The Mirror King (The Orphan Queen, #2)(7)

If there were any officers here, they weren’t showing themselves. I dropped to the street and moved for the front door; the window I usually entered by wasn’t there anymore.

The front door opened and Melanie strode out.

We stopped and stared at each other for a heartbeat, and then her arms were around my shoulders and she gave a faint, relieved cry. “Saints, Wil!”

“Mel!” I hugged her back, then ushered her into a narrow alley. A dull crack sounded under her boot; we both froze, but the dirt and old papers that concealed the glass also muffled the noise.

We both exhaled.

“What are you doing?” she whispered. “Why are you here?”

“What are you doing here?” I glanced toward the top floor, dark and eerie without the mirrors. “Are they here? Connor and the others?”

“They’re sleeping.” She leaned closer, smelling faintly of fire and something warm and damp. “There are people looking for you. Soldiers. The police. Looking for Princess Wilhelmina. Everywhere I go, I hear your name. Someone said you’re a flasher. What did you do?”

“Nothing. I broke out of the palace. I have to get Connor.”

“Are you a prisoner there?”

There wasn’t really a good answer to that question.

“Why Connor?” she pressed.

“I need to take him back to the palace.” Melanie didn’t know that Connor was like me. No one did.

“Are you afraid that I’m going to tell Patrick?”

My heart gave a painful lurch. “Are you?”

“No,” she breathed, looking hurt. “Saints, no, Wil. I only went with him because you need someone to keep you informed. You know that, right?”

“You couldn’t inform me that he planned on assassinating Crown Prince Tobiah?” Stupid Tobiah, standing out there on the balcony only days after the first assassination attempt. Less than a week after his own father had been killed. Stupid, stupid boy.

At least, if he’d been just Prince Tobiah, I could have blamed ignorance or arrogance, but he was also Black Knife, and for that I could only assign reckless need to do what he viewed as right.

“This is the first time I’ve been able to get away.” Her shoulders slumped. “He suspects why I went with him. There’s no proof, of course, and as far as he knows, we’re still”—she swallowed hard—“together. But he’s kept a close eye on me. The only reason I was able to get out tonight was because we need supplies. We’re leaving tomorrow.”

“To go where?”

“Aecor. Where else?”

Where else indeed? “Why tomorrow?”

“He’s certain the wound Tobiah took will be fatal.”

“It is a mortal wound.” The words scraped my throat. “He won’t survive it.” Not without Connor.

“We’ll be out of the city by dawn. He aims to reach Aecor before the week is up.”

“Where have you been? Where is he hiding out?”

She sighed and glanced toward Greenstone. “Everywhere. The warehouse district, the riverside, neighborhoods you and I would hesitate to venture into. He’s got us moving every hour, and he doesn’t tell us where the next place will be.”

“So where are you meeting him when you go back with supplies?”

“Fisher’s Mouth. That’s actually where I came from. It’s the first time we’ve stayed still since this morning.” Her expression hardened. “You intend to send the police after him?”

“Of course. He assassinated Terrell. He tried to kill Tobiah twice.” I couldn’t say when he’d decided murder was an option, but it had never been one for me.

Her shoulders lowered with acceptance. “I’ll keep him there as long as possible, but he’s so paranoid right now I’m afraid to appear suspicious.”

“I understand. Do what you can.” Cold wind sang through the alley, making me shiver. “Maybe we can put a stop to this before it gets even more out of control.”

She brushed back a strand of hair. “The plan hasn’t changed, Wil. Even without you, Patrick will go to Aecor and rally the people to your name. He’s more determined than ever to retake Aecor by the anniversary of the One-Night War.”

That was only a few months off. “And when people ask why I’m not with him?” I could already hear the answer, even before she spoke it.

“He’ll tell them the Indigo Kingdom is holding you hostage.”

Exactly as I suspected. “Come back with me. Let’s get the others and go to the palace.”

She shook her head. “You need me with him. I can temper him. Pull him back when he goes too far by reminding him that you’re going to be the one ruling Aecor, and whatever he does will reflect on you.”

“Like regicide?”

“Say it again,” she muttered. “I have to go now. He’ll ask questions if I’m gone too long.”

She was my best friend. I’d years ago memorized her face and the way I felt complete when she was nearby, but until recently I’d always known when I’d see her again. We’d never been separated for more than a few days, but now the future gaped with uncertainty.

“Be safe.” I hugged her tight, squeezing until the clock tower chimed midnight and we both pulled away. There was still so much to do. “I love you, Mel.”