A blast of cold air jolted Zandrue awake. Then someone repeatedly hit her over the head—or was that someone inside her head trying to break out? Yes, that was more accurate. She was pretty certain the person in her head wasn’t giggling though, so that had to belong to someone on the outside.

She opened her eyes, which screamed to be shut again as soon as the bright sunlight hit them. She was sitting on a chair in front of the door to the balcony in Annai’s apartments. The door was open—the source of the cold air. The giggling was coming from behind her. She craned her neck round to see and nearly fell off the chair. The giggler switched to outright laughter.

Annai walked in front of her, still laughing, and shut the door. “Zandrue, dear, that was wonderful!”

Zandrue groaned. “What...what happened?”

“What do you think?” With another laugh, Annai strode past her again. “You drank far too much and passed out. Slept in that chair all night apparently, so I had an absolutely marvellous idea!”

Zandrue rose to her feet, clutching the chair to keep steady. She was starting to remember. It had been Tianna’s birthday. With Sinitïa still missing, the Queen had disallowed a larger celebration, so the three of them had just had drinks together—too many.

“I was very surprised when I managed to drag you all the way to the door without waking you, but I saw how blustery it is outside and I just knew the cold would wake you up.”

Zandrue forced herself to laugh. “Brilliant.”

Annai smiled and clapped her hands. “Wasn’t it though?” She strode up to Tianna, who was asleep on a couch, and patted her on the cheek. “Come on, Tianna, dear. You can’t sleep all day long. Things to do.”

Things to do. Zandrue had a ton of things to do. It was hard to get anything done when she had to spend nine tenths of her time entertaining Annai. Especially when, so far, she still wasn’t getting any closer to the Queen. When Annai spent time with her mother, it was without Zandrue or even Tianna, and the Queen never came to their concerts. There was pretty much no opportunity for the Queen to even become aware her daughter had struck up a friendship with Zandrue. Zandrue could only hope Annai might happen to mention it sometime while with her mother.

Tianna groaned and sat up.

Annai giggled. “You two look dreadful. You need to get your handmaids to fix you up good and fast.” Annai, of course, looked impeccable. She had obviously left them sleeping until after she had had her clothes, hair, and make-up for the day done.

“I don’t know if I can even move,” Tianna whined.

Annai tutted. “Oh nonsense, dear. You’ll be fine. It’s just a little hangover. Now then, if you’ll excuse me, I am on my way to breakfast with Mother, Lady Plavin, and her mother.” She picked up a fan from a nearby table.

Zandrue finally steadied her legs and took a few experimental steps forward. “Will Prince Malef be there too?”

Annai rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Oh, Zandrue, you really need to stop crushing on him. You’ve lost your chance. Besides, what would the horse guy think?”

“Rudiger?”

“Yes, him. I can never remember his name.”

“I was just…” Zandrue sighed. “Never mind. You’re absolutely right as always.”

Shortly after Lidda Plavin’s arrival in the Palace, she and Prince Malef had started courting one another. This worried Zandrue, and so she had been trying to learn whatever she could about the time the two were spending together. Unfortunately, her questions had made her look obsessed with Malef. She’d been able to use that a little to her advantage, but she could only take it so far.

Annai smiled and strolled to the door. “Wish me luck with that horrid Plavin woman. I’ll see you both in a couple hours. Be presentable!” One of her handmaids opened the door and she strolled out.

Zandrue stumbled over to a chair near Tianna and practically fell into it. “I keep telling myself, I’m not going to drink so much, and then I do. My head feels about to burst.”

Tianna collapsed onto her side of the couch. “Tell me about it. No sign of Laänne I see. Looks like she got away unscathed.”

Zandrue had made slow progress with Tianna, too. No matter how much Zandrue gave way to Tianna, the young woman remained convinced Zandrue was trying to get between her and Annai.

“Know any good hangover cures?” Tianna said.

That said, perhaps that question meant Zandrue was making some progress after all. “More drink.” They both laughed. It hurt Zandrue’s head though, so she stopped. Tianna didn’t laugh long either. “Sex helps too.”

“Like there’s a lot of that going on in my life,” Tianna said.

“Maybe you need to find someone.”

“There’s a dearth of eligible men in the Palace at the moment. Though there is this one lad in Lady Plavin’s entourage. He’s rather cute.”

“There you go,” Zandrue said.

“He’s a servant, Zandrue.”

“Is that really that big a problem?”

Tianna thought a moment. “Well, he is a senior servant and a Folith, so that’s something.” She sighed. “But Father would never approve. Besides, it would hardly solve my hangover problem right now. I’d better go get cleaned up. I’ll see you later.” She stood up and wobbled towards the door.

Well, some progress was better than none.

