I handed over the note. My father read it, passed it to my mother, to Patt.
“Who sent this?” Elspeth asked.
“I don’t know. I found it on my desk. Vix has disappeared.”
“You think she...”
“I think she’s involved. Whether she wrote it or she’s working with someone, I don’t know yet.”
“We need to find her,” Patt said. “Bring her in for questioning.”
“Obviously. But the note...” My jaw tightened. “The threat is real. Whoever this is, they have access to the castle. Access to my office. They could have access to Riley.”
“She’s with Thessa,” my mother said. “She’s protected.”
“Is she? If someone can leave a note on my desk without being seen...”
A sound at the door made everyone go silent.
I crossed to the door and yanked it open, but there was nothing. No one. Just an empty corridor and a note on the floor.
Another one. Our mysterious villain was nothing if not prolific.
I picked it up, my hands steady despite the dread coiling in my stomach.
REJECT HER, OR THE BITCH AND HER KID WILL DIE. HER FATE IS IN MY HANDS.
They knew she was pregnant.
How did they know she was pregnant? The healer had only just confirmed it. The news hadn’t left the infirmary. No one should know except family and...
Someone was watching us. Someone close.
“They know about the pregnancy,” my mother breathed, reading over my shoulder. “How could they possibly know?”
We tried to track who left the second note.
I was out the door in seconds, my senses extended, searching for any scent that didn’t belong. My father and Patt followed, all three of us dropping to our knees to examine the floor, the walls, any surface the intruder might have touched.
Duskmere’s royalty crawling around on the floor sniffing stones. Our ancestors would be so proud.
We found nothing useful, or rather, too much to be useful.
“There are dozens of scents here,” Patt said, frustration bleeding through his voice. “Servants, guards, nobles. Anyone could have walked this corridor.”
“They knew we were here,” I growled. “They knew exactly when to drop the note. They were watching us.”
“Or they have someone on the inside,” my father added grimly.
We returned to the study, the door firmly closed and locked behind us.
“Her fate is in my hands,” Elspeth repeated, examining the second note. “What does that mean? How could her fate be in someone’s hands?”
“A curse?” Patt suggested.
“Possibly.” My mind was racing. “Mother, do we have any witches in the castle? Anyone who could examine Riley for magical interference?”
“There’s one. Morena. She lives in the lower town, but she’s worked with the crown before. Discreet, trustworthy.”
