The guard narrowed his eyes. “A hearing? The king has yet to return.”
Ash flipped a gold coin into the guard’s hand. “Indeed.”
He grunted and pushed open the gate, tucking the coin into his pocket as we passed. My heart pounded as we climbed the stairs out to the palace grounds. My lungs nearly wept from the fresh air. The paved path felt wonderfully smooth under the soles of my boots.
We trotted across the grounds, ducking whenever a servant or gardener appeared. Ash led me to a row of tall hedges across the pond we had unceremoniously fallen into. The sun had fully set, plunging the land into a purplish haze. A few swans were silhouetted on the water, flapping and bugling. I knew now they had been under Narcissa’s influence, but I still had no love for the creatures.
Ash pulled off his helmet and kicked it underneath a hedge. Heavy clunking followed as he did the same to the rest of his ill-fitting armor.
“You really like disguises, don’t you?” I said.
He paused. “Being a prince is very limiting,” he said.
“Being a witch is even more so.”
He straightened his shirt and met my eyes, his stare unwavering. “Yes,” he said. “I would imagine.”
I looked askance, suddenly finding the grass very interesting. I wanted to scream at him. What could he possibly mean? Why had he decided to believe me after falling for Narcissa’s lies?
“Olivia told me,” Ash said, answering my unasked question.
I looked up. “What?”
“She told me everything yesterday. Everything.” Ash’s voice was strained. He raked a hand through his hair. “Why didn’t you trust me with the truth?”
“Because I couldn’t let you know I was a witch!” I exploded, clenching my fists. “And I was right. You didn’t want anything to do with me when you found out.”
Silence pervaded the air before he spoke. “Is that what you thought?” he asked quietly.
How dare he be so calm after what he’d done? The urge to scream at him resurfaced, but he spoke again before I could.
“First you somehow knew to search Peter. Then you ask Captain Greenwood for gold. At the soirée you stayed with Narcissa. Then I find you at an obscure snail shop at midnight with cuts all over your arms. And you went to the palace when you said you were going home. What was I supposed to think when Narcissa piled all those accusations against you? Don’t you see, Amarante? I couldn’t defend you because I didn’t know what you were hiding from me.”
I stared. Ash had been more observant than I thought, but he was right. I never realized how my actions must have looked from his perspective. But a part of me was still injured. It was the injured part that spoke.
“After all this time you’ve known me, you still thought I was capable of poisoning your mother. You said you trusted me, but you didn’t.”
Ash parted his lips. He looked away.
My gut sank, but I forced the feeling away. “There’s something else you should know. Captain Greenwood is a witch. He’s Narcissa’s father.”
“Narcissa...she’s a witch?” he said.
“The animals were under Narcissa’s control. The mice and the swans. And her cat. It was all her.”
He pressed his lips together. “Was she the one who...?”
“No,” I said grimly, answering his unfinished question. “It was the duchess. But my aunt...she’s involved too.”
“Amarante—”
“She didn’t mean any harm,” I said. Somehow I wanted to defend Lana, even if it meant further lowering myself in Ash’s esteem.
Ash touched my shoulder but withdrew it when I tensed. “You don’t have to tell me everything right now. Just know that I trust you. I will always trust you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. I didn’t know whether to believe him or not.
He looked past the pond. “I reckon you had a plan to stop the duchess before I interfered,” he said.
