Page 94 of A Court Bright and Broken

“My grandchildren are starving. I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t know what else to do. There’s such bounty here. I thought perhaps no one would notice if I took just a little.”

A frisson of guilt shivered through me.

I thought of something Raewyn had said the day we’d met, something about the unfair tithe causing poverty and hunger in the human villages. My heart went out to the old woman.

If my father were standing here right now, he’d order both of her hands chopped off as a deterrent to other would-be thieves. I was more inclined to just release her.

“Look at me,” I said. “Please.”

The woman finally turned her eyes up. The look in them surprised me—it wasn’t shame and deference I saw there.

In fact, she appeared a bit… defiant? Her stooped posture had changed, replaced by a straight backbone.

That intrigued me.

“What village are you from?”

“Castleton,” she said, naming the human settlement closest to the castle walls.

I’d met the village mother from Castleton before. This was definitely not her. But still…

Looking her over, I noticed she was well-fed. And her clothes were made of a better grade of fabric than most of the peasants I’d seen. She was getting money fromsomewhere, and if her “grandchildren” were truly starving, then why wasn’t she?

“Are you an Earthwife?” I asked straight out.

Her eyes went wide. “No, Your Highness. I am just a mother and grandmother desperate to feed her family. Why would you ask that?”

Instead of answering her question, I asked another.

“Did you see an Elven woman in a blue gown in the palace last night?”

“I saw lots of ladies in blue gowns last night, Your Highness,” she said.

“This one was exceptionally beautiful. Her name was Lady Wyn. Do you know her?”

The defiance flared before disappearing entirely. “I don’t knowanyfine Elven ladies, Your Highness.”

My shoulders sank in disappointment.

“Although…”

Tension returned to my body, my hands gripping the bars of the prisoner’s cell. “Although what?”

“Therewasa lovely younghumanwoman here last night.” She pointed to the next cell over. “Right over there.”

Her tone turned sly. “In fact,youwere here as well. I believe the two of you were acquainted.”

Alarm stabbed at my midsection. I’d been so worried about freeing Raewyn from her cell I hadn’t bothered to look into the others near hers. My mind strove to recall the conversation that had passed between us.

How much had the old woman overheard? How much did she know about Raewyn? Enough to get her killed?

“You are mistaken,” I said. “I did remove a peasant girl for questioning. She is no longer in the palace.”

“Are you sure?” The woman leaned forward and inhaled, a knowing glint in her eyes. “I smell her scent on your skin, My Prince. She is sweet, is she not?”

Shocked, I stumbled back from the cell bars. “Youarean Earthwife. Tell me what you know, witch.”

She chuckled. “About your friend…Raewyn?”

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