“Katie?”
She rolled, gasping, drawing the rock back, prepared to throw it even though she was on her belly. The blue light had faded now—had it even been there at all?—but the lamps were still flickering, and she didn’t need extra light to recognize Row, standing several feet up the High Road, not a hair out of place.
“Katie, what happened to you?”
“Row!” She pulled herself to her feet, sobbing, and flung herself at him. “Where were you?”
“I went back up on my shortcut, and all of a sudden I looked around and you weren’t there. What happened?”
Crying, Katie told him. Row kept his arms around her, but there was something distant about the embrace, and a few minutes into her story, Katie realized that he wasn’t giving comfort. He was simply listening, his face turned away.
“—and then I got out of the trees and turned around and there was nothing, it was gone, Row, but it was there and—”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Row replied mildly.
“What?”
Row turned toward her, and Katie saw that his mouth was crimped upward in a smile, triumphant and cruel. She had seen that smile on Row’s face, many times, but never directed at her, and it hurt so much that she pulled free of his arms and backed away, looking up at him with wide, wounded eyes.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Row continued. “In fact, Katie, I’d say you were probably just having a delusion.”
She gaped at him, but Row had already turned and trudged away, up the hill.
Kelsea broke from the past and found herself trapped in the dark. For a moment she could not escape her vision, and she rolled, gasping, until she recognized the hard stone floor beneath her. She was still in her cell, and for a long minute all she could feel was blessed relief that she was not back there, with Katie, out in the woods.
There was no one outside the bars, which was a relief as well; the Red Queen knew about her fugues, but still Kelsea didn’t like the idea of being observed. Through the wall at her back, she heard her neighbor working, shuffling paper and what sounded oddly like the scratching of a pen. She still hadn’t gotten him, or her, to say a word, but there were occasional silences over there that suggested he might be listening when she spoke. Now, though, there was nothing but that scratching. The rest of the dungeon was silent. Kelsea thought it might be the middle of the night.
There was something in her hand, hard and rounded. She blinked for a moment, trying to think what it might be, but she was stumped. She was receiving special treatment now; the page, Emily, had given her a candle and a few matches. Kelsea hesitated to waste one of them, but curiosity was too strong. She felt around on the floor until her fingers encountered the candle, and after a bit of fumbling, finally lit it. The flame was weak, at hazard from the many drafts that crisscrossed the dungeons, but it was enough for Kelsea to see, and she stared at the object in her hand for a very long time, her mind working, trying to grasp what it meant.
She was holding a smooth, oval stone, shot through with blue quartz.
Book II
Chapter 6
Aisa
The future cannot be divorced from the past. Trust me, for I would know.
—The Glynn Queen’s Words, as compiled by Father Tyler
“Hellcat. Time to go.”
Aisa looked up from her saddlebags. Venner was in her doorway, his long, dour face shadowed with concern.
“You have everything?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, say good-bye to your mother.”
She scrambled up.
Maman was in the Queen’s chamber, changing the bed linen. She did this every two days, though no one slept there. For a moment, Aisa hung in the doorway, watching Maman work. She would miss Maman, yes, but she longed to be out in the world. The Mace had already told her that she was not going all the way to Demesne; she would stay in the Almont, with General Hall, and be relatively safe. But she had still been surprised that Maman had given her permission to go. A small, nagging voice inside her even wondered if Maman wanted her gone.
“Maman. I’m leaving.”
Maman dropped the pillowcase she was fighting with and came around the corner of the four-poster bed, her arms open. Maman’s face was as composed as ever, but Aisa was shocked to see that her eyes were sorrowful. Maman had not looked that way since before they had escaped Da’s house.
“Have you seen something, Maman?” she asked. “Have you seen whether we’ll bring the Queen back?”
“No, love. I don’t know.”
“Have you seen something about me?”
Maman hesitated, then said, “I see many things about you, Aisa. You have grown up too quickly already, but I would be a poor parent if I kept you from a course you’re clearly meant to follow.”
“I’m meant to rescue the Queen?”