That seems to throw Karyl, because she’s frozen in place, her brow furrowing. But it’s only for a moment, and her expression smooths over. “Again, we aren’t certain. Regardless of her abilities, the queen has a soft heart for magic— and it’s clear that other magesmiths were there that day. Whoever they are, it’s likely she allowed it. She cannot remain on the throne.”
They plan to replace the queen? My thoughts are spinning. This was never—never— a part of my discussions with the Truthbringers. Our goal has always been to protect the queen.
“So what are you proposing?” I say, swiftly calculating in my head. It’s been several days since the queen sent word to King Grey in Emberfall. If he agreed to return— which is still a bigif— it would be at least another few days before he would arrive.
“We have already taken steps to cut off her contact with the king. We failed to stop the King’s Courier last spring, but we’ve been more successful this time.”
I go still.More successful.
“Oh?” I say carefully.
A smile spreads across her face. “Do you know,” she says, “that in her missive, she wasbeggingher husband to return? Our queen, so desperate for a man to stand at her side.” The smile disappears as quickly as it formed. “It’s no wonder she’s destined to fall.”
“You killed her courier,” I breathe.
“It wasn’t even a challenge. We cannot have the king returning to Syhl Shallow, of course, and when he fails to respond to her request, it will further encourage the division between them.”
My heart won’t stop pounding. If Karyl and the Truthbringerskilled the courier, it means the king has no idea of what’s happening here. It means there’s no hope of assistance from across the border.
My eyes flick toward that tree, where the scraver is waiting, his taloned fingers wrapped around a branch. He bares his fangs at me, and my breath forms a thin cloud.
It means we’ll be facing this scraver and his allies alone.
It means we’ll be facing the Truthbringersalone.
“Are you insane?” I demand. “The queen will know, and our operations will be uncovered. She’ll receive word—”
“Not for weeks,” Karyl says, waving a hand. “And even then, I have friends in the palace, securing things from within.” Her eyes narrow. “Such little faith. I thought I could count you among those friends.”
Friends.Plural. A bolt of ice slides right through my heart. Could Nolla Verin be working with Karyl? When Lia Mara was kidnapped, Verin was left at the Crystal Palace, completely unharmed.
Even this afternoon, Verin wasn’t in the nursery with us, but she definitely would’ve been told that I returned to the palace with Callyn— and she probably would have heard that I met with the queen privately afterward. It’s entirely possible that Queen Lia Mara would have told Verin everything I reported about the scravers, right down to summoning Tycho from Emberfall.
And now Karyl is working with a scraver. Did I leave the queen in a more precarious position than she started in? At least there’s no way Nolla Verin could have informed Lady Karyl of that by now.
I clear my throat, trying to figure out how to play this, but there is absolutely no clear path. “Of course I am your friend,” I say. I look between her and the scraver again. “But this . . . this is unexpected. How can you trust him, Karyl?How?What if you remove the king and queen from power and he takes it for himself?”
Her eyes flash. “He cannot.”
The scraver’s claws flex on the branch, and I frown. “He cannot?”
“No.” She smiles again. “As I said, gathering their steel worked in our favor. I figured out how to harness their magic— and how to master control.”
She says it so callously, and for all my arrogance, something in me recoils. I think of all the reasons Nakiis claimed to be afraid of Tycho— and then of Callyn. I remember what Igaa said, how the magesmiths once used their steel to access the scravers’ magic.
Sharing turned to stealing.
I swallow thickly and glance between them again. I have no idea how she did it, but Karyl must have figured out the same thing.
Magic by itself is terrifying. Magic in the hands of the Truthbringers is somehow worse.
“What do you need from me?” I say, and my voice is almost a rasp. I’m afraid, and I can’t even hide it.
“You’ve always had the queen’s ear,” says Lady Karyl. “You’re right— she did lose a child. So find out who else in the palace has access to the king’s magic.” She waves a hand. “Once we know who they are, we can eradicate them.”
My heart stumbles, and I swallow to hide it. “And what willyoube doing?”
“The same thing I’ve been doing for weeks. Gathering allies on both sides of the border. In fact, I have somewhere to be tomorrow night.” She stoops to pick up a dried leaf from the ground, then holds it up. “I have plans to put in motion.”
