Page 51 of A Court of Sugar and Spice
“Your instincts are correct, I believe,” he says. “One of the people we met with today decided to sell us out. Whom would you guess to be the traitor?”
I think back, pulling the mercenaries’ faces from my mind, churning through their words and expressions.
“Theanne,” I say. “She showed you subservience first and asked the most questions, which shouldn’t make me suspect her—but there was something in her eyes, in her manner when she left the tavern—she was too excited about the prospect of the journey, while the others seemed sober and reluctant. I’ve faked enough enthusiasm myself to know when the emotion is false, when it’s present to hide a different feeling.”
“Interesting theory.” Lir’s back is to me now, but I sense the dejection in his tone, in the slump of his shoulders. “If it is Theanne, that would be unfortunate indeed. She’s an old friend of Fin’s.”
“I could be wrong,” I offer.
“Not likely,” Clara puts in. “Louisa knows people. And she generally sees good things in everyone, so when she does pass judgment, it’s typically true.”
“I wasn’t right about Drosselmeyer,” I say. “I liked him at first.”
“We both did.” Clara is breathless as she jogs beside me, but she manages to reach over and squeeze my arm.
“I was also wrong about you, Lir,” I say, before I can stop myself. “I disliked you from the first night—still do, sometimes. But I don’t believe you mean us harm.”
“Very astute of you,” he says dryly. “But perhaps that’s simply because I need your blood, and if you’re killed I can use your sister’s.”
I catch my breath, casting a side glance at Clara. She shakes her head and gives me a little smile.
“We don’t believe that,” I tell him. “We’re so charming, both of us. Admit it—you like having us around.”
“I’d like it better if you werequietwhile we run from our enemies,” he retorts.
“Fair enough.” But Clara and I exchange a smirk and a silent laugh.
“You’re mocking me,” the Prince throws back over his shoulder. “I can feel it.”
Clara pulls a haughty, prim face that’s such a perfect imitation of Lir I can’t help giggling.
The Prince whirls around, stopping us both in our tracks. “Enough.” His tone is low, but his eyes flash with frustration. “We arefleeing. And my cousin is buying us time to get far away from here. You can make jokes later. For now, shut up and run.”
We run until our lungs ache and our legs burn. We run deep into the night, until I think I can’t keep going, Ican’t—and yet somehow I do. Lir lets us slow down occasionally, because Clara and I are children of a quiet, sedentary household, unused to running for any sustained period of time. But after every period of walking, he makes us jog again.
After hours of traveling as fast as we can manage, Clara looks up, her face brightening. A second later I hear it, too—the hum of whirring wings.
The Sugarplum Faerie lands lightly beside Clara. He’s smudged with smoke. Bloody wounds glisten raw on his bare chest and arms.
“I killed them all,” he gasps, and smoke issues from his cracked lips. “Even the big one.” He coughs up more smoke.
Clara makes a pitiful sound at the state of him, but Lir says crisply, “Don’t fuss. He will heal quickly.”
“You’re welcome.” Finias glares in his cousin’s direction. “I questioned the leader of the group before I ended him—he told me Theanne betrayed us.”
My instincts were right.
Lir shoots me a look of startled admiration. “Really?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” says Finias. “Lucky for us she only told the local commander of the Rat King’s forces, and he attacked us without sending word to the Rat King himself. So I believe we’re safe to continue our quest.”
“How do you know he wasn’t lying?” I ask.
“Truth candy.” Finias gives me a half-grin. There’s blood on his pointed teeth. “Very rare, very difficult to make, but we needed to know if the Rat King has heard of the Prince’s return. For now, he’s still in the dark. We must take full advantage of the time we have.” He adjusts the large satchel he’s wearing so its strap sits between two of his wounds. “I brought what I could pack in a hurry. I’m afraid most of my spells were ruined, and I couldn’t find the bag of weapons Louisa brought with her, either. We’ll have to do without some of the things I’d planned to bring. As for supplies, horses, and food, I’ll send messages for our allies to meet us as Dellwyn Ford.”
“Messages? How?” I ask.
“Magic.”
