I barely constrained my outrage. The duchess was the one who started the rumor of Queen Cordelia’s affair? Had she planned to frame Captain Greenwood before I came along?
“You won’t get away with this,” I said. I hardly believed my own words. We were trapped with no witnesses other than ourselves. There was no evidence against the duchess and from the current situation, no way to make her confess again.
“On the contrary, I already have,” she said, a smile curving her blood red lips. “I think we’re due for another story. How about a tale of a wicked witch seducing a prince for her own gain? Driven mad by his desire for her, he was willing to poison his own mother. In the end, both of them met a tragic demise.”
“You are deranged,” Ash said in disbelief.
The duchess laughed again. “By all means, call me whatever you like. In the end, I’ll still be the one in power.” She flicked her gaze away from us. “Take care of them.”
I barely registered the shadowy figures behind me before something bashed into my head and I lost consciousness.
I AWOKE TO A THROBBING headache and someone tugging on the ropes around my arms. I turned, but no one was there. I was tied to a bed post. Ash was similarly bound to the other side of the bed. My hair hung over my face, brown again. Ferdinand’s magic had worn off.
The door to the duchess’s rooms were ajar. Two large, rough-looking men stood on either side with heavy swords in their hands, no doubt the cause of my headache.
There was another tug. The knot at my wrists unfurled.
“Elowyn?” I said under my breath. A tap on my arm confirmed her presence.
On the other side of the bed, Ash groaned, just coming to. The ropes around his wrists loosened as well. He gave the air beside him a grateful look and turned to me. He jerked his head to the burly guards at the door. I shrugged hopelessly. Was it even possible to get past them?
Before I could ask Elowyn her opinion, the door of the suite opened. I recognized the light steps as Narcissa’s and tucked my hands behind me, throwing the ropes over my wrists so it appeared I was still at her mercy.
“I would like a word with the prisoners,” Narcissa said to the guards. They grunted and let her enter, but watched with beady eyes. She glared and said in a clipped tone, “In private.”
With some reluctance, they closed the door.
“What do you want?” I said warily.
Narcissa stood for a few moments without saying a word. She didn’t seem surprised at my presence.
“If you mean to scare us you are doing a very poor job,” Ash said dryly. He too had wrapped the rope around his hands. His back was stiff against the bedpost.
Narcissa ignored him. “How dare you do this to me?” she said in a wavering voice. She paced the length of the room, an object in her hand. She was gripping it so tightly her knuckles were as white as bone. “How dare you push me to my limits?”
My blood turned to ice when I realized it was a dagger. I looked to Ash. He had noticed too, his face pale.
“Narcissa, calm down,” I said, inching away from her. She was still pacing, her steps agitated like a caged beast’s.
“All my life I’ve followed my mother’s orders without question, and this is where my craving for approval leads me.” Narcissa barked a mirthless laugh and unsheathed the dagger. It was wickedly sharp, nearly as long as her forearm. She turned to us.
Ash placed himself in front of me. “Rethink this, Narcissa,” he said. “Please.” Though his voice was level, I detected a hint of panic.
His plead was ignored. Narcissa stared down at him icily. “Turn around.”
Ash set his jaw. “Leave Amarante alone.”
I groaned in frustration. This was no time for silly heroics. Discarding the rope, I stood and faced Narcissa. “You’re not a murderer, Narcissa.”
She sheathed the dagger. “What did you think I was going to do?” she asked with a scowl. “I’m here to release you.”
“What?” Ash said, flabbergasted. “Why?”
Narcissa scoffed. “So this is your opinion of me?”
“You haven’t done anything to change it,” Ash retorted.
I recalled Captain Greenwood’s description of his daughter and the hesitancy in Narcissa’s manner during her conversation with the duchess. Hope blossomed in my chest.
“Are you saying you want to help us?” I said.
I must’ve chosen my words poorly, for the look Narcissa gave me was withering. “I never said that. I will merely set you free with the possibility of you thwarting my mother’s plans tomorrow night.”
“Perhaps you could increase that possibility by letting us know her plans,” Ash said.
Her lips twisted. “Didn’t you eavesdrop on us earlier?”
“Only bits and pieces.”
Narcissa clenched her teeth. I was afraid she would decide to use her dagger in a different manner after all. “After the Masquerade Ball, the crown prince will choose me as a possible bride. I am to kill him after we are married. Mother will finish off the queen shortly after I’m chosen.”
Ash clenched his fists. I cut in before he said something rash and ruined our chances of getting Narcissa’s help.
“Then we’ll make sure you won’t get chosen,” I said. “We’ll interrupt the ball before the Choosing Ceremony.”
“How will you do that?”
I exchanged a look with Ash. “That’s for us to know and you to find out,” I said, deciding it was better to keep the details to myself. “We only need one thing from you. The duchess’s locket.”
Narcissa bit her lip and then nodded. “I’ll bring it
