“You don’t need to risk yourself,” the queen says. “They won’t dare to put an arrow through me. The king’s magic will find and destroy anyone who tries.” She pauses. “They know what happened the first time they attacked the castle. They are clearly eager to meet the same fate.”
My mouth goes dry. I don’t know what’s right anymore. I don’t know what’s wrong.
“Mama,” says Sinna. “I don’t like this game anymore. When will it be over?”
The guard hasn’t lowered his crossbow. “Go back in the barn,” he bites out.
What the queen said clearly unnerved him.
“I will go,” she says to him. “But you will not touch my child.”
I turn before she can leave. My eyes search her bruised face. “Are you hurt?” I say. “Do you need supplies?”
She studies me for a long moment, then says loudly, “You will come with me. I will give you a list of what we need.”
She doesn’t even look at the guard for approval; she simply turns and steps into the barn as if it’s as regal a building as the Crystal Palace.
If I look at him, I’m going to falter, so I scurry after her, hoping I’m not going to get an arrow in my back for my trouble—and hoping Nora won’t wake up and come looking for me.
The queen walks to the far corner of the barn, where I store hay and straw for the animals. A lantern is hung from one of the posts, and a few random quilts are laid out over the ground and the hay bales.
I can’t help but stare. “Is this where you’ve been sleeping?”
“It’s not the worst place I’ve ever slept.” She lays her child on one of the quilts, then tucks the blanket up and around her. “You’re wasting time. They won’t allow you to stay here with me for long. Who are you? Why are they holding me here?”
“Your Majesty, I’m—I’m no one. I’m just a baker.”
“There must be a reason they chose this place. Lady Karyl is a governess from the Crystal City. Her real name is Lady Clarinas Rial—or maybe Lady Karyl is her real name, and she presented us with a false one.” The queen sighs. “She has no relation to Alek. She should have no business here. You said Lady Clarinas—I mean, Lady Karyl has been sending messages through you?”
“Yes—but they’re always sealed. I don’t know what they say.” I hesitate. “Did they hurt you?” I cast a glance at her midsection. Her clothes are too rumpled and stained for me to tell anything, but I remember all the gossip about the queen’s pregnancy. “Is the baby …” I let my voice trail off.
“There is no baby anymore,” she says, and even though her voice doesn’t waver, the words are hollow.
I gasp. “They—they beat you so badly—”
“I will not speak of this with my captors, Callyn. And certainly not in front of my daughter.”
I freeze. Sinna is watching us both with wide eyes. “I’m not your captor,” I whisper. “I swear. I didn’t know they were doing … this. We thought—” I break off, glancing at the tiny princess again.
“You thought what?” says the queen.
“We thought the target was the king. His magic.”
“The king is my husband. The father of my child. An attack on him is an attack on me. If you think otherwise, you are fooling yourself.”
“I know. I know that now.”
“Did they force you to carry these messages?”
I swallow. “No.”
“They paid you?” Her eyebrows go up.
“Yes,” I admit softly.
“And you knew they were associated with the Truthbringers?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Now it’s my voice that sounds hollow.
