Page 104 of Moonmarked

“I think I don’t know enough to form an opinion yet,” he whispered. “And I think it strange that Helid isn’t back yet.”

Helid.

My stomach fell. “Isn’t this normal for him to travel to the other courts?”

“It is, but never for this long,” Rune said, then kissed my forehead. “We have to go now, Wildcat. I’ll come to you as soon as I can.”

I don’t want to go anywhere you’re not,I thought, but held my tongue. “Promise?” I said instead.

He took my face in his hand and looked at me—reallylooked at me. “On the stars.”

Just like that, walking away from him wasn’t all that bad.

I smiled, touched his lips before I kissed him. “There’s nobody like you, Mister Moody.” And some might argue that I hadn’t met the whole world or every person in Verenthia, even, but I knew that beyond a shadow of doubt.

Rune lookedsadwhen I said that, though, but there wasno more time to talk. There was only time to sneak out of the throne room and make it back to my room in one piece—withouthim.

Something didn’t feel right.

It wasn’t because I’d spent possibly over an hour with Rune in the queen’s throne room last night—it was what had happenedbeforethat. The Whispering Ball. The woman masked with emeralds who’d whispered in my ear, and the one who’d come at me with a knife only to end up putting it in my hand. The knife that was in front of me now, very real and very pointy, the broken crown engraved on the side of the handle so very vivid to my eyes.

Most of all, though, it was that Gallery of Time, that tunnel where the portraits of cursed royalty hung on forgotten walls, covered in dust and cobwebs—except for one.

Queen Veyra.

Every time I thought of her name, the hairs on my forearms stood at attention. Every time I thought of her face, half of it ripped off, my heart forgot how to beat.

And every time I thought back to Mysthaven and Maera, and that sorcerer who’d chained himself to that piece of rock…

My eyes squeezed shut and I fell back on the bed, feeling like my flesh was melting off my bones.

My queen, you came back,he’d said.

And what were the fucking odds that that woman in the painting looked exactly like me?

Oh, and let’s not forget aboutthe last woman who worethat face died screaming. Yes, that one’s pretty interesting, too.

“Fucking Whispering Ball,” I muttered to myself.

Standing up, I hid the knife under my pillow and went to the other side of the room, to the vanity table, sat on the stool and forced myself to look in the mirror. Everything inside me twisted when I saw my reflection. The thoughts in my head rebelled, of course, simply because none of this made any kind of sense, but…

My hand shook when I raised it and covered half my face.

My God, the portrait indeed lookeda lotlike me. Or ratherIlooked a lot like the woman in the painting. Thequeen.

The very queen that Rune was accused of killing.

Putting my hands in front of my face, I covered myself from the mirror, as if I believeditknew what I was thinking, and it would agree with me, too. Yes, she looked much older, and, yes, the lines of her face had been sharper, but I looked so much like her it couldn’t possibly be a coincidence, could it?

And just as I was thinking that, someone knocked on the door.

That I didn’t scream was a miracle.

When the door actually opened without my say so, I jumped to my feet and didn’t collapse from the stool.Thank God,because it wasn’t the chambermaids, like I thought.

It was Lyall himself who walked into the room with his head up and his shoulders back, like he owned this place—which he did. But he also looked atmelike he owned me, and I had a big problem with that.

“Good day, Nilah,” he said, that easy smile stretching his lips as he came closer, and something told me he wasn’tgoing to stop by himself, so I stepped back a bit to tell him to.

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