“Miss Crowther,” Hadrien calls. “You asked His Majesty about security jobs at the palace yesterday. You’re still in need of work?”
Meredy nods, a hint of pink appearing beneath her freckles. She marches to the bottom of the steps to face Hadrien, Lysander prowling alongside her.
I look a question at her, but she ignores me. I thought she’d be returning to Lorness any day now, once she’d convinced herself I wasn’t going to touch another drop of potion.
“I’ll pay you and your beast twice what you’d make as guards if you’ll accompany my Serpent to Elsinor,” Hadrien says evenly. “Will you protect her as she defends my people?”
“I don’t need any—” I protest, but Meredy interrupts.
“Accepted.” She props a hand on her hip, taking a long look at Hadrien. “But—forgive me, Highness—weren’t you one of the last people to see King Wylding before he went missing? I saw you two wandering the corridors this morning. You waved to me, remember?”
“Of course.” Hadrien’s expression doesn’t change. “But His Majesty and I parted ways just moments after we passed you. King Wylding was hungry, as the Dead often are, and headed for the kitchen to get a honey cake. I’ve no idea what happened after that... though I’m sure you weren’t trying to accuse me of anything.” He smiles a little stiffly as Meredy gazes placidly back at him, her feelings and thoughts well-hidden.
“I was simply suggesting that there may be some detail in your memory that’s been overlooked. Something that could help explain who took the king,” she says coolly. “A shadowy figure down the hall, an odd sound...”
“Rest assured, I take no offense,” Hadrien says swiftly. “We’reallon edge in the king’s absence.” He leans forward, the steps allowing him to tower over Meredy when there normally wouldn’t be much difference in height. “Still, I’m sure you’ll take excellent care of my Serpent. I have every confidence.”
The doors to the throne room rattle.
“For Vaia’s sake, let us in!” Simeon yells.
Hadrien nods, and the guards pull up the bar, allowing Jax and Simeon to rush inside. Before the guards slam the doors again, I get a brief glimpse of the Dead still gathered in the hall, likely awaiting an audience with Her Majesty.
“Any luck with the Shade-baiter?” Hadrien asks as Jax and Simeon approach. “Sparrow has just finished filling us in.”
“Afraid not.” Jax’s eyes find me as he answers, and I’m struck by how much I’ve missed his gruff voice and roguish grin. I run down the steps without another thought and crash into his open arms. Suddenly thinking of Valoria’s drawing of him, I break away quickly.
“What’s this?” He touches the new pin on my chest and frowns.
“Ooh.” Simeon grins as he realizes what the pin means. “Can you really be a Sparrowanda Serpent? What if you get the urge to eat yourself for breakfast?”
Hadrien clears his throat, and Simeon falls silent as the prince begins to repeat much of what he’s just told me.
The news from Elsinor quickly wipes the smile from Simeon’s face, and I wonder how much longer he’ll be able to keep making jokes when so much is going wrong. Always, I hope. Everyone in the palace could use a bit of laughter.
Meredy blinks at me with an unreadable expression, then strides to the doors. Now that my head is clear and I can think without the potion’s influence, I still don’t want her in the palace, or anywhere else I happen to be. What if she accidentally says ordoes something that reminds me of Evander, something that sends me right back to the calming potion?
Yet I’m stuck with her. Hadrien is relying on me, and I won’t let the people of Elsinor down, or King Wylding by association. The last thing I need are more dead Karthians on my conscience.
And the longer I stand here, more people might be dying.
“Look after Valoria for me,” I whisper to my friends. I know she’d protest if she could hear me. They nod solemnly, and Jax looks thoughtfully at the princess just a beat longer than normal.
“I’ll be back as soon as I’ve killed the Shades in Elsinor. And you,” I add to Simeon, “be good to Jax while I’m away. Don’t tease him too much. I don’t want to return from one massacre to find another.”
I ruffle Simeon’s hair as he makes a face, and try to ignore the twinge in my chest as his eyes search mine like he’s looking for any lingering traces of potion addiction. The sadness in his gaze when he looks at me—which the blue tonic never let me see—is just one more reason I’ll fight to never touch another drop.
“Be safe.” Jax presses his lips into a hard line, like he’s holding back so much more.
“You too,” I mutter, shoving my hands in my pockets. He and Simeon are the ones who’ll need to be on their guard, staying this close to the deaths and disappearances. I just hope Valoria and Danial will stand by them while I can’t.
I take a last look at my friends before following Meredy and Lysander back through the crowd of masked figures, knowing at least a few of the Dead will be relieved or even glad to see me gone.
XXI
There’s an old saying that sparrows always find their way home. I hope my tattoos or my name make me truly one of them, as this is the farthest I’ve ever been from everything I know. The moment our wagon wheels touch the base of the mountain pass marking the border of Grenwyr and Elsinor Provinces, my stomach does a flip.
Maybe because the land here is unfamiliar and wild, the ancient pines taller and fuller than those in Grenwyr, the air a touch colder, the few houses we pass made of drab wood or dark gray stone, no jewel-bright roofs or potted citrus gardens to speak of. Or maybe it’s because no matter where I go, I’m afraid I have no chance of living up to the new serpent pin on my tunic.
