“Then, will you do something else for me? Will you allow me another kiss?”
I nod. Wilha will get a lifetime with him. But this moment is mine, this is my good-bye.
He tilts his head. And when our lips touch again, I could swear I smell the sea.
The sea.
Where did Wilha say the passageway opened out to? It was the Lonesome Sea, I’m sure of it. Which means . . . my head snaps away from him, leaving Stefan looking confused.
“Is something wrong?” he says. “Did you not like it?”
“No,” I answer. “I mean, yes, I did. But we have been away from the ball for quite a while.” I smile. “Didn’t you just say everyone came here to see me tonight? We don’t want to disappoint them, do we?”
Stefan grins. “One day you will make a wonderful queen.” He stands and pulls me to my feet. Then he crosses the room, opens the door, and holds it expectantly. “Come. Your public awaits you.”
I turn and with one last glance around the room, I whisper, “I’ll come back, I promise.”
But my voice is so low, I doubt Wilha hears.
CHAPTER 55
WILHA
Bile rises to my throat as I watch them kiss. The words I was about to speak, of the danger Elara is in, of the men plotting by Rowan’s Rock, die on my lips. I quickly duck back into the bedroom, thankful that they are too en-grossed in each other to notice me. But the image of them kissing is burned into my mind.
It is as though I have seen a vision of my future.
What is she thinking, to have let Stefan come into her chambers? Is this supposed to be a signal of some sort? A declaration that she is not switching back?
I’m taking what I can and then I’m leaving, I remember her once saying. At the time, I thought she just meant jewelry. I did not realize she was also prepared to take pieces of my own life with her.
“Will you take off your mask for me?” The words are softly spoken, yet I still hear them. Words I have longed to hear all my life, but they are not spoken to me. Elara has done her job well. Too well. Because when the crown prince wakes up tomorrow morning and it is me wearing the mask, and not Elara, will he find me dull in comparison? Will he smile at me, but secretly wonder where the radiant girl he has fallen in love with has gone to?
“Come. Your public awaits you.”
When I am certain they are gone, I creep into the sitting room and kneel by the hearth. The fire is beginning to die out, so I grab the poker, stew the embers, and add some more wood. I remove my costume mask and hold up my palms, trying to warm myself and thaw the chill that is seeping through me.
I inhale, and work at putting aside the dull ache in my chest. Regardless of what I have just seen, Elara still needs to be warned. The Kyrenican troops need to be alerted, all without anyone learning of the existence of another Andewyn princess.
A slight draft caresses my neck.
“Wilha?” comes a voice from behind.
The sudden noise startles me. But when I turn around, relief floods my chest. “Lord Murcendor.” I rise to greet him.
He removes his checkered gold and black mask, and I see that he is paler than usual.
“Wilha?” he says, sounding slightly confused. “But I spoke with—” He stops as realization dawns on his face. “Elara is here, isn’t she? She is posing as the Masked Princess.”
I nod. “We were going to switch back tonight.”
His eyes take in my dirty dress, tangled hair, and damp bodice. My cheeks grow warm when I read his unusual gaze, for he is looking at me in a way he never has before.
I tug at my dress uncomfortably and glance at the bedroom behind him. “You know of the passageway?” I ask, though of course I realize he must. Yet why he used it or has come here at all, I don’t know. But I don’t have time to wonder. “Can you help me, Lord Murcendor? I need to speak to King Ezebo without him knowing who I am. It is urgent.”
“King Ezebo is beneath you,” Lord Murcendor says. “He is unworthy to even stand in your presence.”
“Even so, I must speak with him. Elara could be in danger at this very—”
“All will be made as it should,” he says. “Please, sit down.” He gestures to the chair behind me.
“I can’t. Not until someone alerts King Ezebo.” I am frantic now, wishing I could make him understand. “We have to find him.”
I move for the door, but he reaches out and grabs my arm. “Sit down,” he says with more force.
The image of Lord Murcendor seems to change. It is as though I have been unknowingly staring at him through a kaleidoscope for a long time, and suddenly, the pieces have shifted, forming a new picture. A suspicion is nagging at me, but I refuse to acknowledge it.
Instead I sit down, hoping with all my heart, that I am wrong.
CHAPTER 56
ELARA
We take our time walking back to the great hall. Stefan stops to speak with several Kyrenican nobles. As the night has worn on, the guests seem to have fanned out around the castle. I should be in more of a hurry to get back to my chambers, and back to Wilha, but Stefan’s hand is warm in mine, and I don’t want to pull away. Not yet.
When we reach the great hall, Stefan turns to me and bows. “Dance with me,” he says.
I hesitate. Wilha made me wait for days before she decided to return to the castle. Why shouldn’t I make her wait, just a little longer?
“Princess, may I have a word with you?” Lord Royce appears, and bows to Stefan. “That is, if you do not mind, Your Highness.”
Stefan blows out an irritated breath. “If you must,” he says shortly. To me, he says, “But before this night is over, we will dance.”
I nod, and after Stefan has left I say, “Yes, Lord Royce?” All around us, masked figures spin and whirl, and I wonder if he is also going to ask me to dance.
“Are you quite sure you have no idea of your sister’s whereabouts?” he asks, surprising me. He uses a casual tone of voice. But staring at his expressionless white mask, it feels as though this is some kind of test. We are game players, each holding tightly to our own hand.
So I decide to play an unexpected card.
“In truth, Lord Royce, I know exactly where she is.” She’s upstairs, hiding.
His ice blue eyes search my own. “Where?”
“I told King Ezebo and Lord Quinlan she stole my jewels, but that was a lie.”
“A lie? That does not sound like you, Wilha.” Is that a dare I see in his eyes?
“It was Elara’s idea, of course. But the truth is, I gave her the jewels. She intended to book passage on a ship and sail east over the Lonesome Sea. We both believed it was best for everyone if she simply disappeared.” The moment I speak the words, I decide that after I leave the castle, I’ll head further north, up the Kyrenican coastline.
“That is a pity,” Lord Royce counters. “There were things I could have told her. Things your mother wanted her to know, a message she intended Elara to have.”
Finally, he’s showed his hand. This is a dare, plain and simple: Confess who you really are. He’s not convinced I’m Wilha, so he has set a trap. And my mother is the bait.
This is his mistake. I am not so easily caught.
“If I ever see her again, Lord Royce, I will let you know.” I curtsy and turn my back on him.