Page 80

For a moment, my cousin was frozen, staring at me with an expression of disbelief and confusion. “Beric killed him?” she asked, finally.

“The king gave the order,” I said, harshly. “Beric didn’t kill anyone.”

No. Beric didn’t kill anyone. It was just another Wednesday.

“But he’s dead,” she clarified, desperately.

“I’m so sorry, Ann.” I took her hand, as she’d taken mine earlier. We’d never been much for showing affection, for comforting one another, and perhaps I should have hugged her, done something, anything else, because suddenly she began to cry.

“Who will marry me now?” she exclaimed, choking on her sobs.

My muscles felt tight from shock. Who will marry me now? she’d asked. As if, so long as she had the interest of one, the noblemen of court were interchangeable. As if the life of the man she’d been about to marry meant nothing.

“A man is dead, Ann,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief and disgust, “and that’s all you can think of?”

“Of course you can say that,” she snapped. “You’re married to the king!”

She darted out of the room, her sobs echoing down the grand hall.

I took a few calming breaths. I should’ve never expected better from her. So, never mind my despicable cousin. She would be fine, just like she always was—I’d expected too much from her, to care about the fate of a man she’d met only a few days ago when she barely cared about the well-being of her own flesh and blood.

I shifted my attention to Albert. “Did Beric come back?”

“Yes, my lady,” he said, hesitantly, as if he almost wasn’t going to tell me. “He entered the palace with me, but I’m unsure of where he went.”

I barely heard the end of his sentence, immediately rushing toward the door.

“Stay here, Faline,” I said, hearing her footsteps behind me.

“Cali,” Eliza said, still following me down the hall, despite my words. “Leave Beric alone for a bit.”

“I have to check on him,” I said.

“He needs a minute.” She grabbed my arm, pulling me back. “He might be a little overwhelmed—”

I pulled away from her, started up the stairs—but I hadn’t even made it up but a few when I took a misstep, falling on my hands and knees, and found myself sliding down. I landed on the floor, staring at what should have been stairs, now a smoothed ramp, as if the steps had folded down into a new shape.

Only a stonemage could’ve done such a—

My gaze darted to Eliza as she frowned down at me, the last of her plum-colored aftersmoke fading.

CHAPTER30CALLIOPE

Eliza was the stonemage, the person entrapping Vi within the castle walls so she couldn’t escape. The same person entrapping me. And I’d been so eager to please, so blinded by her friendship, I’d been too stupid to see it.

Vi had been right.

I hated the way she’d gone about things, but she hadn’t lied about any of the awful things she’d documented. Not about the king. Not about Eliza. Not even about …

I looked up to the top of the stairs. Beric was hiding something. Something serious. And I was so sick of being used and lied to for the means of others. Whatever it was, I needed to hear it from him.

“Come back and wait with the other ladies,” she said, holding out her hand to me, as if to help me up. As if she actually cared.

“Let me up these stairs, Eliza,” I ordered, standing without her. I didn’t know if I was allowed to order around a princess, but I didn’t much care at the present.

She shook her head at me, and I’d never seen someone look so disappointed and annoyed at once. “If you insist … I’m sure you can figure it out for yourself.”

I glared, fighting back angry tears as Eliza walked away. No more than thirty minutes ago, everything had been fine. And now, it seemed, my entire life was crashing in on me.