“I know,” Lynet said. She was sitting with her ankles crossed on Nadia’s bed, her hands in her lap, her pulse curiously steady as she toyed with different ideas in her mind. She wished now that she had answered Nadia’s questions about what had happened at Whitespring. She hated that Gregory had been the one to tell her about Mina’s betrayal. “He wants to cut out my heart.”
Nadia started to fiddle with her hair. “He wants me to do it,” she said. “He said he would need my help transferring your heart to his body. He chose a poison from one of the shelves in his laboratory. It was called Winter’s Kiss. When it’s absorbed through the skin, it kills almost instantly, freezes you from the inside out. He said—” She twisted her hair more violently, lips pursed in disgust. “He said the poison will keep your heart from spoiling.”
Lynet stood and turned away, nausea passing over her at the thought of herself carved up.
She felt the light pressure of a hand on her shoulder, heard the silence that meant Nadia was holding her breath as she waited for Lynet’s reaction to this small gesture. And Lynet knew that if she turned and faced Nadia now, if she saw the play of moonlight softening the sharp angles of her face, she would also see the light glinting off that cobweb again, the threads spelling out something she couldn’t yet read. If she turned now, she would be agreeing to forget Nadia’s crimes against her.
Lynet jerked her shoulder away, and she heard Nadia’s footsteps moving back to the window. When Nadia spoke again, her voice wavered at first, but then grew steady. “I don’t intend to let Gregory come close enough to you again to give you that poison, but in case he does … I did something to make sure you’ll still be safe. When he was out of the room, I found another poison similar to Winter’s Kiss—the same color and method of delivery, but instead of death, it causes a deathlike trance that wears off in time.”
“You switched the poisons?” Lynet asked. She turned to face her, now that the earlier moment had safely passed.
“I tried to persuade him to let me give you the poison myself, but he said it was too risky, and that you were too curious. But still, I had to do something,” she said. “I know it’s not much—”
“No,” Lynet said, holding up a hand. “No, let me think.” What did she have now? A cloak. A half-empty purse. A letter. A poison that wouldn’t kill her. She could go to Mina, take the letter to her, and then even if the letter didn’t work, even if there was no way to make Mina know the truth of her own heart, even if—say it—even if Mina or Gregory poisoned her, Lynet wouldn’t die. There were so many risks, so many dangers she couldn’t predict, so many questions—but the only question that mattered was whether she believed Mina was a hopeless cause, the love they had shared nothing but a lie.
That was one question she could answer, at least.
Nadia was watching her, eyes narrowed in confusion. “Lynet, what are you thinking about? What are you planning to do?”
“I’m going to walk into their trap.”
Nadia studied her for a moment and then said incredulously, “You’re serious.”
“I need to see Mina again,” Lynet said, and as soon as she said the words, she knew nothing could change her mind. “If you hand me over to her, then I can talk to her.” I can cure her.
“Gregory said she tried to kill you!”
Lynet shook her head. “I’m not sure.” She thought back to that night, trying to remember if the huntsman had ever said that Mina had been the one to want her dead. “She sent someone after me, but I still don’t know if she ordered him to kill me. And even if she does try to kill me by giving me that poison, I won’t die.”
“You won’t die, but you’ll still be in Whitespring, surrounded by enemies. And what do you plan to do then?”
Lynet’s heart thumped, but she knew what her answer had to be. “I’ll take Mina by surprise. I’ll … I’ll kill her if I have to.”
Nadia was shaking her head in disbelief. “It’s too dangerous.”
“That’s what you told me when I wanted to run away on my birthday,” Lynet said, her voice cold. She faced Nadia, staring her down until Nadia flinched and looked away. “You said I wouldn’t even be able to make it out of the woods, that I wouldn’t survive. But I did survive. I’ve already walked into Gregory’s trap once and lived. At least this time I’ll have a plan. You wanted me to trust you again, but first you have to trust me.”
“I do,” Nadia said, “but I don’t understand why this is necessary. Maybe I can speak to the queen for you.”
Lynet thought of the last time she had seen Mina, of the fear and rage in her eyes, the desperation in her voice as she had lashed out. That boy from the apothecary shop came to Lynet’s mind—the way she had rounded on him with the dagger, only to find that she had been afraid of a child. But she hadn’t been able to lower her defenses until she had known he wasn’t a threat to her, until she felt safe. She wasn’t sure if Mina had ever felt safe. “No, I need to speak to her myself,” Lynet said. “I need her to think I’m defenseless. That’s why you have to hand me over to her, the way Gregory planned it.”
“Can’t you just hide away for a little longer—”
“No,” Lynet snapped. “I’ve already done that, too. I have to go back. Did Gregory tell you how I faked my death?”
Nadia shook her head. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Lynet knew she had to save her strength for the journey, so she selected a single coin from her purse. She held it out to Nadia, watching her face as the coin transformed into snow. Nadia stared at the melting snow in Lynet’s palm with silent awe. “I have power over snow,” Lynet said. “I can transform it and tell it what to do. I think … I think I could make the snow stop falling, if I wanted.”
Nadia lifted her gaze to Lynet’s face, eyes wide and shining with excitement. “You could break the curse,” she said softly. “You could save the North.”
Lynet stepped closer to her. “You’ll go with me, then?” When Nadia didn’t respond, her forehead creased with indecision, Lynet added, “I’m going back for my home, my family—don’t you think any price is worth that? Wouldn’t you do the same?” Her hand twitched, a sudden impulse to touch Nadia’s arm, a promise to restore the connection between them—but Lynet stopped herself, not wanting to make a promise she didn’t know she could keep.
But no promises were needed. Nadia nodded once, and all trace of doubt vanished from her face. “Yes,” she said. “I would. I’ll go north with you.”
“We’ll leave at dawn.”
Nadia started to turn away with new purpose, but then she stopped. “You know that going back means becoming queen,” she said.
“I know,” Lynet answered. “But I’m ready now. I know what kind of queen I want to be.”
“Queen Lynet,” Nadia said, testing the words. She stared at Lynet, and then she tried to hide a laugh.
“What?”
Nadia approached Lynet and lightly touched one of her curls. “Your hair is a mess.”
Lynet thought of how she must look, saying she would be queen with her unevenly shorn curls in a tangle, and before she could stop herself, she started to laugh too.
Still smiling, Nadia drew back her hand, and the backs of her knuckles brushed against Lynet’s cheek, her touch as soft as cobwebs.
27
MINA