“That’s what she said?”
“Not exactly. Her actual phrasing was, ‘If you lose, come home quick, because your cousin’s having twins and we’ll need extra hands—but if you win …’”
Her voice wavered, just for a breath. “She said, ‘if you win, know we already thought you hung the stars. We couldn’t be prouder.’”
She sighed, and I could picture the shine in her eyes as she tried not to cry.
“From my mother?” she added softly. “That was … everything.”
I bit into my palm, trying to quell the sudden ache digging into my skin as I thought of the letterI’d read today. The one frommymother.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just picturing your goat in a stewpot,” I said half-heartedly.
“Don’t weaponize Fenya against me. Tell me why you sound so sad.”
I sighed and leaned back against the wall. “I also got a letter from my mother today.”
“Oh,” she said, knowing from my tone it hadn’t carried good news.
I swallowed, but it did nothing to loosen the knot in my throat. “One of our servants, Filippos, is dead.”
“What happened?”
“The Dread,” I murmured. “It passed over the village again. He was out in the fields. They found him slumped in the dirt, blood pouring from his nose, his ears, his eyes.” It was hard to breathe as I remembered how nervous he’d been in the forest … how young he’d been.
“I’m sorry, Helena.” Her voice was thick with genuine regret.
“Just another reminder how much is riding on this last Trial. How much they are depending on us,” I whispered.
You must win. Even if it breaks you, Helena. You must.My mother’s scrawled plea reverberated through my head.
“Yes,” Anysa said, her voice fading off in her own heavy thoughts.
“Do you think we’ll know before the sun sets who will be queen?” she asked after a moment.
I pressed my forehead against the stone. “I hope so.”
“I keep wondering if I’ll feel different. If I’ll wake up tomorrow and something in me will say:This is it. This is your crown.”
I closed my eyes, my voice a whisper through the crack. “If that voice starts talking to you, ask it to yell at me next.”
Anysa exhaled a laugh. “So far, all mine says isdon’t puke on the king.”
That almost got a smile out of me. “Mine’s suspiciously quiet at the moment.”
“If Chloé wins,” Anysa whispered, “I say we run.”
I shook my head, thinking what a disaster that would be if she won. Forallof Sparta. After a month with her, it was clear there wasn’t a more selfish woman on the planet.
Earlier today she’d been bragging about the dresses she’d have made once she became queen … as if that was the most important outcome in all of this.
“Agreed.”
“We’ll take a ship. Steal a fishing boat. I don’t care. We sail until Sparta’s a myth.”
“To where?”
