Slade shook his head. “The message is meant to draw you out.”
“But soon, she’ll know I’m not in Autumn,” Aurelia argued. “She’ll think I never got the message. We have an advantage right now.”
Slade’s expression only tightened. “When Heliconia finds out you’re no longer in Autumn, she’ll be even more on guard. Even if we find your friend, she’ll be heavily guarded. You wouldn’t make it in, much less out again.”
“Then we go together.” She looked around the room, wild determination sharpening her edges.
Thorne shook his head. “You’re talking about seven of us against hundreds. Maybe thousands.”
Aurelia’s hands curled into fists. “I’ll figure it out. Find allies. If we can rally a force—” She stopped abruptly and turned toward the others. Daegel. Keres. Amanti. “What about the Midnight Court? Will they fight?”
The air in the room changed. Thorne’s expression shuttered. Daegel’s gaze flicked to Keres, then to me. Even Amanti looked uneasy. No,guilty. We all looked guilty.
Aurelia caught it instantly. “What is it?” she asked, voice low. “What are you keeping from me?”
Keres stood slowly. “Now isn’t the time.”
“I think it’s exactly the time.” Aurelia took a step closer, furyfire sparking faintly at her fingertips. “For days, you’ve had me in this cabin on a mountain high above your precious court. Acting like I’m here for my safety when we all know it’s more than that.”
“I told you, you’re not a prisoner,” Keres said tightly.
“Prove it. Take me into the city. Let me meet with your queen and let her decide if her court will stand with me.”
I looked at Keres then, the truth twisting in my chest. She shook her head as if to say, “Not now.”
“Whatever secret you’re sitting on,” Aurelia continued, “Whatever reason you’ve stashed me in this cabin instead of taking me to the city, tell me now. Or I leave. Alone.”
Her voice didn’t waver. The heat from her magic rolled through the room in waves.
Amanti’s eyes met mine. “She deserves the truth, Rydian.”
My throat felt dry as dust. “Now’s not the time. The queen will explain?—”
Keres’s jaw tightened. “The queen isn’t coming.”
Aurelia’s gaze snapped to the female warrior.
Keres ignored her, eyes fixed on me. “She said it would be safer this way. To keep her away from the city. Away from the court. Until it’s time.”
The words hit like a blow. The queen had refused to meet Aurelia, all over her own fear and resentment. I should’ve expected it, but the confirmation still cut deep.
“She knows what this will look like to our people,” I said, anger building. “The message it sends.”
Keres’s expression didn’t change. “I’m sure she did what she thought was necessary.”
Aurelia’s voice was ice. “You mean she abandoned us. Just like the Midnight Court abandoned Concordia when Heliconia invaded. Just like they abandoned my kingdom when we needed them most.”
“No,” I said, meeting her glare. “She’s protecting you. But she should’ve explained.”
The fury in her eyes was sharp enough to wound. “You did this,” she said. “You sent me here, and for what? To keep me from fighting for my kingdom? To make sure you remain in control of all the moves?”
“That’s not what this is.”
“Then what is it?” she demanded. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks a lot like another male deciding what’s best for me without giving me a choice.”
I didn’t look away. “Was I supposed to just leave you there with Callan—alone,hunted down for a king’s death?”
She stepped closer, so close the air between us hummed. “You did leave me.”
