Suddenly, a gust of wind, like a squall torn from the pages of a fantasy novel, surges forward. The force knocks my attacker and me off our feet, sending us sprawling onto the gravel path.
“Let her go!” Janus’s commanding voice cuts through the day. “Guards!”
My attacker scrambles to their feet with inhuman agility.
I reach for their ankle, but my fingers graze empty air as they leap behind the car’s wheel. The engine roars to life, drowning out my frustrated cry. As the car speeds away, two pairs of footsteps crunch across the snowy, gravel path.
I roll over just as Janus blocks out the sun above me. She’s flanked by a woman in a hat. Beatrix.
“Are you hurt?” Janus asks, her voice soft as she reaches out a hand.
I flinch away from it, glancing between the women. My throat tightens with unshed tears and unspoken accusations. I went looking for Janus, then got attacked. She might have spooked them away, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t somehow involved.
Janus follows my line of sight, unease furrowing her brow. “Leigh, this is Beatrix Marks.”
Beatrix offers a small wave and a tight smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Are you conspiring against me?” I blurt out, my voice hoarse.
“Perhaps you both need some privacy,” Beatrix suggests.
Janus nods, and Beatrix walks off to intercept the approaching guards, which include a tight-lipped Isolde, who glares at me. I pitch it right back. It’s not as if I asked to be kidnapped.
“We need to talk,” Janus says.
“Yeah, we do,” I say, trembling.
I stand without her help, ignoring the shake of my legs. We need to air our grievances.
The president folds her arms. “Beatrix is in town to tell me that her father died.” I blink at the information. “I knowher family’s politics are divisive, given they were staunch Nyx supporters, but he was a nice man and close to my parents growing up,” Janus continues, her voice softening. “For a while, during my teen years before Ama and Father died, I thought I wanted to join his party. You might already know that, given you’ve been having me followed.”
I cross my arms over my chest. I won’t apologize for due diligence. She’s been acting shady.
Janus narrows her eyes. “Leigh, I caught Pallas snooping through my house the other day on the baby monitor.”
“Baby monitor?” I ask. Janus doesn’t have kids.
She hesitates, then sighs. “Yes, Daphne is pregnant, and we were testing out the merchandise. The feed showed himin my house.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t ask him to break into your house.”
Janus purses her lips. “Perhaps not. But you had him follow me.”
I open my mouth to protest, but what’s the point of lying? “Can you blame me? He uncovered the truth about your meeting with Beatrix.”
“Beatrix and I are not working together.”
I scoff. “You should have told me that the moment she stepped foot in Borealis.”
A flicker of regret crosses her face. “Maybe so, but we have bigger things to?—”
“You met with Alden without me tosellme into a marriage,” I snap, my pent-up suspicions tumbling out one after the other. “And why won’t you tell me what happened to you the night of the blackout?”
“I deeply regret how I handled the situation with Alden. It was a lapse in judgment on my part.”
Janus makes me sweat for a minute, the silence stretching taut between us. Finally, she says, “Hebe. Daphne had somecomplications, and we rushed her to the hospital to see Doctor Dunn.”
“Why didn’t you just say that?” I demand.
