He tapped my arm. “You do it well. I watched, and it was a delight to see you spinning around the dance floor in the arms of our beloved king.”
“Yes, it was…interesting.” I stared out the window, though Erisandra was gone. Had she entered the woods or returned to the castle? “What was Valera’s message? You didn’t say.” I bustled him toward the door, snagging Moira’s and Faelith’s arms as I passed and tilting my head toward the hall when Calista’s gaze met mine.
She scowled but lately, there was nothing new about that.
“Oh, yes, of course. I nearly forgot,” he said, coming to a stop. “She asked for you to come to the library. The head librarian of Halendor Court paid her a visit and left something for you.”
“Why me?”
“Why not you?” He drew himself up stiffly. “You’re the queen.”
“Yes, but.” I shook my head. “Is it a book?”
“I don’t know what it is, and, might I say, it’s probably not my place to know. I assume it’s a gift to commemorate your coronation.”
“Is it common for librarians to bestow gifts on a rival court’s queen?”
“I don’t believe any have done so before, but it could be the start of a lovely new tradition, don’t you think?’
“I’ll visit Valera soon, then.”
“Very well, my queen. I’ll let her know.”
I needed to find out if Erisandra had crept into the woods, and I couldn’t do that while all my staff was hovering around. Taking Lord Briscalar’s hand, I rushed him out into the hall, shooing my ladies along with him. “So nice to visit with you all but I fear…”
Blinking fast, Moira leaned toward me. “Fear?”
“That I need to take a nap. Before I have to work with Lord Lorant. Or visit with the king who said he’d stop by after he was done with his advisors. I also plan to have dinner, which I’ll do here. Bring a tray and leave it in the hall.”
“We cannot do something like that,” Calista huffed. “We will bring the tray into the room. I insist.”
She could insist all she wanted, but I made my own rules. But I wanted her gone, so I gave her a simpering smile.
“Knock when you have it.” I closed the door in her face and raced into my room and dressed quickly in leathers.
One flit, and I stood at the edge of the woods beyond the wall, where I’d seen Erisandra enter. With a blade in my hand, I slunk among the trees, studying the ground for tracks.
When I found them, I followed as they wove through the woods.
The forest was darker here, the trees old and gnarled, their branches clawing at one another as if in battle. My heart skipped one beat. Another. It galloped across my ribs at a furious enough pace it made my breathing go ragged.
I crept around the craggy trees, following Erisandra’s tracks. An uneasy silence closed in around me. No birdsong, no sweep of the wind. Only an oppressive hum that slammed against the back of my skull in the same way static charges the air before the crash of a storm.
She’d traveled far.
I kept my gaze on her fresh trail.
Erisandra's tracks ended at an overgrown clearing with a few even older-appearing trees scattered across it, their spindly branches clawing at the gray sky overhead. I halted at the edge of the meadow, studying the ground around me but not finding any hint of her passage.
My growl ripped up my throat, but I bit it back.
Sweltering air gusted across the clearing, smacking into my face and making my hair stand on end. I held my breath, peering around, seeing nothing but…
Something sparkled ahead, and I frowned, squinting, cocking my head when I found what looked like a tall, cracked mirror, its surface shimmering in the low light, leaning against one of the old, contorted trees.
It was not there a moment ago.
Chills plucked across my skin, needling deep.
