My entire world was floundering, and I wasn’t sure what was up, what was down, and what might lie in between.
And I couldn’t stop thinking about that drawing in the back of the book…
49
ISI
Itugged the pendant out from beneath my tunic, holding it up in the light. “She was wearing this when she arrived here. I found the missing stone in this room. That’s how I knew she’d been here.”
My poor sister. Gone forever.
Pherin shifted on my shoulder, her tiny claws digging in enough to remind me that I was among friends. A soft trill escaped her throat, and I sensed she understood exactly what I was feeling.
“Addie was assigned to this room before you?” Derren frowned. “That’s some coincidence, right there.”
Lexie slid off his lap and sat on my other side, wrapping her arms around me and tugging me close. “We’re going to figure this out. I promise.”
“I’m sorry,” Kerralyn said, rubbing my shoulder. “I’m sure that it’s a shock.”
I explained how she was delivered to the ball. “I was stunned. Horrified. My father escorted me to my rooms and told me he’d prepare her body for the pyre himself.” His pain had been palpable. “Her face—” I closed my eyes, but the image wouldn’t go away. Tearsdrizzled down my face and plopped onto my lap. “I watched her body burn.”
Pherin pressed her fluffy body into my neck, sharing her warmth.
Lexie tightened her arms around me, and I was so thankful to have her and the others with me. The simple human comfort held me together when everything else felt like sand shifting beneath my feet. In Caldrith, I’d been surrounded by servants and courtiers but rarely touched. Here, friendship came with gentle hands and shared warmth.
“Could it have been someone else’s body, disguised by magic?” Kerralyn asked. “I feel I need to point this out.”
“I suppose, but by whom and why? Magic is forbidden in my court.”
“In all the courts except ours,” Lexie said. “I wonder why that is?” The twist to her mouth told me she was thinking the same thing as I was.
“To keep anyone from gaining power, is my guess,” I said.
“Do you trust your father?” Derren asked carefully.
I nodded. “He loves us. I’ve never questioned that.” I didn’t like doubting my father, but I’d be foolish not to look at this from every angle. “We just heard from her journal that she sent me a letter, telling me she was safe with this court. I never received it.”
Kerralyn traced her finger back and forth across the open journal. “Lost or?—”
“Stolen before you could receive it,” Derren said. “Who’d stand to gain from her death?”
“She’s the youngest. I’m the heir to the throne,” I said.
We’d been two sparks trying not to ignite in a world that kept threatening to burn us for existing. Here, we could’ve been flames dancing together.
“Father arranged her marriage with the king of Velmire Court,” I said.
Derren nodded slowly. “Our not-so-friendly neighbor.”
I swallowed back the pain in my throat. “It was a good alliance. Even Addie agreed.”
“She welcomed the marriage?” Kerralyn asked.
“Not really, but she was willing to go through with it. Father wouldn’t have arranged her marriage with him if he wasn’t decent.”
“Decent unless they’reyourneighbor.” Lexie climbed back onto Derren’s lap. “They may not overtly attack us, but they’re not above raiding. Stealing. Cattle. Horses. Whatever crops they can load into a wagon and whisk back to their court. It wouldn’t surprise me if Velmire was attacking travelers and making it look like us.”
If what she said was true, and I had no reason to doubt her, it could’ve been Velmire all along. “My father would never have pushed Addie to marry him if he’d known.” And that was actually reassuring. “What do they have to gain by murdering my sister?”
