“My dear, this is Felicity Farrow, Lilibeth’s daughter,” the queen says, with a warmth I don’t expect. I’d never considered after all our “chats” that she’d actually have any sort of fondness for me, that her niceties weren’t just faked to keep me on her side. I figured I was a tool to her. A balm. As necessary as the foxgloves that fill her room. Except now I know from Ruth that the queen was once friends with my mother. I wonder if that helped or hindered any true affection.
“I gather that what I’ll hear will be the truth of it,” the king says.
“Of course,” the queen assures him. “Felicity, please. What happened?”
My first tactical choice is to move my hands behind my back, holding my basket there to hopefully hide any remaining stains of Merit’s blood.
Okay, I can do this.
“I don’t know what happened,” I say.
Nettle tuts. “You were running away fromsomething.”
Okay. I was. How can I word this?
“I was walking home.” True.
“Then?” the queen presses.
“I heard shouts in the forest.” Also true. I heard Tarin and Howell looking for Merit. “It scared me.” Also true. “I ran and tripped. That’s when Nettle found me.”
I hold the queen’s gaze so she doesn’t know just how much I omitted.
“Before that—” the king says, then coughs into a handkerchief produced from his sleeve. The empty hall is silent while his short barks turn to wheezes, then deep breaths, before the king speaks once more. “Did you see anyone? Hear anything? What were you doing in the forest?”
I bite down on my tongue. Okay.Okay.This is exactly what Will wanted to avoid. His spell was supposed to save me from thisinterrogation. Was he able to get away safely? I shouldn’t have left him. Merit was bleeding and I should have tried to help more. I should have—
“Felicity, please,” Queen Fern says, her pitch rising. She’s tiptoeing toward a hysteria I’m familiar with, and I can’t get distracted by Will here.
“I bought some flowers up north,” I start with. “Like I said, I was walking home. I took the coastal road—”
“Why would you take that route when the forest is quicker?” Nettle butts in.
“I—uh— There are hawthorn blossoms that way,” I say, which is not exactly the reason why, but is still a fact in itself. Thankfully, the branch of blossoms is still sticking out of my basket to back my story up. “I heard shouts. I ran.”
Short. Sweet.
“I asked if you saw anyone in the forest,” the king says in a tone that implies he’s not happy he’s having to repeat himself.
Ooh,inthe forest. Will wasn’tinthe forest. He was outside on the road, as was Merit. Hmm, however, before that I met Pigeon and Tansyinsidethe forest, so I’ll have to stick to talking about the homeward journey. Also, I didn’tseeany guards, I only heard them. Gods, how will my curse allow me to answer here?
“On my way home…” I say, and swallow. If my throat closes up, if I choke on my words, they’ll know I’m trying to lie. “I saw no one but Nettle in the forest.”
I exhale.Thank the gods.
My relief is short-lived.
“Then,” Nettle says, and grabs one of my wrists to hold my hand up to the royals, “why are you covered in bloodstains?”
I yank out of her grasp and take a step back.
“I fell.”
“And you saw no one? How convenient,” Nettle drawls.
Before she can push me further, the doors behind us swing open.
“What’s going on?” Bastion asks, marching into the hall withCard behind him, both in clothes that look hastily thrown on. Card’s collarbone is on show and has the burgundy tinge of a fresh love bite, but either he doesn’t care, or they got ready in such a rush it slipped his mind to cover up in front of his future in-laws. I’d probably guess the former.
