The king makes for an intimidating audience, even with Quint at my side. It doesnโt help that the Palace Master looks as anxious as I feel. I speak haltingly atย rst, the crackling of theย re underscoring my words, but King Harristan says nothing as I tell him the story of my parents again, how they were killed by the night patrolโand Corrick stopped the same thing from happening to me. I tell him about the workshop, and the people we helped, and how I didnโt know who Prince Corrick really was until the night I was captured in the palace.
๎ขe king listens to all this patiently, and when Iย nally fall silent, he says, โHow did you come to be in the rebel camp?โ
I swallow. โConsul Sallister was threatening to withhold medicine if Corrick didnโt put a stop to the attacks on his supply runs. Weโve heard some whispers about the Benefactors, and I thought . . .โ My mouth goes dry. โI thought people might talk to us if we returned as outlaws.โ
He considers this for a moment. โAnd how did you leave the palace without being seen?โ
My eyesย ick to Quint before I can stop myself.
๎ขe king follows my gaze.
Quint inhales like heโs going to spin this, but King Harristanโs gaze is unyielding, and Quint sighs. โI helped.โ
โAnd not for theย rst time, Iโm assuming,โ says Harristan. โOr Tessa would not have asked for you to be here.โ
Quint glances at me. โNo, Your Majesty,โ he concedes. โIโm sorry,โ I whisper.
โ๎ขis is not a time for apologies,โ says Harristan. His eyes are on Quint now. โFor how long?โ
โFor . . . years.โ
โYears,โ echoes Harristan. He frowns. โWhy, Quint?โ
โIn the beginning . . . well, simply because Prince Corrick is the Kingโs Justice.โ He says this as if it explains everything, and in a way, it does. โI wasnโt helping so much as turning a blind eye to his mysterious early morning absences. But then came a morning when he didnโt show for a breakfast with one of the consuls. I went to inquire, and his guards said he hadnโt le๎ย his quarters all morning. When I knocked, he let me in, and he was . . . in a state. He wasย lthy, with blisters on his hands. Heโd watched a child die. A baby who coughed so hard she couldnโt breathe.โ
โI remember that,โ I say so๎ly, and I do.ย ๎ขe mother had the fever all through her pregnancy, but she kept taking the teas we brought, and the baby was born perfectly healthy. But within a week, the infant had a fever, and she succumbed to the cough right in front of us. I swallow. โHe was
lthy because he helped the father dig a grave.โ
โYes,โ says Quint. โHe told me. He told me everything.โ He glances at Harristan. โHe was helping his people, Your Majesty. How is that treason?โ
๎ขe weight in the room is potent.
Harristan runs a hand over the back of his neck. โI hate that he wouldnโt tell me.โ
โHeย couldnโtโโ
Harristan silences me with a look. โI know,โ he says evenly. โI know what he risked.โ He looks at Quint. โYou should have told me.โ
Quint says nothing. He doesnโt look afraid. He looks resigned.
I glare at the king. โYou donโt make it easy to tell you anything at all,โ I say. โTessa,โ breathes Quint.
โIโm not just talking about Quint,โ I continue. โIโm talking about Corrick, too. You said you know what he risked, but Iโm not sure you do. He let those rebels beat him nearly to death because he didnโt want to be used against you. He was willing to sacriย ce his life to protect you. He doesnโt want to be cruel. He doesnโt want to kill anyone. He does these things to spareย youย from doing them. He wants to beย honestย and he wants to beย justย and he wants to beย better. Not just for you. For all of Kandala. And youโwell, you are aโโ
โTessa.โ
Itโs not Quintโs voice this time. Itโs Corrickโs. He stands in the doorway, Rocco at his back. Heโs a bit pale, the bruises on his face stark in the artiย cial
light here in the palace. His hand is braced on the doorframe, his knuckles white where he grips the wood.
โCorrick,โ I whisper.
