Page 200 of The Witch Queen

“All right, then,” she says, taking my hands. It might be my imagination, but I think I feel a tingling sensation where Millicent’s mark rests. “Good luck and becareful.”

With that, she lets me go and joins the others.

“You’ll listen to her, won’t you?” Roland asks. “Take care and all that?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Are you worried about me?”

“ ’Course not,” he says, waving me off. But I note the slight flush in his cheeks. “It’s just that…I’m sorry I can’t get you closer to the palace. Probably makes me a coward, but with your father awake…”

“I understand,” I tell him. “I’d never ask you to go back there after what you endured. And I meant what I said—I would never do the same.”

“Aye, well,” he says, scrubbing the back of his neck. “Hope we get the chance to find out. Try not to die in there.”

It’s as close to genuine sentiment as I expect I’ll receive from the Dwarf. He fusses with his keys a moment longer, then hurries off. I watch until the last member of the the party ducks through Roland’s door. Then I turn and face the palace, its many windows like dark eyes, watching me.

A crow calls overhead, its cry resonating in the marrow of my bones.

—

Given the chaos of the past weeks, it’s not a surprise to find heightened security at the city gates. It takes what seems an eternity to bypass the guards, through the maze of streets, and into the palace courtyard. From there, I manage to sneak into the kitchens, where I locate a familiar entrance to the servants’ passages and head toward Verity’s rooms in the nobles’ wing.

Though it’s only been days, it feels like a hundred years have passed since I walked these deserted halls. My footsteps are nearly soundless on the dust-carpeted floor, my ears pricked for any hint of the guards as I make my way through the cobweb-covered corridors. But luck is on my side. I don’t pass anyone, and slip into the main chamber of Verity’s suite undetected. Still, I can feel the time getting away from me. A clock chimes eight bells in the silence of the rooms. Even the fire is low in the grate, the dying embers casting an ominous glow over the furnishings.

“Verity?” I whisper.

A draft snakes around me, stirring the curtains, which billow inward like wraiths. Across the chamber, I think I see the darknessmove.The shadows lengthen. My heart kicks in my chest. Is that the shadow creature who chased me through the forest? Ayleth’s former Huntsman, or so I learned. A creature who now serves her mother. The place on my palm stings and I start to back away, grappling for the door.

A blur of black pounces into my path and I yelp, stumbling backward. But then I immediately recognize a familiar trill.

“Nettle!” I scold, my heart still racing. “What are you doing in here? And where—”

Too late, I register the rush of footsteps. Nettle yowls and I barely manage to leap backward as a large, blunt object swings past my face.

“Getoutyou—” Verity halts, still clutching what I think is a mallet. “Blodwyn?”

“Yes!” I gasp out before she bludgeons me. “It’s me!”

Verity drops her weapon, which is indeed a mallet, and throws her arms around me. “You’re back! Oh, thank everything. Did Gavin find you?”

I pull away from her. “Gavin?”

Even Nettle meows, confused. He’s the last person who would want me to return. But Verity nods emphatically.

“He showed up here not long after you were supposed to leave together,” she says. “He…explained what happened. About his father.”

“He did?” That surprises me.

“Yes,” she confirms. “I almost strangled him for it.”

“Why didn’t you?” I ask. Nettle voices her evident agreement.

“I didn’t have the heart,” Verity admits, sheepish. “He seemed so…broken. I think he’d beencrying.As far as I’m aware, he’s been gone ever since. I assumed he went off searching for you.”

I frown, taking this in. What if hehadbeen looking for me? If he was worried? But I shake that away. If Gavin was concerned about me it was likely because he failed in his father’s plan. Not for any other reason.

“He’s not why I’m back,” I say. “I need to find something in the old wings of the palace. Will you help? I know it—”

“Of course,” she agrees before I can finish. “Whatever you need.”