“I asked the librarian to set aside any books about body swapping earlier, claiming the princess had read a fairy tale about them and wanted to learn more.”
Competent people were also my type. Damn, I was surrounded by people too good for me.
First we all sat on the floor and divided the books between fiction and nonfiction. Unfortunately, only one book sat on the nonfiction side. Antonia looked through some picture books while Ari read over my shoulder.
The story was a myth about a saint who swapped a rich man and a poor man for a day to impart moral lessons. “Are we sure this isn’t fiction, too?” I asked.
“Saint Adil’s existence is well-documented. Although, he lived two thousand years ago, so it’s difficult to tell fact from fiction in his legends.” Ari sighed. “There doesn’t seem to be any information about his price.”
Antonia pinched her arms. “I don’t feel any power. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t hurt yourself.” I gently tugged her arms away. “It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine, but what else could I say?
“There’s one bit of good news.” Ari pointed at a picture of a funeral in the book. “It seems that if one of the swapped people dies, the other can still live on in the new body.”
The widest grin spread across Antonia’s face. “We can hack and stab old Mother to bits and still keep new Mother.”
I coughed. “Uh, the story isn’t a complete guarantee. Also I still want my body back. Please don’t hack me to bits.”
“It’s useful to know.” Ari closed the book. I started to pile them up. “Don’t bother, you’re too important now to clean up after yourself. It would look suspicious.”
Frowning, Antonia pinched her arms again. It was starting to worry me. I clapped my hands. “Let’s not talk about Duchess Hedri any longer. We should all go to bed. Thanks for helping me find some new information.”
“I wish it had been more helpful,” Ari said.
We headed to Antonia’s bedroom first. When the door opened, I saw the chest of whips and flinched. Antonia followed my gaze and flinched, too.
“That’s still in your bedroom?” No wonder Antonia was jumpy. This wouldn’t do at all. “We should throw it out.”
“Can I burn it?” Antonia asked hopefully.
There were a lot of practical reasons to say no, all of them overruled by a pair of big, adorable eyes. “That sounds like fun. If we’re not keeping you up past your bedtime …”
Ari smiled. “I won’t tell the tutors if you don’t.”
We lugged the chest down to the kitchen, thinking the room would be empty this late. But when we stepped through the door, a dishwasher screamed. “The Blood Duchess has an iron maiden!”
“What’s an iron maiden?” I called after her retreating form.
“A torture device.” Ari set down the chest with a grunt. “As if Duchess Hedri would ever waste so much blood, especially belonging to a young woman.”
I hoped that was a dark joke. “Where’s the furnace?”
The furnace wasn’t large enough for the entire box. But it was an enchanted relic strong enough to incinerate even the metal bits. Antonia fed the whips in one at a time. The glee on her face did not look entirely sane. But I would swear she held her head higher with each whip destroyed.
When I reached for a whip handle to help the process move faster, both Ari and Antonia flinched.
“Sorry.” I dropped the whip. “I’m sure you want to do it yourself.” It was an excuse to cover up the trauma I’d seen. I felt like an idiot. I should have known better than to touch a whip by the handle in front of them.
At least I hadn’t ruined the evening. Antonia skipped her way back to her room when we were done.
After we put Antonia to bed, Ari kindly walked me back to my room, since I certainly couldn’t have found it on my own. “Thanks,” I told her, pausing in the doorway.
“I should be thanking you. Your idea helped Antonia. She’s very important to me. I didn’t plan to get attached to anyone when I infiltrated the duchess’s household for revenge, but I couldn’t help it.” Ari reached out and pushed a lock of hair behind my ear, as if offering proof that it wasn’t scary to touch me. “You’re not the Blood Duchess. You don’t need to apologize for her crimes.”
“I’m sorry.”
We looked at each other and laughed.