He limps to the table, and I stand to help him, but he stops by my side. He brushes the back of his uninjured hand against mine, looping ourย ngers together, causing my heart to skip a beat. But his eyes are on the king. โYou should be questioning Arella and Roydan, not chasing down my pastimes.โ
Harristan looks from Corrick to Rocco. โWhat happened? Why are you here?โ
โAllisander came to my cell. He said he plans to force you to make an example of me, or he and the other consuls will stand against you. He says he has enough of a force to pull it o๏ฌ.โ
๎ขe kingโs expression darkens. โHe grows too bold.โ โI agree. Which is why heโs locked in a cell.โ โCorrick! You cannotโโ
โ๎ขis isย beyondย bold, Harristan.ย ๎ขis is revolution, and itโs coming from all sides. I donโt know who heโs working with, but heโs talking about an attempt to remove you from power.ย ๎ขe rebels in the Wilds have explosives from Traderโs Landing. We have no idea how they were able to get enough into the sector to attack the Hold, which means they could attack any other part of the sector, including the palace. We have no idea which consuls will ally with Sallisterโor if they would even stand with us against a rebellion.โ
I glance between him and the king. โYou said Consul Sallister has his own army.โ
โHe does,โ says Harristan. โConsul Marpetta has quite a force protecting Emberridge as well, but Lissa has always seemed content with the status quo.โ He looks at Quint. โWhich consuls are in the palace?โ
โNearly all of them,โ says Quint. โLissa Marpetta is the only one who returned to her sector.โ
โ๎ขe people of Artis are struggling,โ I say. โI donโt know of any military force, and when I worked for Mistress Solomon, we would have heard of such a thing.โ
โHe wanted silver for a bridge,โ says Corrick. โAllisander said we should have granted it. Remember when you told me thatย in public is all that matters? You were talking about me and Allisanderโbut I think theyโre pretending toย hateย each other. I think Jonas is working with him.โ
๎ขe king looks at him. โBut theyย doโโ He breaks o๏ฌย with a cough. His
ngers grip the edge of the table.
All the men exchange a glance, and Harristan doesnโt miss it. He glares at Corrick. โStop it. Iโve told you before, I donโt needโโ He coughs again.
โHere,โ I say. I seize the teapot and pour hot water into a china cup, then add honey. I donโt have a scale, but I toss a few petals into the mortar bowl to grind them up. But as soon as I see the petals against the stone, I hesitate.
Harristan coughs again. โTessa,โ says Corrick.
โHold on. I need to think.โ I glance up, surveying the array of food.ย ๎ขere are no vallis lilies this time, but there are sprigs of thyme on the edge of one of the platters.
I shake the petals out onto the dark tablecloth, grind the thyme, and add it to the cup with the honey. โHere,โ I say to Harristan. โDrink that.โย ๎ขen I look back at the white petals.
โWhat are you doing?โ says Corrick.
โ๎ขe petals are di๏ฌerent.โ I quickly divvy them up. โLook.โ I point. โ๎ขose are clearly Moonย ower.ย ๎ขose are . . . Iโm not sure.โ
โ๎ขey are very similar,โ says Quint. Even Rocco draws close for a look. โ๎ขe petals were like this in the rebel camp, too,โ I say. I feel like Iโm close
toย guring something out, but Iโm not quite there. โ๎ขe ones they would have gotten from the Benefactors.โ
Corrickโs expression is grave. โOr the ones they would have gotten from stolen shipments.โ He pauses. โ๎ขeyโre very close, Tessa.ย ๎ขis could be a growing anomaly, orโโ
โNo! You were never the one to grind and measure. But thereโs never been a . . . a growing anomaly.โ I pause. โCorrick, you once said you never stole from the palace. Maybeโmaybeโโ My thoughts trip and stumble as I try to
gure this out. โI need my books. My father used to keep track of new herbs.โ
Harristan coughs again, but itโs not as strong. โWhat does this mean?โ โYou drink the elixir here three times a day. What if . . .โ My thoughts
churn. โWhat if someone realized you donโt really need as much? If you were sickly as a child, maybe you reallyย doย need more to keep the fevers at bay, but if someone is tampering with your supply . . .โ I let my voice trail o๏ฌ.
โWake the consuls,โ says Harristan. His voice is rough. โWe need to determine which shipment these petals came from. We need to determine if the supply was contaminated, or if someoneโโ
A shout echoes from the hallway, and he freezes. Another shout, followed by a crash, and then splintering wood.ย ๎ขen a womanโs scream.
Harristan and Corrick exchange a glance. Rocco goes for the door.
An explosion rocks the palace, causing theย oor to shake and the china to rattle.ย ๎ขe lightsย are with blinding brightness before dying altogether, plunging the room into suddenย ickering shadows from the hearth. Shouts and screams erupt in the hallway before another explosion occurs, somehow closer, making the windows rattle.
โGuards!โ a man is shouting, but my heartbeat is so loud in my ears that everything is mu๏ฌed. Iโm distantly aware of a hand closing over my wrist, pulling me through the shadows. Something is burning, somewhere, a scent distinctly di๏ฌerent from wood smoke, a bitter taste in the back of my throat.
Another explosion, and the windows shatter. I jump and scream.
Hands catch me, pulling me close. โTessa.โ Corrickโs voice in my ear, low and urgent. โTessa, we have to run.โ
๎ขen I hear the voices, the shouts in the hallway. Many are panicked, people terriย ed of the explosions.
Some are not.
โFind the king,โ a man yells, and Iโm not sure how I can tell, but itโs not a guard.
โShoot anyone you see,โ calls another.
Smoke isย lling the hallway now, and I hear glass shattering. A womanโs scream is abruptly silenced. Corrick tugs at my hand, and I follow into the darkness.