Zandrue sat there a few more moments before heading out herself. She stopped off briefly at her own apartments, only long enough to receive the barest minimum she could get away with to look “presentable”. Even that cost her a half hour.

She found Rudiger seated with Hang in the servants’ mess hall. They both had plates piled high with food in front of them. Zandrue slid into the seat beside Rudiger and snatched some bread and cheese from his plate.

“Hey, get your own,” he grumbled, but there was a smile on his face.

She nudged him with her elbow. “You’ve got loads. You can spare a little.”

Hang chuckled. “How you been, Zandrue?”

Zandrue mumbled her reply through a mouthful of bread.

“Where’d you get to last night?” Rudiger asked. “Partying all night again?” He winked at her.

“Tianna Friaz’s twenty-sixth birthday.”

“Wasn’t that last week?” Rudiger asked.

“No, that was her father’s birthday. Pay attention, Rudiger.” She nudged him with her elbow again, then grabbed his cup and took a drink of whatever was in it. It was a very weak ale. Not great, but served to wash down the bread. The food and drink in the Palace proper was a lot better, but Rudiger seemed to prefer it here.

He grabbed his cup back. “I do pay attention, but whose birthday is when doesn’t seem all that important.”

“They all bleed into each other after a while,” Hang said.

Zandrue ate a piece of cheese that turned out to be mouldy, so she found herself reaching for Rudiger’s cup again.

Hang laughed.

“So anyway,” Rudiger said, “everything’s set for tomorrow.”

Zandrue cleared her throat and coughed. “Good.”

“Captain DeSeloön will meet with us just after sunset,” Hang said. “Then we’ll get ourselves in place. You’re sure this guy will be there?”

Zandrue shook her head. “No, but he told Quilla he would, and he was there last time Quilla went.”

“But that was a couple weeks ago. What’s to say he hasn’t stopped by this point?” Hang stuffed some bread and mouldy cheese in his mouth.

“Nothing, but he doesn’t seem the type to give up. He’s intent on convincing Quilla to go with him, so I don’t think he’s going to stop waiting for her without telling her.”

Hang shrugged. “Yeah, perhaps. I still think we shouldn’t have waited so long.”

“If we’d gone too soon, he’d be suspicious.”

“He’s likely to be anyway.”

Zandrue smiled. “True, but the extra time makes the story more believable. As long as Quilla sells it, I think we’ll be fine.”

“Let’s hope so,” Hang said.

“Don’t worry. She’s got this.” Zandrue really hoped Quilla was going to be up to this. They were taking a big risk with what they were planning, and so much of it depended on Quilla’s acting ability, which was not something Zandrue would have labelled as one of her greater talents. Still, it was not like they had much other choice.

They had made no other progress in tracking down the Darkers in the Palace. No idea how they were getting around, no idea how Dyle somehow seemed to appear and disappear at will. All they had to go one was Dyle’s desire to connect with Quilla. Despite the insanity of it all, there had been sincerity in Dyle’s voice and stance when he’d spoken to Quilla.

Oh, Quilla had been furious when she found out Zandrue had followed her that night.

“You agreed that it had to be just me,” Quilla had said. “Dyle would be looking for others.”

“That’s what I said, yes,” Zandrue said, “and it was partially true. Dyle and his people were definitely looking for others coming with you.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“Because I knew I could hide from them.”

“You could have told me!”

Zandrue had shaken her head. “If you’d known, you would have been subconsciously looking for me. Dyle would have noticed and it would be game over. No, you had to believe you were alone, but there was no way I was letting you go there alone.”

Quilla had eventually agreed, and had then come up with this idea a couple days later. Zandrue had needed time to be convinced, but eventually had agreed. The only way they were going to learn anything was direct from Dyle, and he would only say anything if Quilla agreed to go with him. So that was what was going to happen.

Zandrue nudged Rudiger again, and when he looked at her, she crooked her finger at him. He leaned over so that she could give him a quick kiss. Then she slid off the bench. “I need to check in on Quilla before my meeting with Ardon, so I better get going.” She pointed at Rudiger. “See you tonight.” She pointed at Hang. “See you...tomorrow night, I guess.”

Before leaving, she grabbed a couple more chunks of bread and cheese, inspecting each piece of cheese first to make sure it wasn’t mouldy. Then she gave Rudiger another quick kiss and hurried off.

There had been another snowfall last night and not enough time for it to be packed down, so she had to trudge through it to cross the north courtyard. There were a couple of footprint trails from servants and guards passing back and forth, and she tried to stick to those. She was pretty sure she used the same one now that she had used to get to the mess hall in the first place.

