The Mirror King (The Orphan Queen, #2)(62)

Chills crawled over my body. I sat back down and whispered, “I don’t know.”

“You need to figure it out, Wilhelmina. What kind of queen will you be? The kind who allows others to murder in her name, or the kind who makes decisions her conscience can agree with? You might have spent the last nine years as a criminal, doing what you thought was necessary for survival, but you aren’t that girl anymore.”

“Aren’t I?” I fought to keep my voice level. “I’m still a criminal. I’m a flasher. I’ve forged dozens of official documents. Being a princess doesn’t cancel the fact that I impersonated a duchess for weeks. I am still that girl.”

The room was silent.

“But maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m not that girl anymore: maybe I’m worse. You don’t know what I am, anymore. You cannot fathom what I’ve endured. Don’t imagine you’ve tamed me.”

Tobiah stood, disgust written on his face. “Here’s what I know. You want your kingdom back. My uncle is less inclined than ever to enter negotiations, and most everyone thinks you should be in prison. I must do something, though I disagree prison is the answer. Your wraith pet could see it as a threat against you. Or you could just call him to you—or turn him against the city.”

He might as well have punched me. “If you think I’d even consider that, you really don’t know me at all.”

“Maybe I don’t. As you’ve reminded me.” He strode toward the door, James at his heels. When he faced me again, his expression was stiff. Resolved. “I’ve arranged for a house in Hawksbill. You will move in tonight, the rest of the Ospreys with you. And in case you think I’m simply allowing my people to be in danger, rather than myself, the house will be guarded at every opening. Doors. Windows. Even fireplaces. Mirrors are being installed on the ceiling of every room. Your wraith boy, if you will not send him away for good, will be confined to a wardrobe with mirrors surrounding it. If he tries to leave—”

“Will we all be confined to the house?” I asked.

“Everything you need will be provided. The tutor you hired will go to the house for lessons and training. When your presence is required here, you will be escorted. You will have no other reason to leave.”

My stomach knotted. “So we will be prisoners.”

“I cannot prevent you from seeing yourself that way.” His expression hardened. “Your wraith killed my fiancée. Not to mention several guards of the Indigo Order.”

“I wonder if others in the Indigo Order will be satisfied with that arrangement.” I cocked my head, as though honestly curious. “I wonder if they’ll see their new assignments as opportunities for revenge.”

“This isn’t the first time you’ve questioned my people’s honor,” Tobiah said, “and I know you struggle with trusting anyone in a position of authority. But I’ll tell you this one more time: you can trust that I trust them.”

“You want to keep me prisoner. Tell me why I should trust you.”

He jammed his fingers through his hair. “I must do something to show I am not complicit, nor do I approve of what was done today, regardless of your instructions—or lack of—to the wraith boy. There was a murder. Further lives were lost in the fight. Your wraith boy cannot understand the consequences of today, but surely you must see that being relocated to a comfortable house in Hawksbill is a punishment offered only to queens.”

I glanced at James, and he shifted closer to Tobiah. “Don’t punish the rest of the Ospreys.”

“They’re already on their way to the house.” He pulled open the door. “Your maid will be up to help you pack the necessities. The black bag isn’t one of them. And when it’s time to move your friend, a box will be provided.”

“I have another idea.”

Tobiah waited.

“You said Prince Colin would leave for Aecor—” After the wedding. After the disaster. “You said Prince Colin wanted to quell Patrick’s rebellion and retake Aecor City.”

“Yes.”

“I will go with him.” I lifted my chin. “You say I’m not your hostage or prisoner. Let me prove it to my people. In the meantime, it will get me out of Skyvale. No one wants me here.”

Muscles around Tobiah’s jaw flexed. “There’s war in Aecor City. You’d be walking straight into danger.”

“If I don’t take that risk, I have no business being queen.”

For the first time since the wedding, he locked eyes with me. But there was no warmth. No worry. Nothing but assessment and barely contained grief. “Fine. But you’ll go without the other Ospreys, and you’ll be closely guarded. You will be under Indigo Kingdom authority, with none of your own. You are still a ward of the Indigo Kingdom and subject to all that entails.”

“I understand.”

When both boys left the room, I began to pack.





TWENTY-TWO


“HOW LONG DO we have to stay here?” Connor asked.

“Until King Tobiah gives you permission to leave.”

By Hawksbill standards, the house was small, but it had plenty of space for us. Several rooms had a private washroom attached, so no one would have to share. The kitchen pantry was fully stocked, and Carl had already declared his intentions to learn to cook. Four small desks had been moved into the library for their sessions with Alana Todd. Mirrors on every wall and ceiling made the house a fortress against the wraith boy, who was locked in a wardrobe, which was tucked into a broom closet.