I can’t fathom what I’m seeing. She can’t be serious…can she? The queenlooksserious. Or perhaps closer to crazed, as she grips her son’s arm with one hand like a hawk’s talons holding its prey and uses the other hand to threaten him with the blade.
“He’s yourson!” I plead.
“I have other sons.”
“Mother,” Finn entreats,“please, you don’t have to do this. Just let her go—”
Queen Davina snarls,“Youknowwhat she is.”
As I stare into the queen’s eyes, I find in them absolute resolution. Behind it swirls hatred. Zero hesitation. Zero shame. I can’t understand why, but she is prepared to kill Finn rather than let me go. She would actually allow him to die.
I should allow him to die.
But I can’t.
The invisible bond between us buckles but does not break. And in the same moment that I watch Finn accept his impending death, I realize it would shatter my soul.
I drop the crown.
Then I hold out my wrists in surrender.
“No!”Finn shouts as Queen Davina releases him. “Mother, let her go. We had an agreement! You promised!”
The guards surround me. I expect to be tied up, but as the largest man grabs my hands, another one wheels back and punches me square in the face. The force would send me crashing backward if not for the guard who grabs me from behind. The next blow hits my stomach, and I whimper, folding.
“STOP! DON’T HURT HER!” Finn is screaming at the top of his lungs, but the words are ignored. I catch a sidelong glimpse of the prince as someone yanks me up and the guards start dragging me back toward the castle. Finn fights desperately to reach me against the four or five guards trying to restrain him. “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!LYRIA!”
His screams fade as they lead me away.
y chamber makes an effective cell. The door bolts from the outside, and the window opens up to a sheer two-hundred-foot drop. I add this to today’s long list of discoveries of my own stupidity. This was always a cell. It was naivety that made me see it as anything less.
After a full sweep to confirm there’s no way out, I crawl on top of my bed and curl into the fetal position. Then I start sobbing. Once the tears come, they can’t be tempered. The past few months slam into me full force: every mistake, every betrayal, every dead end on this ridiculous fool’s errand. I don’t know what my next move is. I don’t know how I’m going to get out, or if I ever will. I’ve never longed for the Ironwoods more. In my heart, I travel there: I smell the cedar and clay, I hearwind rustling in the aspens, I feel the warm earth underneath me. I should never have left home.
My pity party gets interrupted by a knock at the door. I clamber to my feet and wipe the tears away fast as the door swings open.
“Are you all right?” Finn rushes toward me.
I back toward the wall as he approaches, keeping my distance. “Get out.”
“Lyria, I amsosorry—”
“Why are you here?”
Finn stops abruptly, taking notice of my retreat. He looks confused. “So that we can figure out a plan. We’ve got to figure out how to defuse the situation before it’s unsalvageable.”
I’m actually speechless, torn between hysterical laughter and tears. “Look around you! What’s left to defuse?!”
His determined expression doesn’t change. “We can figure something out.”
The hysterical laughter wins out. “Finn, I justmurderedsomeone! The whole world knows I’ve got a Talent. You really think we’re coming back from this?”
He shakes his head. “I’ll find a way to get us out of Verdinae. We could hide in the Phantom Isles, or charter a ship and head south—”
“I DON’T WANT TO GO ANYWHERE WITH YOU!”
Finn’s eyes widen at my sudden outburst, and he swallows. “Because of…”
“All of it!”I shout. “You lied to me about everything! Youusedme! You—” And then my body betrays me; shaking morphs into sobs. I abruptly turn away from him, covering my face as it flames with humiliation.
