Sir Hughes nodded. “Then let us search there too.”
The guard holding me shoved me forward. “Lead the way.”
My legs felt like limp noodles as I made the trek down the hall. It was clear Karen set me up. She and Narcissa knew I’d be snooping around Duchess Wilhelmina’s suite. But how? And where did that ruby bracelet come from?
It didn’t make any sense. And now I was leading a procession of armed guards and snobbish girls into my room with my arms tied behind my back. There was no doubt Narcissa had more jewelry planted there, otherwise she would’ve let the guards take me straight to the dungeons.
My situation grew more and more hopeless until I spotted a familiar figure at the end of the hall. It was Ash. And he was walking toward us.
Sir Hughes and the guards bowed as he approached. “Good afternoon, Your Highness.”
Ash looked right past me. “What’s going on?”
“A thief was found in my mother’s suite,” Narcissa said before Sir Hughes’ mustache could quiver. “I believe she’s an acquaintance of yours?”
Ash met my gaze and his eyes widened. “Amarante! Why are you dressed like that? Release her immediately!”
“I apologize, Your Highness,” Sir Hughes said. “This girl was caught stealing from the duchess. We are to search her rooms for more stolen items. Good day, now.”
“I did not steal anything,” I said again, emboldened by Ash’s presence.
“Of course you didn’t,” he said. He turned to the guards. “Release her. She’s not a thief. She’s a debutante.”
“In that case she’s a thieving debutante,” Karen said, snickering. She coughed when Ash stared at her. “Your Highness.”
I swallowed, my throat dry. “Just search my room,” I said.
It was clear Narcissa wanted Sir Hughes to uncover the jewelry she placed there. My only hope was that Ash could convince them I was being framed.
“See? She might as well have admitted to her crimes,” Sir Hughes said with a shrug. “Let’s go, men. Good day, Your Highness.”
Ash shooed away the guards behind me and untied my hands. “I’m coming with you.”
The mustached guard shrugged again. “It’s all the same to me. Make sure you’ve got a good grip on her. Thieves are slippery.”
It was a tense walk to the servant’s hall and a tenser silence that marching feet or clearing throats couldn’t break. I knew Ash wanted to ask me a million questions. I hardly knew the answers to the ones I was asking myself.
Madam Josephine scurried out of the way as we marched down the hall to my room.
“Well,” Narcissa said. “Get on with it.”
I took a breath and pushed open the door. But instead of jewelry, my room was littered with herbs and vials of witch-made ingredients I could have sworn I put away. The pot still hung over the oven, filled with the truth potion. My blood froze.
“What is this?” Sir Hughes bellowed. “What have you been doing here?”
The guards streamed into the room, inspecting the potion ingredients. “Witchcraft!” one of them bellowed, holding up a jar of pheender leaves.
Naricssa swooned and Karen caught her. “A witch!” she cried, pointing a shaking finger at me. “You must be the one who poisoned the queen!”
“Narcissa, this was not part of our deal,” I said. “The duchess promised.”
“What deal?” Narcissa said.
“She said if I served you—”
“Nonsense! You are changing the subject on purpose. You poisoned the queen!”
“I would never hurt Her Majesty,” I said, running into the room. “I have an antidote for her!” I grabbed the bottle of general antidote from my bed stand and held it out.
Sir Hughes and the guards recoiled. I looked desperately at Ash. His face was unreadable.
“Ash, please—”
“You’ve been getting close to the prince on purpose,” Narcissa said. She had abandoned her shocked guise, but no one noticed. “You pretended to be helping him when in fact you were the culprit all along.”
I shook my head, backing into my bed as the guards advanced. “No, I can prove it! I wasn’t making poison. It’s a truth potion! Duchess Wilhelmina is the one poisoning the queen. You have to believe me!”
Narcissa gasped. “How dare you taint my mother’s name?” She gestured around the room. “This is evidence enough! You’re using magic.”
“A thief and a witch and a traitor.” Sir Hughes frowned. “There’s a special place in the dungeon for your kind. Seize her.”
The guards grabbed me again, but this time more gingerly. It was clear they were frightened. My pleading fell on deaf ears.
“Stop,” Ash said quietly.
Relief flooded through me. There was still hope. But when I tried to meet his eyes, he kept them firmly on the ground.
“Amarante. Is it true you’re a witch?”
I opened my mouth to answer. Then I realized my situation.
I was in a room full of people who detested magic and those who possessed it. Ash hadn’t asked the guards to release me. He asked if I was a witch. There was fear in his manner—something I never expected would be toward me.
My voice broke. “Yes.”
“There. She admits it,” Narcissa said almost gleefully. “Throw her in the dungeons where she belongs.”
Sir Hughes motioned for the guards to take me away. “Your Highness, it would be perfectly understandable if you would like to personally—”
“No.” Ash shouldered his way past the guards and past me. “I’m finished here.”
And he was gone.
They dragged me to the dungeons and threw me into a windowless cell of stone. Save for the grate in the high ceiling, there was no light. Darkness fell when they slammed the door.
I collapsed onto the straw-littered floor at the sound of heavy chains and a lock clicking shut, numb to everything but my thoughts.
Ash believed Narcissa’s lies. Had Lana been right about the royals all this time? He let me shoulder the crimes of the duchess after all I had done to help him. After all the evidence we had found. I never had a chance to explain myself.
If only the guards knew the potion