She had just passed the western pool with the statue of Nature, when a lone figure came out of the Palace and started down the steps into the courtyard. This would hardly be anything unusual, except that the person was just in the process of wrapping a shawl around her head against the cold. For a moment, Zandrue had a clear view of the pale, freckled face, and sandy brown hair. There was still some distance between them, but there was little doubting who it was: Tianna.

There could be numerous reasons why Tianna might be coming out here right now, though Zandrue couldn’t think of many. If Tianna wasn’t with Annai, she was generally either attending to her father and mother—neither of whom ever stepped outside of the Palace as far as Zandrue could tell—or preparing for the next time she got together with Annai. Perhaps she had taken Zandrue’s advice and was going to see the lad from Lady Plavin’s entourage. That might explain why she was looking about furtively like she didn’t want to be recognised by the wrong people.

Zandrue kept her course without deviating. Bundled up against the weather as she was, it was unlikely Tianna would recognise her, but a sudden change in direction might draw attention.

Tianna headed directly towards the east side of the courtyard and one of the many archways leading through the wall into the rest of the grounds. There were government buildings that way. It was possible Tianna had business at one of them, though she had never shown much inclination towards the actual running of Arnor.

As Tianna passed through the archway, Zandrue sighed. Curiosity made her want to follow, but she only had about an hour before her meeting with Ardon, and she needed to talk to Quilla first. Plus, whatever Tianna was doing probably had a perfectly innocent explanation.

To hell with it.

Tianna doing something alone was just too strange to pass up. Zandrue could talk to Quilla after her meeting with Ardon.

She hurried across the courtyard as best she could in the thick snow. She wanted to keep some distance between her and Tianna, but she also couldn’t lose sight of her. Once she reached the arch, she could see Tianna was still following the road straight ahead. The government buildings were to the left, so she wasn’t going there.

To the right was the Crown Prince Garden, which took up almost as much area as the Palace itself. It was bordered by tall bushes that formed a wall, which had a couple interruptions by small buildings that provided arched entrances to the garden. Farther along this way were a conservatory to the right and the vineyard and orangery to the left. At the far end, there was also a building that doubled as both a concert hall and theatre. Could Tianna be heading there in the hopes of setting up a proper recital for them? The concert hall was generally used by professional musicians and actors who performed for the Royal Family. However, perhaps Annai and Tianna had greater ambitions than small, impromptu concerts put on in the Palace.

But Tianna didn’t seem to be heading to the concert hall either, as she turned right at the path between the Crown Prince Garden and the conservatory. Zandrue hurried forward so as not to lose sight of her. When she reached the intersection and looked around the corner, there was no sign of Tianna.

What the hell?

Neither the conservatory nor the garden had an entrance along this way, so Tianna couldn’t have gone inside either. Due to the tall bushes and the conservatory wall providing a shield from the weather, the road here had less snow on it, so perhaps Tianna had sped up considerably. Though she almost certainly would have needed to run to reach the other end and duck around the corner fast enough.

Zandrue paused for a moment. If she started running too, she could give away that she wasn’t a servant who just happened to be travelling in this direction. But her curiosity was even greater now. She decided to compromise and hurried at a near run down the path to the next intersection. She slowed down just before getting there and then looked in every direction as she walked out from the cover of the bushes and conservatory.

Shit. Still no sign of Tianna.

She turned around and walked back the way she’d come. The conservatory was surrounded by a stone wall with a marble balustrade at the top. It was conceivably possible Tianna had managed to climb it. It wasn’t too terribly slick with ice. A good jump might have let her grab hold of one of the balusters. On the other side, the thick bushes around the Crown Prince Garden were too packed together to squeeze between them without disturbing the careful arrangement and pruning. It would be obvious now if Tianna had done that. Climbing over them was also out as there was no way these bushes could hold the weight of someone even as small as Tianna. So the only option was the conservatory wall. But in that case, why not just go in through an actual entrance?

Unless Tianna knew Zandrue was following her.

Well, one way to find out. Zandrue backed up a bit, tested the ground’s slipperiness with her feet. Then she ran as fast as she dared at an angle to the wall and leapt. She just managed to grab one of the balusters, and pulled herself up onto the top of the balustrade. Anyone working inside or passing nearby would be able to see her easily in this position, so she needed to make this quick.

The conservatory on the other side was not a single building, but a collection of smaller glasshouses in rows, and taking up about as much area as the Crown Prince Garden. There were a couple people moving about between the glasshouses, and the shadowy outlines of a few more moved about inside them. Luckily, no one seemed to be looking in Zandrue’s direction.

There was no sign of Tianna, but unfortunately, there had been enough time now for her to have gone inside one of the glasshouses.

Zandrue took a quick look in both directions along the base of the wall. There were no immediately apparent footprints in the snow, though there were places where the snow was packed down enough that a footprint wouldn’t be noticeable from where she was.

