I tense, peering into her face. Her skin is soft, body flushed against mine. She blinks, then steps away, rubbing her arms as if cold.
“You…you know,” I say.
“About the little mountain, not the dirt.”
“Why didn’t you say anything before? This is what we’ve needed.”
Her shoulders curl inward. “Can’t.”
“You’re sworn to a blood oath.”
She shakes her head. “Worse.”
A blood bargain.In which two parties make a deal and the party to break it loses their magic.
“Who’s his true mother, if not the queen?” Kassandra whispers, then looks my way. “Someone like you?”
I nod, my head against the wall. She lets out a curse and paces again.
“How do you know of this?” she demands.
A headache pulses in my temples. I rub them. “I can’t explain.”
“You have to. Or else who will believe us?”
“We don’t need anyone to believe us,” I snap. “You need to tell him you know—”
“And risk death? No. No, I will not speak of this anymore.”
Pushing off the wall, I start toward her. “But—”
“This istreason,” she seethes. “To talk like this. If I’m to use this, I need real proof or else it’s just his word against mine, or worse, your word against his.”
I halt, stung. “You don’t believe me.”
“I don’t know what to believe.” She reaches over to her vanity, grabbing a pink pigment that didn’t fall. “Now, Briar’s coming back, and I want her staying innocent. So that means you can’t be.”
“What are you—”
Kassandra reaches up, smearing the pigment on my lips. I freeze, throat bobbing, as her thumb smudges it across my mouth, then across her own.
“Let her think this is what you’re doing here,” she whispers, snapping the lid back on.
“I’ll get in trouble!” I hiss.
She raises a brow. “Are you proposing to me? Are we in public? Don’t be ridiculous. Besides, you think Briar cares? Now, go and get me proof.”
The doors click open again, and Briar stops in her tracks. Kassandra rubs the back of her hand across her face.
“What are you doing back so quickly?” she squeaks, then turns to me. “Didn’t I tell you to leave me be?”
Giving a shocked Briar a quick glance, I lace away.
—
In the halloutside the royal library, I stumble into a body.
“Oof,” Carter says, righting me and pulling away. “Where’d you come from?”
