid it.”
Leela bowed her head, although her wary eyes flashed to Devon. Perhaps she was unsure what to believe.
