Page 91 of Wrath of the Never Queen

“J-James, Your Highness,” the boy stutters back. His eyes dart to the door.

“A strong name.” Theo smiles at him warmly. “I am a friend of Shivani and of Inez.”

James looks to me for confirmation, and I nod.

“What…what do you want here?” he asks, a nervous waver in his voice.

“I have a very special task for you,” I tell him, and his face lights up. “We need Inez’s help. Would you be able to find her for us and send her here?”

“Inez?” His eyebrows furrow in concentration. “Okay, I think I can find her for you.”

“Thank you, James.” Theo stands up again. “We are most grateful.”

The young boy grins, pleased, and scurries out of the room. Theo turns to me once he has left.

“What does Inez have to do with our plan?” he enquires.

I immediately start scouring the walls, butlarge, heavy beds line the room, stacked on top of each other.

“She was here when your mother tried to escape. She might remember what the servants’ quarters used to look like.”

“Used to?”

I run my hands over the brick, searching.

“Honora planned to flee through the servants' entrance.”

Theo casts his eyes skywards, thinking.

“The servants do not have an entrance—the king makes everyone stay in the castle.” His eyes light up with understanding. “There used to be a door here.”

“Exactly.” I fall to my knees, bending over to look under one of the beds. “Which the king bricked up after Honora tried to escape through it, ordering everyone to stay on-site. Well, everyone he did not execute.”

Nausea churns in my stomach at the idea of such a massacre, and Theo wears the same queasy look on his face. I breathe deep, putting the thought to the side and focussing on our task.

“But we have the secret tunnel. Why do we need to find an old doorway?” Theo asks. He inspects the walls with me to try and help, although he does not know what he is looking for. A pure-hearted action from a pure-hearted man.

“My auntie taught me this trick with herau’mana. A way to enchant buildings without casting a spell over the entire thing,” I tell him. Deep longing fills my chest. I take another deep breath and continue. “She enchanted a single brick, and the whole building fell under the spell.”

“Ah, so we are searching for a brick,” Theo declares before chewing his lip. “But why?”

I open my mouth to explain, but we are interrupted by Inez bursting into the room.

“Oh, Miss Shivani!” she gasps, her usually neat bun fraying with loose hair. “When I heard the prince had turned and—”

“Inez.” I step towards her. “I am well. Theo is well.”

I gesture towards him, and Inez blinks.

“Your Highness.” She dips into a curtsy, but there is a softness to her features. I think of Lucian, the person they had both loved and had cruelly ripped away from them. Theo gives her a small, sad smile.

“We need your help, Inez,” he tells her. She looks between the two of us.

“Me?”

“It will sound silly, but…do you remember where the servants' entrance used to be?”

Inez cocks her head, frowning. “The servants' entrance? Well, yes…but it has long since been bricked over.”

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