There was also no one in the immediate vicinity in this stretch, so Zandrue swung her legs over the top of the balustrade, then pushed herself off. She landed on the ground with ease, and looked down to see how much of a mark she’d made in the snow. A bit. Tianna was smaller than Zandrue so might not have left as much of a mark, but hopefully, there would be some sign of her passage.

Zandrue walked along the wall, heading to the north side. If Tianna had wanted to get out of sight as quickly as possible, she would have jumped the wall right away, closer to the north end, though not right at the end. She would have wanted to be far enough down that the bushes surrounding the Crown Prince Garden would block Zandrue from seeing her.

The snow was less packed along this part of the wall, and there was a section that was just a little more disturbed than the snow immediately surrounding it. Zandrue stopped close to it and knelt to examine it more closely. The snow showed some barely discernible footprints leading away from the disturbed area, but not to it.

So Tianna had jumped the wall.

Which meant she’d known she was being followed and was trying to get away. She was also more athletic than Zandrue had realised. Had Tianna recognised her? Or had she just deduced she was being followed by someone? And why would she be worried about someone following her?

There was a possible answer to that last question, and if it was correct, Zandrue could kick herself. It would mean one of the Darkers she had been searching for had been right under her nose the whole time. Tianna was definitely in a position to have been able to let Darkers into the grounds and the Palace itself. She was also close enough to one of the princesses of the land to have some influence on her, and her father had the ear of the Queen. Could her father be a Darker too? He would certainly have greater resources for helping the Darkers remain unseen, though that was hardly damning evidence. He could just as likely be innocent and unaware of Tianna’s involvement. For that matter, it wasn’t yet possible to be certain Tianna was a Darker. She could just be up to some other illicit activity she didn’t want anyone else to know about.

Zandrue set out in the direction of the tracks. It wasn’t possible to follow them directly for long until they passed into a much more heavily traversed area. However, they started by heading along the north wall—probably towards the first arched exit up ahead. It was unlikely the conservatory was Tianna’s intended destination, so it made sense she would head out as soon as possible.

Zandrue also wasn’t certain what the rules were regarding who was allowed to be in here, so it was probably for the best she leave now. Besides, she’d lost Tianna now and it wasn’t worth trying to find her again. She would see her later when they got together with Annai again.

A pair of gardeners came out of one of the nearby glasshouses. They watched her for a moment, and Zandrue gave them a wave. Then they went on their way, and Zandrue relaxed. She hurried out of the conservatory and headed back to the Palace.

With luck, Tianna hadn’t recognised who was following her. If she had...well, that could make things really awkward.

* * * * *

Zandrue slowed down as she approached the concert room doors. She adjusted the sleeves of her gown and nodded to the servants, who opened the doors.

There were a lot of people in the hall—a lot more than was usual for these little recitals.

Annai strode towards her. “There you are, Zandrue. I was starting to get worried.”

Zandrue curtsied. “Apologies, your Highness. I had a...wardrobe emergency that had to be fixed before I could dare show myself in public.”

The truth was, her meeting with Ardon had gone longer than she would have liked. She had considered not going to see Quilla at all, but decided it was important to prepare for tomorrow. The wardrobe “emergency” was simply that she hadn’t had time to get ready at all.

Annai waved her hand dismissively. “Think nothing of it, my dear. It just gave us time to get our much larger crowd seated.” She came up beside Zandrue, leaned in close, and whispered. “We’ve even attracted some of the boys today.”

Zandrue had noticed that. Prince Malef was here, seated with Lidda Plavin. Pastrin and Gabriella were here too, and so was Rudiger, seated between the two. Zandrue hadn’t expected that. Barnol Friaz and his wife were here as usual, as was Nedwin Friaz, Lidda Plavin’s mother, and several others Zandrue recognised and knew the names of, but had had very little interaction with. There were even a couple of people Zandrue didn’t recognise at all. People came and went here at the Palace so frequently—visiting nobles arrived and others left—it was virtually impossible to keep track of them all.

“Try not to stare at Malef,” Annai whispered, leading Zandrue over to the harpsichord. Tianna stood beside it and gave Zandrue a forced smile. If Tianna had recognised Zandrue earlier, it seemed at the very least, she hadn’t told Annai or Laänne.

“Tianna had the most dreadful fright earlier today,” Annai whispered. “Poor thing’s all shaken up. I’ll tell you all about it later, of course, but for now, I thought maybe you could start today.”

“Oh my, I’m so sorry to hear that, Tianna. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know, and of course I’ll start.” So it seemed Tianna had noticed she was being followed. It was not surprising, but it was disappointing. Zandrue needed to be more careful.

