Ivan first brought it up yesterday, all of us seated in the cramped living room after yet another day of nothing. Holly chewing slowly, her scarred face averted from the rest of us; Asmo staring at me, me trying to avoid his gaze; Luca frowning into his bowl of tinned beans, the best fare this deserted cabin has to offer.
“I believe Elle is pretending to be you on the throne,” Ivan had blurted as we all ate our dinner. “She’s the only one who could pull that off. With her antlers and a glamour over her hair, it could work.”
I shook my head. “She wouldn’t.”
“No. Not voluntarily,” he responded gravely.
Bile burned in the back of my throat. The thought of Marik forcing Elle to do anything… “Couldn’t anyone just glamour antlers?” I asked desperately.
Asmo tossed his hand up. Antlers appeared from both sides of hishead, but they looked…off. I reached for them, but my hand only grasped air. “Point made.”
With another wave of his hand, the antlers disappeared. “Glamouring something like your hair or your facial appearance is easier, but to glamour something that was never there before—like antlers—is too easy to disprove. Marik would never risk it.”
Now, I say, “Elle would never do it.”
Asmo offers me a half-smile. “I don’t think Marik will give her much of a choice, princess.”
A shiver works its way down my spine. Marik is one of the best manipulators I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting, second only to Cora, the witch who pretended to be my aunt for the last twenty-five years of my life. Not just any witch—the First Witch. The most powerful witch in the kingdom’s history.
Now Elle is in Marik’s and Cora’s hands. And it’s all my fault.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I say lamely. Shoving everything away is the only way I’m able to survive right now.
Marik played me like a fiddle. I was so fucking stupid and naïve, and it’s endangered everyone I’ve ever cared about. Cally is gone, Elle is trapped, and I have no idea how to fix this. Every time I think about it, hot shame floods me, and my brain feels like it’s seizing inside my head. So, I don’t. Any time it comes up, I shut down, and shut it off.
Asmo’s mouth hardens into a straight line as he stares at me silently. I can’t stand the disappointment in his eyes. I turn back to the forest, the air between us filled with words left unsaid. I sink further into my chair as regret returns, even heavier than it was this morning.
Chapter 2
MAE
Today is market day,and I have been dressed and waiting for the sound of Asmo’s door for hours. Finally, his bedroom door clicks open, then shuts. His footsteps grow softer as he nears the living room and offers someone a muffled greeting. I throw the covers back and shove my feet into boots that have seen better days.
“I have been cooped up in this Mother-forsaken house for over a month,” I say as I approach the living room, foregoing any kind of salutation. I straighten and say in the queenliest voice I can muster, “I’m coming with you.”
Luca freezes over his bowl of oatmeal.
Asmo looks me up and down. I tilt my head, daring him to challenge me. “And you've been half-dead for nearly half that time,” he says.
“Yes, well, I’m fine now,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “But I’m going to lose my mind if I stay here any longer.”
His brows draw together and a frown flashes across his features. As if he knows that in fact, I’m not fine, and my mind is already lost.
He tosses me a canvas bag. "Fine. But if you're coming, you’re going to help carry the food back.”
I snatch it from the air, trying to smother the smile that threatens to take hold. I expected more of an argument.
Luca drops his dirty bowl into the basin and turns. “You think that’s safe?”
Asmo shrugs and walks past me, reaching for the front door. “I think she can make her own decisions.”
“She’s our queen.She needs to be protected,” Luca retorts.
“She’sright here,” I say, “and she’s coming with you. I can protect myself. Besides, you’ve been going into town for weeks now and the worst thing you’ve seen is humans arguing over the price of eggs.”
Luca huffs a sigh and shoves his feet into his boots.
“You know what, Luca? Why don’t you stay here?” I ask cheerfully. “I think Asmo and I can handle the market trip ourselves.”
