Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns, #4)(70)

‘I’ve dealt with dead queens before,’ Arsinoe mutters. ‘Believe me, they’re even more dangerous than live ones.’

‘This is a fine Black Council you have assembled,’ Pietyr says after watching their silence. ‘An oracle, a warrior, and an exiled queen, all in service to a legion-cursed naturalist.’ He looks to each in turn, and even Arsinoe shivers beneath the weight of his ice-blue eyes. ‘But you are still missing something.’ They raise their eyes, and he grins. ‘A poisoner.’

Arsinoe’s mouth drops open. ‘What? You?’

‘I would make the perfect addition. Katharine would tell you I am an excellent adviser. She would have made me the head one day.’

‘If she hadn’t nearly killed you.’

‘Is that why you’ve given us this information so freely?’ asks Jules. ‘Because you hope to trade it for a position within the rebellion?’

‘No,’ he says, and looks at her squarely. ‘I am telling you because I do not want to go back.’

Jules looks down, watching Camden’s thoughtful, twitching tail.

‘Don’t worry, then. We have no immediate plans to send you back.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Arsinoe tugs her sleeve. ‘We have to trade him. For Billy!’

Before Jules can respond, a hawk descends sharply through the tree canopy. It dives to Jules with a piercing cry, spooking the horses and Pietyr Renard. Jules winces as it lands on her bad side, putting weight on her bad leg. She quickly reads the message it carries, and her face goes pale.

‘What?’ Arsinoe asks. ‘What is it?’

‘Bastian City has been attacked. The queensguard has marched upon them.’

Emilia leaps onto her horse’s back.

‘Wait!’ Jules takes the reins of Mathilde’s mount from her and jumps into the saddle. ‘I’m coming with you. We’ll need supplies.’

‘We will get them along the way,’ Emilia growls, and before Arsinoe can say another word, she and Jules put heels to their mounts and race out of the clearing with Camden running behind.





THE VOLROY




Bree and Elizabeth sit with her as Mirabella writes her letter to Arsinoe. Normally, she would be glad of their company. But today she craves quiet. She must get her words just right. And the way Bree and Elizabeth watch her . . . it has begun to make her uncomfortable.

‘Stop staring at my belly, Bree. There are no triplets in there yet. Perhaps not ever.’

Bree smiles guiltily, and Elizabeth blushes from chin to eyebrows. But they still both look like they want to come and press their hands against her stomach.

It was not Mirabella who told them this secret plan. It was Katharine. Perhaps to further sway Mirabella’s decision. To show her she would not be alone. Or perhaps without the dead queens to put their hands over her mouth, Katharine was simply a girl who was eager to confide in her newfound friends.

‘Forgive us,’ Bree says after a moment. ‘It is just that we are excited.’

‘It may never happen. The Goddess may never choose to send the triplets to me, a queen who is not crowned. Besides, it could be twenty years before we know or begin to doubt. Twenty years is a long time to foster excitement.’

‘She will send them,’ says Elizabeth. ‘She must. And then the Goddess will have what she has always wanted anyway: triplets from her favorite.’

Mirabella’s mouth twists wryly and goes back to writing. ‘And the Goddess always gets what she wants,’ she murmurs.

‘Queen Katharine has been in a good mood of late,’ Bree says, peering over Mirabella’s shoulder at the letter. ‘But I still cannot believe she agreed to an alliance with Arsinoe.’

‘She agreed, because she trusts me. And because she knows that I can bring them together.’

‘But can you be so sure?’ Elizabeth asks. ‘There is so much hatred between them.’

‘No more than there was between Katharine and me when I first arrived.’ Mirabella sees them look at each other; they are not so sure. ‘Katharine knows that we need Arsinoe. We need her low magic.’

Elizabeth’s face constricts. The priestess does not approve, and Mirabella wishes she could tell her everything, about the dead queens and what Arsinoe can do. But those secrets are not hers to tell.

‘I will understand, Elizabeth, if you do not wish to send Pepper with this letter.’

Across the room, stuck to the rough stone of the fireplace, the woodpecker cocks his small tufted head. Then he flies to Mirabella and sits on her shoulder.

‘Pepper is always happy to serve his queen.’ Elizabeth smiles. ‘Though he would appreciate an extra worm and seed cake upon his return.’

‘A worm and seed cake. I will see what I can do.’ Mirabella reads through what she has written. Then she reads it again. She does not know why she is so afraid to send it. With a deep breath, she rolls it up and seals it, and little Pepper sticks out his leg to receive the message.

‘Fly fast, you good bird,’ she whispers, and the woodpecker flits to Elizabeth and then out Mirabella’s open window, on his way to Sunpool.





SUNPOOL




Arsinoe is in the apothecary, restocking shelves, when Pietyr Renard finds her.