Annai moved to the centre of the room and cleared her throat. The light chatter between the spectators quietened down. “My Lords and Ladies, I would like to thank you all ever so much for being here. My friends and I give these little recitals out of a sheer love of music, but we are always happy for others to be here to experience the music with us. It makes me so happy to see so many of you here today. I only hope our performances live up to your expectations. Now, without further delay, my good friend, Zandrue will be starting for us today.”

Zandrue curtsied as the audience clapped and Annai moved aside. Rudiger was grinning.

Oh gods, she was performing in front of Rudiger. She wasn’t really a singer. She was just doing this to make nice with Annai. What if she screwed up? What if he hated her song? Her singing? She very nearly froze, but she managed to muster up enough courage to turn her head towards Laänne, ready to give her the nod to start playing.

“Your Highness, please forgive the interruption, but before you start, I simply must know who your singer is.”

Zandrue let out a slow breath, and curtsied to Lady Plavin, who had risen from her seat and was coming forth.

Annai came up beside Zandrue. “Of course, your Ladyship. Zandrue, my dear, do introduce yourself.”

Zandrue curtsied a second time. “Zandromeda Armida, your Ladyship.”

Lady Plavin regarded Zandrue with cold eyes. She was as tall as Zandrue, but skinnier, with a pinched nose and thin face. “Zandromeda, you say?”

“Zandrue, if it please your Ladyship.”

Lidda Plavin gave a very slight smile. “Zandrue, of course. I can’t say I’ve heard of the...Armida family did you say it was?”

“That’s hardly surprising, your Ladyship,” Zandrue said. “We’re a small family from Rivalle. Not very important. We’re distantly related to the Sildanes.”

“Ah, the Sildanes, of course.” Lady Plavin regarded Zandrue even more closely. “Please excuse my bluntness, Zandrue, but you look as if you have Eloorin in you. Yet you are a friend of her Highness?” She looked at Annai, whose face dropped into a scowl.

What was her game? Lidda Plavin had been there nearly three weeks now, and had done nothing to indicate she even recognised Zandrue and Rudiger, never mind actually doing anything against them.

Zandrue broke into a broad smile. “I get that all the time, your Ladyship. I am as I am.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to imply, your Ladyship,” Annai said, “but yes, Zandrue is a friend of mine. A dear one. She even saved my life last month. So I would ask that you keep your insinuations to yourself.”

Lady Plavin smiled and curtsied. “I am so sorry, your Highness. Please accept my apology.”

Annai nodded, still frowning.

Lidda Plavin returned to her seat.

“My apologies, everyone. There will be a very slight delay before we begin.” Annai came close to Zandrue again and they both turned to face the harpsichord so their backs were to the audience.

Tianna stood nearby with a neutral expression. Zandrue wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“I don’t know what Malef sees in that woman,” Annai hissed. “I can’t stand her. Don’t let her get to you, Zandrue dear. She’s doing this to get at me. Do you feel up to continuing or would you like me to start?”

“It’s fine,” Zandrue said. “I’ll start.” She was far more bothered by singing in front of Rudiger, and that wasn’t going to change regardless of when she sang. Might as well get it over with right away.

Annai kissed her on the cheek. “That’s my girl.”

Tianna frowned and turned her face away.

While Annai moved around the harpsichord to stand near Tianna, Zandrue took a couple deep breaths. Then she turned to face the audience again, and curtsied. She did her best not to look at Rudiger and nodded to Laänne, who began to play. Zandrue started to sing.

She messed up a bit in the first song, but after that, the recital went smoothly. Annai put down the slips in that first song to Lidda Plavin’s comments, and Zandrue was happy to let her think that.

After the recital, she, Annai, Tianna, and Laänne gathered in Annai’s apartments.

“I can’t believe the nerve of that woman,” Annai said, accepting a glass of wine from one of her handmaids. “Just because Malef is showing her a bit of attention doesn’t give her the right to behave so atrociously to my friends.”

Laänne leaned over to Zandrue. “If nothing else, Zandrue, I think Annai’s response here shows you’ve been fully accepted into her inner circle.”

Annai chuckled and took a seat across from the two of them and beside Tianna. She adjusted her skirts so she could sit as close to Tianna as possible. “Laänne may just be on to something, Zandrue dear. As you know, I was unsure of you at first, mainly because of your association with Felitïa. But after you saved my life, I decided to give you a chance, and you’ve more than passed. I’ve never really thought of myself as having an inner circle as Laänne puts it, but she’s basically right. What do you say, Tianna dear? Is Zandrue now part of our inner circle?”

Tianna eyed Zandrue, then looked at Annai and smiled. “Whatever you think best, of course.”

