I bark a cold laugh. “That’sthe part you’re sorry for?”
“I’m sorry about all of it, all right? None of this was supposed to happen.”
“Whatwassupposed to happen?” She purses her lips and drums her fingers against her upper thighs. I breathe in her energy, expecting defiance, but find only anxiety. Exhaustion. Resignation. I release a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping with my own bone-crushing fatigue. This outing went the complete opposite of what I expected. I was supposed to impress the princess, make her an ally. Not argue with her decoy in the woods after the real Maisie, for reasons unknown, left the palace and willingly plotted to deceive me. I fold my wings down my back and run my hands through my hair. When I speak, my words come out calm, quiet. “I need you to tell me the truth. In return, I promise to hear you fairly. Where is Princess Maisie? Why did you take her place?”
“I can’t tell you.”
Frustration slices through me, and I nearly bite out an angry response. Somehow, I manage to reign in my annoyance with a slow, deep breath.Calm. Be calm about this. “This is your last chance, impostor. Answer my questions.”
“Ican’ttell you and that’s the truth. I physically cannot.”
I breathe in her emotions, strong and full of conviction. She isn’t lying. “You have a bargain.” Her answering silence tells me I’m right. “Whatcanyou tell me?”
She wrings her hands, shoulders stiff. “Not a lot.”
“What was the goal? Were you supposed to trick me into marrying you?”
“No.”
“Was this ploy meant to harm me in some way? Is King Ronan behind it too?”
“No, this isn’t about you at all.”
“Isn’t about me at all?” I scoff. “The princess I was supposed to court fled my palace and left someone else in her place. Forgive me if I’m unable to not take it personally.” I wait for the pain of rejection to sink my stomach, but it feels like nothing more than a fleeting, hollowthud. For once, I was rejected by someone I care nothing about. I suppose I can consider that a vast improvement to my love life. “So, what was in it for you?”
She nibbles a corner of her lip. “I can’t tell you.”
“Can you tell me your name? Let me see who you are without whatever glamour you’ve concocted?”
“No.”
“I could force you, you know.” There’s no anger in my tone, only weary truth. “I could take you to the dungeon and make you spill your secrets, bargain be damned. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”
She looks down at her feet. “All I can say is it’s a matter of desperation that made all of this happen.”
I frown. “Whose desperation? Yours or hers?”
She says nothing.
“You never answered the last question I asked you in the coach. Who are you to Princess Maisie? Why did she trust you with this?”
She hesitates before answering. “A friend.” I breathe in her energy, finding nothing to suggest that’s a lie.
“Did you arrive with her from the Sea Court?”
She purses her lips.
“Are you one of her maids? I never saw anyone with her but…for the love of the night, are you Podaxis?”
Her mouth falls open. “Of course not! Do I seem like a crustacean to you?”
My lips flicker up at the corners. It’s the first hint of amusement I’ve felt since everything went so horribly wrong. “I thought the voice was a little off.”
She sighs, expression softening. “Iama maid,” she says, revealing no spike in her emotional signature. The truth, then. “I am a maid and an ally to Princess Maisie, and that’s all I can tell you.”
“How long was this deception to last? If you weren’t planning on tricking me into marrying you, how was it supposed to end?”
She tenses slightly and says nothing for a few breaths. When she speaks, her energy is calm. “Our courtship was never meant to extend past the social season.”
