Alaric tries to chime in, but a wet, hacking cough curls him into a ball.
“Shhh. Save your strength,” I murmur.
“Sometimes our own comfort must come second to the future of Tashir,” Rowenna says.
I gape at her, completely gobsmacked by how much her time in Vanzador changed her. Hardened her.
Has it, though?a tiny voice in the back of my mind asks—a voice Iused to attribute to Rowenna. But now that I’m truly listening, I recognize it instantly—so calm and encouraging and so clearly my own, I don’t know how I ever thought it belonged to my sister.
Rowenna has always been calculated and controlling, it tells me,but you failed to see it because she made you believe she was protecting you, looking out for you, like an older sister should.
“I knew you were too weak to handle the requirements of this job,” she says with a derisive snort. “It’s exactly why I kept you in the dark—why I sheltered you from the real work. How dare you judge me for doing what needs to be done for Tashir?”
Not long ago, these accusations would have sent me into a spiral of shame and doubt. I would have fallen on my face to apologize and begged Rowenna to tell me what to do and how to feel, but now I boldly meet her stare.
“That’s the thing. Thisisn’twhat needs to be done. We don’t have to steal the gemstone triad. In fact, it’s a terrible idea, as it will requireourpeople to sacrifice memories to fuel the stone’s power.”
“Only for a short while,” Rowenna says, “Just until—”
“I wasn’t finished,” I say over her. “There’s a good chance the stones won’t even work in someone else’s skin. We need to work together,withVanzador, not against each other. Alaric and I have discovered so many ways we can strengthen both countries. I’ve been growing goblin’s gold to light their mine shafts, and in return, I’ve been given a percentage of the output. I’m going to use that money to purchase new farming equipment and food stores from the isles across the sea to send to Tashir. Just think what a difference that will make.”
“You’re daft if you think the Vanzadorians will actually let you have a penny. Why would they suddenly pay for things they’ve always taken?”
“Because Alaric is different.” I fist the lapels of his jacket and silently beg him to open his eyes and voice his agreement. But he’s so quiet, so deathly still. “The future will be different with Alaric as king—and withme as his queen,” I add softly.
“You’rethe one who’s hallucinating if you honestly believe that,” Rowenna says with a tired sigh.
“Or maybe I’m finally seeing clearly for the first time in my life because I’m not looking throughyourjaded eyes.”
Rowenna scoffs. “How can you say that when you haven’tseenanything? I’ve been prowling around the Fortress, setting all of this in motion, and you saw none of it.”
“You’re lying. You couldn’t have been creeping through the Fortress. Someone would have recognized you.”
“I had help, of course.”
“Who?” I demand. “Von Nevus?” I shudder at the thought of him slinking through my chamber, touching my things.
“He volunteered, but I knew you’d never let him close enough.”
“Who else would have unfettered access to my rooms? What sort of Vanzadorian would agree to help you destroy their own country?”
“The desperate kind,” Rowenna says with a vicious smile. “A person with something—orsomeone—they’d do anything to protect if they were, say, gripped by a sudden strange illness. Do you happen to know anyone like that?”
She bats her eyes and my stomach lurches.
“No,” I argue. But all the pieces fit: Cloudia’s sudden illness, brought on by Rowenna’s injections. Delphine befriending me, supporting me, when she had no reason to do so. How she’s been there, at my side, every step of the way.
“It was so easy to manipulate her,” Ro continues. “I followed her home one night and saw how happy she and her sister were—the best of friends, merrily playing house together. A lot like you and me.” Rowenna winks playfully.
“It isn’t possible,” I say weakly. “Delphine is my friend. She despises you.”
“You’re right about the second part.” Rowenna laughs. “Delphinedefinitely despises me. But sheisworking with me—and has been from the start.”
“I don’t believe you,” I say, but my voice is small and shaking.
“Ask her yourself.” Rowenna’s gaze darts over my shoulder, and I hear the sound of shifting pebbles, the unsteady intake of breath. But I refuse to turn. Can’t bring myself to look. I don’t know how I’ll survive if Delphine is, in fact, standing there.
“Did you bring everything I asked for?” Rowenna asks.