Annai chuckled and put an arm around Tianna. “Tianna’s always so modest.” She raised her wine glass. “But yes, I accept you into my inner circle. I like the sound of that, to be honest. Tianna here, of course, is a sister to me. But you get to join a rare group of people like Laänne in my inner circle.”

Zandrue raised her own glass, and they all drank. “You honour me, your Highness.”

Annai tutted. “Just Annai when we’re in private. That’s a perk of being in my inner circle.” She giggled.

“Then you honour me, Annai.”

Annai put her glass down on the table in front of her. “Oh, Tianna dear, you must tell Zandrue what happened to you this morning.”

Tianna took another drink from her glass and nodded. She looked at each of them conspiratorially. “I was on my way to the concert hall.”

“Turns out she was being sneaky about something she was planning for my birthday next month,” Annai said.

Tianna stuck her tongue out at Annai. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but yes, I was looking to make arrangements for us to do a proper performance there.”

“It would have been the most wonderful surprise,” Annai said. “And it still will be a wonderful event, even though I know about it in advance.”

Tianna sighed. “Yes, after what happened, I had to tell her what I was up to. At any rate, on my way, I noticed there was someone following me. At first, I assumed it was just a servant headed in the same direction I was, but then I noticed this person was dressed too well for a servant, with reasonably expensive furs and boots. Well, I panicked a little.”

“Can you believe it, Zandrue?” Annai said.

“That sounds horrifying, Tianna,” Zandrue said. “What did you do?”

“I went round the corner between the Crown Prince Garden and the conservatory, and hopped the wall into the conservatory where I hid in one of the glasshouses until I was sure the person was gone.”

Annai took a new glass from a tray proffered by a handmaid. “Can you imagine it? Little Tianna here climbing over a wall? I am aghast you were forced to do something so undignified, my dear.” She looked at Zandrue. “I was wondering if maybe this might have something to do with the attempt on my life last month. Perhaps the assassin has started to target my friends?”

Zandrue put her glass down. “It’s possible, though it has been a month and a half without further attempts. Nonetheless, we shouldn’t ignore the possibility. I’m so glad you’re okay, Tianna.”

“Thank you, Zandrue,” Tianna said.

Was Tianna telling the truth? Was she really innocently planning a surprise for Annai’s birthday and had panicked at being followed? Maybe, though it didn’t explain why she reached the conclusion she was being followed. They had not gone far enough that it couldn’t have been coincidence.

No, the story about the concert was probably for Annai’s benefit, though it was interesting Tianna felt the need to tell Annai anything had happened at all. At least she hadn’t recognised Zandrue. If she had, Zandrue suspected things would be very different with Annai right now.

When Zandrue told Ardon earlier about Tianna’s strange behaviour, he had been characteristically nonchalant about it. He had said he’d never received any reports about Tianna that would have made him consider her a Darker; however, he agreed they couldn’t ignore the possibility. With her father having the ear of the Queen, Tianna would be in a position to do some substantial damage as a Darker.

Zandrue leaned forward. “Annai, if I might make a suggestion?”

Annai nodded. “Of course.”

“Given the circumstances, I think none of us in this room should ever be alone. We should always have guards with us if we go anywhere.” She looked at Tianna. “Even if it’s to arrange a fun surprise. The risk is just too great.”

“No, you’re right of course, Zandrue,” Tianna said.

“We should also keep each other in sight as much as possible as well. Maybe at least two of us together at all times.” That would make it harder to investigate, but with luck, after tomorrow, it wouldn’t matter that much.

“That will be difficult at times,” Annai said. “When I meet with my mother or at family-only dinners.”

“Just whenever possible then,” Zandrue said.

“Agreed,” Annai said. “In fact, I’d like to suggest you three all stay here with me tonight. We’ll make it a little party. First though, you should go get your handmaids and bring them here. We don’t want a repeat of this morning, do we? There’s only so much my girls can do to fix you lot up.”

They all laughed.

Laänne nudged Zandrue. “Won’t Rudiger get lonely without you?”

“Probably, but it’ll do him some good. He’s a big boy now and needs to get used to being on his own once in a while.”

They all laughed again.

Zandrue looked over at Tianna and caught her eye. The young woman smiled at her, and Zandrue smiled back. Wider investigation might be more difficult with this, but at least this meant she could keep a close eye on Tianna—assuming, of course, there was any actual reason to keep an eye on her. She was doing a very good job of acting innocent.

Oh well, Zandrue could worry about that in due course.

All that mattered for the moment was Quilla’s performance in the morning.

* * * * *

Quilla was late. Zandrue hoped she wasn’t getting cold feet. It would be difficult to blame her if she was; Quilla was putting herself in substantial potential danger.

