Page 125 of Cursed Crowns

“But he can’t just forget about us,” cried Tilda. “We’re his family, too!”

“I know that,” said Rose. “But he’s a king now.”

“So what?” said Rowena around a mouthful of roast chicken. “What does that change?”

“Everything.” Rose reached for her goblet, letting the heady red wine soothe the sting of her worry. “It changes everything.”

Her anxiety only worsened when conversation turned to Wren. “When isshecoming home?” Tilda asked for the hundredth time that day. “She’s been gone for ages.”

“I don’t know,” said Rose, skewering a pea with her fork. “Soon.”

“With Celeste? And Banba?”

Rose exchanged a glance with Thea. “Of course,” she said, but there was no certainty in her voice.

Thea patted Tilda’s hand. “All we can do now is hope, love.”

Tilda scowled at her mashed potatoes. “But what if Wren’s frozen to death by now? Or what if the snow tigers and the wolves are using her as a chew toy!”

Rose closed her eyes, trying to block out the images Tilda had conjured. She had been checking the hand mirror all day, but the sapphiresnever glowed, and Wren’s face never appeared.

“Or maybe King Alarik fed her to his—”

“Thank you, Tilda,” said Thea with uncharacteristic sharpness. “Rose has enough to worry about without you adding nightmares about her sister.”

“It’s a shame Wren isn’t here,” said Rowena. “She wouldn’t chastise us for defending ourselves against the Arrows. She’d be joining in.”

“You aren’t defending yourselves!” Chapman burst out. “You’re going out there to deliberately antagonize them.”

“Theyare the ones antagonizing us!” fumed Rowena. “Or didn’t you hear all that commotion at the gates this morning?”

Rose set her fork down. “You have to be responsible with your magic, Rowena.”

The tempest snorted. “Since when?”

Rose glared at her. “Since I am trying to rule this country, not tear it apart.”

“This country has been broken for centuries,” said Rowena, ripping off a strip of chicken with her teeth. “If the Arrows want to fear us, then let’s give them something to fear.” Her smile turned feral. “Just wait until Big Bad Edgar Barron finds out about Shen Lo. A warrior, with an entire kingdom of secret witches.”

“The Arrows don’t care about the desert,” said Tilda, sitting up in her chair. “They only care about fighting against Anadawn.” Her blue eyes flickered fearfully in the candlelight. “And now I’m the only warrior left to defend us.”

“Nonsense,” said Rowena. “No matter what happens, the witches of Ortha will band together, like we always have.”

“Andyou’ll start getting along with the Anadawn soldiers,” said Rose. “We mustall stand together against the Arrows. They are our shared enemy.”

Rowena took a slug of wine. “If you couldn’t even convince your Captain of the Guard to come to dinner, how the hell are you going to convince him, and his army, to fight alongside us?”

“It’smyarmy,” Rose reminded her.

“Well, then you’d better tell them to get ready,” said Rowena. “Because the next time those Arrows come knocking at our gates, I’m going to show them what true power looks like.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” said Rose, and for the first time all evening, the table fell silent. In the sudden quiet, the truth was far too loud. She knew in her heart that the time for hope was long past.

47

Wren

With Oonagh Starcrest’s gaze burning into the back of her mind, Wren plummeted into darkness. Down, down, down she fell, through days and months and years, entire centuries flipping past her like pages in a book. And then, at last, the sun dawned, and the ground hardened beneath her feet. She opened her eyes to summer-green grass, and in the distance, a familiar white palace rising toward the clouds. Before her stood two sisters arguing on the banks of the Silvertongue River.

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