Page 41 of Court of Secrets and Flames

The door flings open and slams into the opposite wall. Knox appears like an avenging god. Tall, furious, and so incredibly gorgeous, he steals the remaining air from my lungs. “I think it’s time for you to leave. Lark, would you like Agnar and me to escort your mother from your room?”

I nod. “Yes. Please.”

And hurry. My anger is already fading, and I need to be alone before the imminent breakdown hits.

Thankfully, Agnar hustles my protesting mother from the room in no time. Before she vanishes into the hall, I call after her. “Leesa’s alive. She’s here in the palace and has been since she went missing. Agnar, would you please take my mo…Lady Axton to Leesa’s quarters?”

No matter how pissed off I may be, denying her that truth would be cruel.

“Leesa!” She releases a keening sound. “Leesa? She’s here? Unharmed? Safe?”

“Yes.” Safe might be a stretch, but now isn’t the time to split hairs. Not when I’m moments away from unraveling.

When Agnar glances at me, his expression softens. He turns to my mother and holds out his arm. “Here, Lady Axton. I’ll escort you to your daughter’s room right away. I’m sure she can explain everything.”

She wraps her fingers around his arm before hesitating and peering over her shoulder at me. “Oh, but I’m not sure I should?—”

Knox pins her with one of his fearsome scowls. “I’m certain this meeting is over. Go. When and if Lark is ready to see you, she’ll send word.”

My mother huffs but listens for a change, and Agnar leads her away, their footsteps getting quieter and quieter before disappearing.

Knox watches me from the hall with an odd, tender expression.

“What?” I snap.

“Even after claiming she destroyed your life, you still didn’t keep her in the dark about Leesa. You’re a better person than most, and I’m honored to know you.”

And the floodgates just opened. “Please, shut the door. I’d like to be alone.”

He opens his mouth, then nods without speaking and closes the door with a soft click.

The moment it shuts, I collapse face down into my pillow and cry.

Chapter Twelve

Hours after my meltdown, I weave through the grand halls of the palace. A guard knocked to inform me that King Jasper requested my presence at the fire paddock, but his manner made it clear that request meant summoned.

It took me several paces down the hall to catch on that the guard wasn’t following.

Now I can’t shake the prickle at the back of my neck, the instinctive itch that this facade of freedom is all part of some elaborate ruse.

The chill of the shadowed path bites through the thin material of my dress, and I hasten my pace, eager for sunlight and answers.

And then I see them. Three small, spotted fawns lying just outside the walls of the gardens. How did they get here? I glance around, wondering if I can spot their mother anywhere. A doe often leaves her fawns alone during the day to go graze, but she’s always close by. The tiny, nearly defenseless creatures lie flat and still so as not to attract any predators.

Still, this isn’t a safe place for them. I’ll have to pick them up and move them someplace else. Preferably in thick grasses or…

A faint, familiar odor teases my nose, the memory just outside my reach. A little sweetness mixed with something less pleasant. Frowning, I stumble to an abrupt halt, my stomach lurching.

Fathomless black eyes peer skyward, giving them an eerie, otherworldly quality. Black veins bulge beneath their skin, marring their tiny bodies.

What could have done this? Were they poisoned? Did someone or something kill them and leave them here? I take a moment to search for tracks. If an animal slaughtered them, surely there would be blood. But there’s no sign of predation.

Which probably means a human killed them.

Averting my eyes, I skirt the fawns and continue on my way, but the uneasiness roused by the dead animals refuses to release me. Something about the bodies strikes me as unnatural, almost alien.

I shake off the distressing thought. I spent one of the last two hours crying before passing out, and that probably doesn’t even rank in the top five of crappy life moments over the past few days. Is it any wonder stumbling across dead baby animals tips my brain over the edge?

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