One good thing about last night’s new arrangement was that it had been easy to get Tianna and Laänne to accompany Zandrue to breakfast this morning. That fulfilled the task of making sure there were witnesses. If no one saw what happened, it would be pointless, and if Tianna really was a Darker, that was doubly good, as they needed word to reach the Darkers, preferably as quickly as possible.

Of course, it still required Quilla to actually show up.

And while it might have been easy getting Tianna and Laänne here, Zandrue would only be able to keep them here so long.

“Have you tried these sugar pastries, Zandrue?” Laänne was sitting in a corner chair by the window. A handkerchief with several of the pastries on it lay in her lap.

Zandrue took several of the pastries from the table for herself. “I have.”

“Aren’t they divine?”

Zandrue shrugged. “Personally, I wish they were sweeter, but they’re not bad.”

Laänne looked aghast. “Not bad? Sweeter? They’re heavenly!”

Humans had no concept of sweetness.

The door opened and a servant stepped aside to let Quilla enter. She walked over to the table and took a dish.

“Good morning, Quilla,” Zandrue said.

“Zandrue.” Quilla selected some bread and pieces of dried fruit. “Tianna.”

Tianna barely hid her scowl. “Quilla.” She moved aside with her own plate and joined Laänne.

Zandrue circled the table to be next to Quilla. She selected a couple pieces of fruit while glancing over at Tianna and Laänne. They were talking softly with each other and not looking this direction. Zandrue selected some more fruit and kept her voice to a whisper. “Ready for this?”

“Almost. Just give me a moment.” Quilla’s eyes were a bit red, like she had been crying, or more likely, hadn’t gotten much sleep.

“I’ll take your lead then,” Zandrue said. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Quilla nodded.

Zandrue took her plate of food and joined Tianna and Laänne.

“Zandrue,” Quilla called after her.

Here went nothing. Zandrue turned around. “Yes?”

Quilla poked at the food on her plate. “We see so little of each other these days. I’ve barely seen you at all since the funeral, and that was nearly three weeks ago.”

“I saw you yesterday,” Zandrue said.

“Yes, but that was for just a couple minutes.”

Zandrue shrugged. “I’ve been busy.” She turned back to Tianna and Laänne.

“I was thinking maybe we could get together for dinner tonight,” Quilla said.

Zandrue looked down at Tianna and rolled her eyes.

Tianna smirked.

Zandrue sat down beside Tianna and looked across the room at Quilla. “Sorry, I’m busy tonight.”

“How about tomorrow then?”

Zandrue looked at Tianna and Laänne, who were both looking to the side to hide their smirks. She looked back at Quilla. “I’m probably busy then too, but I’ll get back to you. The next little while is going to be busy, what with New Year’s coming up and all, but I’m sure we can arrange for something next month.”

Quilla slammed her plate onto the table, rattling the cups and dishes there. “You’re ignoring me.”

Zandrue sighed and mouthed to Tianna, “She’s so needy.” Out loud, she said, “No, I’m not ignoring you, Quilla. Like I said, I’ve just been busy.”

“Busy? Doing what exactly? Spending all your time with Princess High and Mighty? Princess I Get Everything Handed to Me on a Silver Platter so I Don’t Have to Do Anything Myself?”

“Oh, is that what this is about, Quilla? You’re jealous?”

“Jealous?” Quilla came around the table and partway to Zandrue. “I wouldn’t be caught dead hanging around with Annai the way you do.”

“I happen to like Annai.” She gestured to the other two with her. “And Tianna and Laänne here. We have fun together. I’ve tried to invite you to come to our concerts.”

“Bullshit.”

“Excuse me? You were right there when I invited you.”

“Not that. You couldn’t care less about Annai or her sycophant friends. You’re just using them to climb the social ladder. Just like I’m starting to realise you did with me. Remember, you wouldn’t even be in this Palace without me. You gave me support over Garet’s death just long enough to get in here and then you abandoned me as soon as the next opportunity presented itself.”

Zandrue handed her plate to Tianna and jumped to her feet. “Maybe I just wanted to get away from an eternal complainer who whines non-stop about how unfair the world is to her instead of actually doing something about it. All you want, Quilla, is for everyone else to do everything for you. First, it was Garet and that fool doted on you. When he died, you just turned to the nearest alternative. But I’m not Garet. I’m not a lovesick puppy.”

“Oh, and Princess Bitch is so much better than that, is she? She who runs to Mommy any time she needs anything?”

Tianna dropped both her plate and Zandrue’s onto the couch and stood up. She strode past Zandrue and slapped Quilla across the face. “How dare you talk about Annai like that! She is a thousand times your better.”

