My stomach turned. I was in no mood to eat, but I reached over nonetheless.
“Psst. Little flower.”
There was only one person who called me that. “Erasmus?” I scrambled to the floor and peered through the slot.
Sure enough, it was the inspector.
“I heard through the grapevine you wanted to see me,” he said, squinting through the poor lighting. He was sprawled on the floor too. There was no sign of guards around him. “They found out, huh?”
“Yes.” I shifted closer on my elbows, ignoring the straw digging into my skin. “I wanted to see you but it doesn’t matter now. They’re going to kill me in a week.”
Erasmus grumbled. “I see. To think I wasted a dose of sleeping draught to hear that.”
A thunderous snore sounded from outside.
“Thank you for visiting, anyhow,” I said. “You’re the only person in the palace who isn’t afraid of me.”
“What about that prince of yours?”
My throat tightened at the mention of Ash. I wiped the spilled porridge away with a handful of straw.
“Ah. I see.” Erasmus harrumphed. “I’ll give him a good talking to after this.”
“Don’t bother,” I said quietly. I shut my eyes and sighed. “But since you’re here I have a favor to ask.”
Erasmus left shortly after with instructions to notify the Strongfoots what had happened. Genevieve would have to pass on the news to Theodora and Rowena.
My heart ached to think how they would react. My nannies would no doubt blame themselves for not taking my magic away in the first place. Too little too late. I had made the choice to be a witch. Magic was in my blood.
And I loved it.
If only I had listened to Lana. If only I hadn’t been so stubborn, so adamant to prove to her that I could use my magic to help humans.
I curled into a ball and buried my face between my knees. Moisture soaked my dress. Whether it was my tears or the porridge I left untouched, I did not care to know.
29
