Page 61 of A Realm of Shattered Lies

I wrack my brain, but I can hardly think what the queen could want from me. At least, not since we took the road toward Mystral rather than where I’d expected—Charshon.

The Rip is in Charshon, according to Lydia. It’s where she expected Az to bring me if he ever got ahold of me. And he certainly tried, sending not only Marcus to hunt me, but a merchant to bid on me at Kev’s auction.

Apparently my Gift doesn’t simply offer me the ability to create music infused with magic. It also gives me the capacity to open and close the Rip between worlds. The ones through which my fae ancestors entered Alondria all those centuries ago.

When the queen threatened Marcus’s life, I assumed she was taking me directly there, but we took the road to the Kobiis instead, headed toward Dwellen. My guess is that our final destination is Mystral.

Unless there’s another Rip in Mystral, I have no idea what the queen wants with me.

“How do you know I can do it?” I ask, trying and failing to look her in the eye, since she often refuses to look at me.

“I’m well-informed of your skill set.”

“So you want me to use my music then?” I ask. “That’s going to be difficult to do given you didn’t allow me to bring my flute along.”

The queen waves her hand dismissively. “We both know there’s nothing intrinsically magical about the flute you prefer. There are rumors you enchanted a man into freezing himself to death with an icicle when you were a child.”

My back goes rigid. I was only three when the incident occurred, but it resulted in the townspeople of our Mystrian village kicking me out. My mother had left me on the outskirts of civilization, a child curled up in the snow and ready to die, when Bronger found me.

“I was three,” I say, rubbing again at the restraints.

The queen hmphs. “All the better. I assume that means your skills have matured since then.”

“I won’t murder anyone for you.”

The queen flashes me a grin, but her eyes don’t participate. “Only your husband, then,” she says, “should you refuse to do as I ask.”

“I think I’ll let you keep the title of husband killer for yourself.” I lean against the wall of the coach, even as I watch for the faintest twitch at the edge of the queen’s mouth.

There it is.

It’s just a rumor, one that’s circulated about the Queen of Mystral for years, but Bronger taught me how to read the slightest changes in facial expression, and the way she’s trying to hide her reaction tells me I’ve hit a nerve.

“Well,” I say, pushing my skull into the velvety fabric, “just because you had a less than desirable husband doesn’t mean you’re doing the rest of us a favor by getting rid of ours.”

The queen’s mouth purses. “The King of Mystral was not a cruel male. He was kind to me when no one else was. When no one else had been in a long time. I won’t tolerate you speaking evil of him.”

The dimple at the cleft of her chin warbles. I leaned forward. “So you didn’t kill your husband then?”

She opens her mouth, then closes it, swallowing before beginning again. “No. I didn’t kill the King of Mystral. Why no one believes that despite the fact I’m unable to lie about it escapes me.”

I watch her for a long time after that, absorbing all the information I can.

I tell myself that it’s because I want to survey my enemy, catch her in her weakness.

Really, I think I just want not to have to imagine Marcus’s death.

CHAPTER 24

BLAISE

I wasn’t supposed to be the villain.

I wasn’t supposed to be the villain.

I’m not the villain, I remind myself as I toss pebbles into the winding creek that cuts across the lush greenery of Charshon. We arrived last night, leaving Avelea’s border behind as we ventured into the place where I’ll betray my friends.

I’m not the villain. I’m just a liar, a girl who’s lost everything and isn’t willing to lose one more person.

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