Only Kestrel, Leighton, and Micah remained in a room that now felt more like a tomb than a throne room. Kestrel had already learned about Prince Leighton’s inclination toward duplicity. She was already beginning to sense something sinister about Signe as well. Only Micah seemed innocent of heart, at least in the ways that mattered to Kestrel. As the queen made her way back to the throne in slow, languid strides, it was Micah’s gaze that Kestrel searched for. But he looked just as worried as she felt, his eyes pinned on the queen, waiting for her next move.
As she sat in the throne, Queen Signe draped herself over the armrest once more. “What of your mother, Kestrel? Where is she?”
She felt her throat constrict. “Dead. Thom says—” at seeing the slight twitch of the queen’s brow, Kestrel remembered that wasn’t the name anyone else knew him by. It was yet another lie, however, in this moment, it felt more like a secret, like something special that only the two of them knew. Kestrel corrected herself. “I meanDarius, he says that the curse killed her.”
Signe released a long, pained sigh. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence as everyone waited for the queen to say more. When she didn’t, Leighton stepped forward.
“There is something else, my queen.”
“Oh?” Signe lifted one eyebrow as she fussed with the slit of her gown.
“I’m afraid King Ulfaskr is dead. I wanted to be sure Kestrel was who I thought she was, so we brought her to the Fortress of Thirst to test her magic. But she showed no signs of any, and we had to?—”
“Well of course she didn’t, you fool. She’s had no one to teach her.” Queen Signe smiled down at Kestrel. “We’ll fix that, as well, my darling.” The smile remained fixed on her face as she returned her attention to Leighton. “I suppose that means your coronation is finally in order. And that your engagement will resume as planned.”
Kestrel’s heart stuttered on the word engagement, and it took her a moment to convince herself the queen was still talking to Leighton. Someone who had willingly kissedhernot maybe a few weeks prior. She had to remind herself that all of that had been a lie though, a con, much like everything else that had come out of his mouth.
But the way he winced at her words, or perhaps at her announcing them in front of Kestrel, suggested that there was something else going on there. Not that Kestrel cared. The prince and her were done. They had to be. Not only because she could no longer trust him, but dragon’s fire, he had been raised by her aunt! They were practically related—although ever since stepping into the throne room, Kestrel had noticed that there had been no sense of love or affection between the two of them. Toward any of the princes, really. Not the way Kestrel had imagined a mother would treat her sons. They’d been gone for weeks, if not months, and yet Signe had shown no signs of relief upon seeing them returned home safely. No pride in hearing that they had accomplished their task of bringing her the man they kept callingDarius Graeme.
If anything, the princes seemed cowed by her. Perhaps even afraid.
Kestrel was still wondering what that meant for her own safety, when the queen clapped her hands and a servant rushed to her side.
“Send someone else to ready the Princess Elora, would you? And when she’s presentable, bring her down here to greet herhusband and congratulate him on his coronation announcement.”
“Betrothed,” Leighton corrected under his breath, but the queen merely waved him off as the servant hurried out of the room.
“Yes, yes,betrothed. But now that you’ll soon be king, the time to wed is fast-approaching.” Leighton shifted on his feet, and Kestrel saw the worried way Micah watched him. “Why don’t you both go freshen up a bit while we wait for the princess to join us. And my niece can tell me all about her upbringing with the fallen knight.”
Leighton and Micah shot Kestrel a worried glance, as if to ask if she was alright to stay there alone. The truth was, she wasn’t. This was all uncharted territory for her, quite literally. But getting close to the queen had been her goal. This was what she wanted, to speak with her privately about Thom. Besides, she already knew as well as them that none of them had a choice; what the queen demanded was what occurred.
So Kestrel nodded to both of them, and as they obliged the queen’s dismissal, she prepared herself for the most important conversation of her life.
Chapter 18
Lost Family
KESTREL
The doors closed before even a sliver of light could seep into the dark throne room, leaving Kestrel and Signe entirely alone.
There were only a handful of times in her lifetime that Kestrel could recall ever experiencing true fear. Most recently, when the prince shoved her into the fortress with no way out and the king-beast’s galloping footsteps pounding after her. The cinders, the Maw, and the weeks when Thom hadn’t returned home.
Being alone in a room with the Queen of Irongate felt an awful lot like any of those moments.
A shiver ran through her. Kestrel absently rubbed at the loose sleeves of her tunic. She glanced over to the curtains, wishing someone would open them and allow the warmth of the sun inside.
“I don’t think I’m used to the temperatures outside of Vallonde yet,” Kestrel said, attempting to make small talk. “Would it be alright if we opened the curtains?”
She moved toward them, but the queen lunged.
“No!” she hissed, something dark and sinister ravaging hervoice. It was the first time Kestrel caught a glimpse of the curse upon her, she suspected. But the queen recovered quickly, plastering a thin smile over her porcelain skin as she resettled into her throne. “I mean, I’d rather you didn’t.”
The sheer darkness was no happenstance then, nor was it caused by a forgetful servant. This was the queen’s doing. And the reason why was starting to make sense.
“Is it because of your curse?”
