“…trapped forever…”
“…enough food…”
“…fairy queen…”
“…impossible to fight…”
“…take a chance…”
We were too busy listening to talk to each other much. Varian and Rosalin sat against the wall at the far end of the entrance hall, his arm around her shoulders. I paced along the same wall, swerving around them every time I passed—which was awkward, but better than walking closer to the thorn branches that now covered the front wall. A few spiny roots had managed to crawl across the room under the rugs; they were discernible only by the curved bumps they made, and by the occasional thorn that pierced the thick wool. As I paced, another thorn pierced the wool, its point gleaming wickedly. The branches on the wall inched closer to us, their thorns packed close together, bristling and sharp.
“We must live free!” someone shouted from inside—it sounded like the kennel boy—and Varian pulled Rosalin closer. I swallowed hard. The people were debating between accepting the fairy’s offer or trying to fight their way out. We hadn’t told them they had a third option: killing my sister. Nobody had even brought up the idea of telling them.
When the ballroom went silent, Varian and Rosalin got to their feet, holding each other’s hands tightly. I went to stand beside them.
Edwin stepped out of the ballroom. He looked at us gravely.
“The people have voted,” he said. “They want to fight.”
That wasn’t entirely accurate. The people didn’t want to fight, so much as they wanted us to fight for them.
And by us, they meant Varian.
The three men of the king’s guard did offer their assistance. But Varian shook his head.
“You are brave and strong and true,” he told them. “But that means nothing to the fairies. The three of us, who have some connection to our fairy guardian, are the ones who must confront her.”
They didn’t argue. In fact, they retreated faster than I had ever seen anyone move before.
“Three of us?” I said once the guards had gone back to the tables. “What about Edwin? Isn’t he coming?”
I didn’t have to explain where we were going. When you decide to accept my offer, the fairy had said, come spin for me. Presumably, we should go to the same place if we were going to reject her offer.
And then—what? Make a new bargain? Take the gold thread and use it to fight the fairy queen on our own?
Neither of those options sounded promising. We were going to have to come up with something different, something smarter. We needed Edwin.
“Edwin’s been very helpful,” Varian said. “But the fairy has never taken notice of him. It’s only by coincidence that he’s been involved.”
“He’s the one who found the sword,” I said. “He’s the one who saved my life. That’s not coincidence. He deserves to come with us.”
“ ‘Deserves’?” Varian shook his head. “It’s not exactly a privilege. Did you notice how relieved the guards were to not be included?”
I glanced into the ballroom. Edwin was sitting at one of the tables, between a page and a serving girl. He seemed very busy putting food on his plate. As I watched, he said something to the stable boy sitting across from him, and the boy laughed.
I never wanted to be part of some grand tale.
A thickness rose in my throat. Varian was right. Of course Edwin wouldn’t want to come.
“I want to ask him,” I said.
Varian shrugged.
I approached the table feeling oddly trepidatious. Considering that we were about to reject a fairy’s offer of protection and face her undoubted wrath, the last thing I should have been worried about was whether Edwin would come along. But I couldn’t help feeling that if he didn’t join us, we didn’t stand a chance.
I came up behind him and saw that he wasn’t gathering food: he was gathering salt bowls and pouring their contents into an empty wine jug.
My heart leapt. I had told him, before the vote, what the gardener said. “You think it will work?”
Edwin gave me a crooked half-smile. “It’s worth a try. Mostly because I can’t think of anything else to try.”
I forced myself to say “You don’t have to come, you know.”
His smile vanished. “You don’t want me to?”
“No! I do want you to. I just—” I stopped. “I just didn’t think you would want to.”
“Want is a strong word.” He shrugged. “But…do you really think I can help?”
“I know you can,” I said.
He took a deep breath. “Then I want to come.” He lifted the jug and stood. “Let’s go.”
The entrance hall was smaller than it had been when we’d left it a few minutes ago. Branches and roots had encroached farther into the castle, not just clinging to the walls but twining through the cracks between the floor’s marble squares.
We hugged the interior wall as we passed through the room, staying out of reach of the branches. But once we reached the entrance to the tower, that was no longer an option. Branches had broken through the windows and coiled their thorny way up the stairs, completely blocking the way. I jumped back as one branch snatched at my ankle.
“Varian?” I said shakily. “I think we need your sword.”
Varian stepped in front of us and began chopping. He struck at the branches with short, savage motions, and they drew back just long enough for us to get through. Varian’s arm moved rhythmically, his breathing coming in swift huffs as he cleared our way and we climbed the stairs. I was so close behind him I kept having to dodge his elbow, and Edwin and Rosalin were pressed just as tightly behind me.
So when Varian stopped short, I rammed into him, slamming my face into his back. I staggered and put a hand out to catch myself, and my palm landed right on a thorn.
I screamed and pulled back,
