Page 99 of Cursed Crowns

“Hey!” An old woman came pottering over. She was carrying a bowl of sweet-smelling fruit and scowling with her entire face. “Those are the sacred flowers of the Palace of Eternal Sunlight!”

Wren didn’t even blink. “Well, now they’re the sacred flowers of my pocket.”

“Insolent words.” The old woman narrowed her eyes. “You are not Queen Rose.”

“And you are not Shen Lo,” said Wren, side-stepping her. “Which means you’re no good to me.”

“Shen Lo has been in an accident,” said the woman, stopping her with her cane.

Wren looked down, and briefly considered kicking it away. “That’s not exactly what I heard.”

“What did you hear?” said the woman warily.

“I’d tell you, but apparently it’s hard to know who to trust around here.”

The old woman hmm’d. Then, to Wren’s surprise, she held out the bowl of fruit. “Take him these. They are his favorite.”

Wren took the bowl. “They’d better not be poisonous.”

The old woman barked a laugh. “Such rudeness from a Gevran!”

Wren stiffened. “I’mnota Gevran.”

“You sure look it.” The old woman picked at the velvet sleeve of Wren’s dress. “Now I know where the beast chained in the courtyard came from.”

“Thanks for the tip,” said Wren, stepping over the cane and continuing on her way. “I’ll make sure to pay her a visit, too.”

The old woman chuckled as she watched her go.

When she reached the east wing, Wren released the bird call she and Shen once used to summon each other back in Ortha. A moment later, a door at the end of the hallway swung open and Shen Lo stepped out. He was frowning. “Wren?”

Wren brandished the hand mirror as she came toward him. “I want a word with you!”

He flung his hands up. “Don’t get involved, Wren. This is between me and Rose. She shouldn’t have gone crying to you just because—”

Wren flung the bowl at him.

Shen caught it in midair, collecting the pieces of fruit before they landed. “Was that really necessary?”

Suddenly, Wren was upon him. She knocked the bowl aside and shoved him back against the wall. “What the hell has got into you? Do you realize your cousin tried to kill you earlier?”

“I’m not having this argument again,” said Shen flatly.

“Then eat a candy. I’ll talk. You listen,” said Wren furiously. “My sister has her flaws, but Rose would never exaggerate about something so serious, and deep down you know that.” Shen’s face was impenetrable as she went on. “You’re one of the most important people in her world. And she’s so worried about you, she could barely get her words out just now. She says that you’d rather cut her out of your life than face the truth about your uncle. Your cousin.”

“Fine. Maybe she didn’t lie,” Shen conceded, after a beat. “But that doesn’t mean she was telling the truth either. She’s exhausted, Wren. And overwhelmed. She doesn’t know what she saw.”

“She knows she healed you. And she wouldn’t imagine something like that.” Wren released him with a sigh. “I know you’ve waited your whole life for this moment, Shen. This place, these people. Ortha might have been your salvation once, but it was never your destiny. I would never stand in the way of that. And neither would Rose.” His eyes softened, and so did Wren’s voice. “But just because Kai is the first cousin that came along doesn’t mean he’s any good at it.”

“Wren—”

“The hard truth is, some people do terrible things for power.”

Shen’s nostrils flared. “Not this, Wren. He’s mycousin,for stars’ sake.”

“I’m Rose’s twin sister, and it wasn’t that long ago that we scaled the walls of Anadawn to kidnap her,” she reminded him. “Just look ateverything I was prepared to do for the crown. Rotting hell, Shen, I nearly married Ansel!” She flinched as she remembered the undead prince back in her bedroom. Rose’s morning was about to get a lot worse.

Shen pressed his lips together. “I forgot about that.”

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