Desmond was right.The sixth ball was the puzzle ball.We wouldn’t have a fighting chance that night.Not to mention the point of picking the finale was that it created the greatest spectacle, the best way to air what he had done to us to the world.Even if we tried to strike before then, we would be setting up for failure.No one knew the king’s schedule during the balls.Not even his guards.I had tried to learn, but the pattern was constantly changing.I’d heard he might not even sleep in the same room every night.And besides that—
“I can’t.I have to get the ring.It’s about more than the bargain.”
The Enchantress’s words flashed through my mind.
If you want to keep your friends safe from death.
She had known where to find me.How to get to me.If I killed the king and ran off without delivering that ring to her, she would hunt me down.She would kill both my brother and my best friend, then force me to work for her.To kill for her.I shivered.
“She’s powerful,” I explained.“She threatened more than the enchantment, so for all of our safety, the ring is our main objective before the finale.”
They didn’t argue.They knew that what was happening was beyond their control.
A knock came at the door, and we exchanged worried glances.We shouldn’t have any visitors.
I looked down, still able to see the bandage through my shirt.I grabbed my robe and threw it around my shoulders.Desmond had already cleaned up the blood on the carpet, but it was still wet.Nadiyah pulled a rug over it, double checking that the windowsill was free of blood as well.The rain last night had washed away any traces on the outer stones that might have remained.
Desmond slipped into one of the bedrooms.Valeris hadn’t seen his face yet, and I didn’t want him to be able to pick him out in a crowd.
Pain ripped through me as I hobbled over to the door, opening it.
Valeris stood outside wearing a strange expression.He took in my hair, a ratty mess, then the dressing robe I wore.He met my eyes briefly, and I couldn’t help but think of last night, when we had danced together in the city streets pretending like we were friends without a care in the world.He seemed to be recalling the same thing.
“May I come in?”he asked.
My lips twitched.
A worry creased his brow.
Something wasn’t right.
I opened the door wider, forcing myself to move as if I were uninjured, which made every movement agony.Sweat coated my back.
“Can I help you, Your Highness?”
His eyes snapped to me at the formal address, taking note before he surveyed the rest of the room.Nothing escaped him.His gaze lingered on the rug by the window before it landed on Nadiyah.
“There was an incident at the palace last night,” he said.“I’m afraid your friend Nadiyah was named a suspect, and I must investigate to verify her innocence.”
My head spun, and I grasped the door for support.
He thinks she’s involved with the attack on his uncle.
Did he suspect me too?
Nadiyah eyed him.“What kind of incident?”
Valeris’s jaw set as he stared at her, taking her in and ignoring the question.“Where were you last night, after midnight?”
She kept her attention on him, and I knew she had to forcibly keep herself from glancing at me.She had been at the ball last night.That wouldn’t help our situation at all.Even if she could prove innocence in last night’s attack, Valeris could decide to remove her since she’d already been charged guilty with one crime, and now there had been another, that would only complicate her already difficult mission of locating her family’s killer.
Nadiyah pretended to think.“After the fireworks?I was in the gambling dens at that time.I’m sorry, I didn’t think the gambling dens were excluded from me.”
If anyone could talk their way out of this, it was Nadiyah.
“Can anyone verify your presence in the gambling dens at that time?”he asked.
“Anyone at the table I’d joined or in the den would be able to verify that.”
