“What was I supposed to do? Call her name and alert everyone to our presence?”
Leoni and Driscoll. My shoulders sagged, and I stopped fighting.
“See?” Driscoll said triumphantly.
Leoni stepped in front of me, and I peeled Driscoll’s hand from my mouth, seeing his and Leoni’s outline in the dim light.
The vines rustled with intensity, and we all froze, backing against the hedge, leaves and twigs scraping against the fabric of my wool dress. A shadow stretched in, and an icy fear gripped me.
Then, Saestra appeared through the vines. I let out a whimper. I’d been caught. It was over for me.
She pressed a finger to her lips, then stepped back out and called, “She’s not here. I’ll keep looking through the rest of the maze!”
Her small, thin figure reappeared through the vines, and I shook my head slowly. “Why are you helping me?”
“Because all my life I’ve been training for a role I don’t want, then by some miracle you appeared, and I could finally be free without having to disappoint my uncle. But if you’re arrested and charged with Aunt Bronwen’s murder, then that all goes up in smoke. Besides, I don’t think you killed her.”
My mouth dropped open. “You don’t want to be queen?”
“No.” She twisted a lock of hair around her finger. “You can have the crown. I like to be behind the scenes. Not front and center.”
That made sense. I’d only met Saestra last night, but she seemed so uncomfortable in this role, in this environment.
“If you know I didn’t kill the queen, why don’t you just provide me with your testimony?” I asked as Driscoll and Leoni stayed silent, watching our exchange.
Her eyes welled with tears. “I was by the doors, trying to get inside the castle with everyone else. Too many saw me there, knew I didn’t have a view of you and the queen. I can’t give a testimony when I didn’t see what happened.” She grabbed my hand. “But I don’t believe you to be a killer. You’d have no reason to murder the queen.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Did she just say murder the queen?” Driscoll asked. “What in the Seven Spirits is happening?”
Saestra’s gaze snapped to my companions, and I made quick introductions.
The image of the dead queen flashed in my mind. My mother. She was gone. We were having tea, we were laughing, talking about suitors—and now I’d never see her again. I’d barely gotten a chance to know her. My heart split in two.
“Find her,” Erasmus roared again, and the doors to the castle slammed, the sound echoing through the courtyard.
“What happened?” Leoni echoed Driscoll’s question.
I let out a sob, and the whole story spilled out of me, Leoni’s andDriscoll’s frowns growing deeper the more I told them. Saestra stayed silent, tears spilling down her cheeks, shoulders shaking, but I didn’t miss the way she stiffened when I got to the part about my mother using dark magic.
“Spirits fucking below,” Driscoll said when I finally finished. “She made a deal to get a crown in exchange for her firstborn child?” Leoni elbowed Driscoll, and he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I can’t believe it,” Saestra said quietly.
“I’m so sorry,” Leoni said. “I can’t imagine how hard this has to be for you.”
Wings pumped above us, and we all froze until the sound had subsided.
I swallowed. “And my father doesn’t believe I’m his daughter. If he finds me, he’ll arrest me.” Or worse.
“It’s true,” Saestra said. “He doesn’t trust you, and now that the queen is dead, I fear for the worst.”
“Maybe now isn’t the best time to tell her our news,” Driscoll said out the side of his mouth.
I straightened. “What news?”
Leoni rolled her eyes. “Well, now we have to tell her, genius.”