Zandrue grimaced. She hadn’t really planned on anyone else getting involved—especially physically—in this argument. The plan had been for Zandrue to slap Quilla and for the two of them to then get into a physical fight. In many ways, Tianna getting involved was better, but Zandrue would have pulled her punches and gone easy on Quilla. Tianna almost certainly wouldn’t.

Quilla reeled from the slap. She put a hand to her cheek. “Like I said, a sycophant. Following Annai around, praising every little thing she does, begging for every little scrap of attention and recognition you can get.”

Tianna sneered at her. “And you’re one to talk. You accuse Zandrue of using you to get in here, but that’s all you did with Garet. You were just his Eloorin whore.”

Quilla smiled maliciously. “At least I got to share his bed. You can only dream of fucking Annai.”

“You bitch!” Tianna launched forward, shoving Quilla back into the table, which slid back with the impact. Some of the bread and fruit toppled to the floor.

Quilla tried to regain her balance, but Tianna dove on her. They both fell on the table, which collapsed under their weight. Bread, wine, fruit, and cheese flew through the air. Cups and dishes shattered on the floor.

Zandrue rushed forward. Tianna was on top of Quilla, slapping and grabbing at her face and neck. Quilla shoved her off and rolled over on top of Tianna. Zandrue grabbed Quilla, wrapping her arms under Quilla’s shoulders. She pulled her back away from Tianna. Tianna kicked Quilla in the stomach, and Quilla gasped.

Shit. Zandrue hadn’t meant to give Tianna that opportunity.

“Guards!” Laänne called from her seat.

Quilla tried to struggle free of Zandrue’s hold. “Get the fuck off me!”

Zandrue allowed her to wriggle free.

Tianna came at Quilla again, but Quilla easily knocked the smaller woman aside. Tianna stumbled over a wine pitcher and fell on her back. Zandrue rushed over to Tianna as two Palace guards hurried into the room.

“Take that Eloorin into custody!” Tianna screeched.

The guards took hold of Quilla’s arms. Quilla made only a brief show of struggling before submitting.

Tianna pulled herself to her feet with Zandrue’s help. “You’re out of here, you fucking whore!”

“Take her away from here to somewhere secure,” Zandrue told the guards. “Inform Princess Annai about what’s happened.”

“My Lady,” one of the guards said. The two of them led Quilla from the room.

Zandrue turned to Tianna. “Are you all right?”

Tears were forming in Tianna’s eyes. They began to fall as she closed her eyes. She fell forwards into Zandrue’s arms, and Zandrue hugged her tight.

After a few moments, Zandrue led Tianna back over to the couch. Laänne was still eating pastries, but she leaned over to move the plates of food on the couch aside. Then Zandrue helped Tianna sit down. Zandrue sat beside her and Tianna lay her head on Zandrue’s shoulder and sobbed.

Laänne popped another pastry in her mouth and slid her chair over closer to Tianna and Zandrue. “That was...interesting and disturbing.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t very welcoming of you at first, Zandrue,” Tianna mumbled amidst sobs.

“That’s all right. You’re just protective of Annai and want the best for her. I understand.”

“I just love her so much.” Tianna broke into heavy sobs.

Zandrue stroked Tianna’s hair and looked to Laänne. “Does Annai know?”

Laänne shook her head. “Annai’s sincere when she calls them sisters. She sees their relationship as nothing more than friends who are as close as sisters. If she knew the truth of Tianna’s feelings, she’d...well, she’d be pretty disgusted probably. She’s expressed nothing but disgust at Gabriella’s relationships with women, and more recently, Felitïa. She must never know.”

Zandrue nodded and continued to stroke Tianna’s hair.

When she’d first arrived here, she’d revelled in the luxury and high life. She’d loved having access to fine food and wine, loved having servants to do her hair and make-up, to clean up after her. Part of that joy, however, came from being able to snub her nose at pompous royalty. But after a month and a half here, the thrill had passed. She was ready to leave.

But leaving wasn’t an option. She was committed to rooting out the Darkers. More than that, she’d started to like some of the people she was trying to pull one over on. Annai was full of herself and her belief in her own self-importance, but she wasn’t all bad. And Zandrue really liked Laänne. As for Tianna, seeing her now like this, she was starting to feel pity and concern for her as well.

A large shift from just yesterday morning.

But she was also beginning to think Tianna really had just been on an innocent trip to plan a surprise for Annai yesterday morning and had been spooked by Zandrue. It was beginning to look like Tianna wasn’t a Darker after all.

It would explain why Zandrue hadn’t suspected it before yesterday morning.

Oh well. It was up to Quilla now. Zandrue just hoped she’d correctly predicted Quilla’s punishment. In all likelihood, the Queen wouldn’t get involved in this situation, but if she did, and she got overly vindictive, Quilla’s life might be in serious danger before she even got started on her already dangerous task.