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Eroan referred to the time when he’d glamoured my face to look like Kayne – Duncan’s oldest friend, who betrayed us from his poisonous jealousy and hate for the fey. Because of the glamour I was able to initiate an attack on Aldrick in Rinholm. But this was different. There was only one reason she’d ask Eroan to glamour her to look like Althea, and that was to trade places with the real Queen of Cedarfall.

Was this her way of paying penance for acting without us, or simply racing toward end of the game she’d been playing from the very beginning?

I thought of her husband and the child she’d accepted as her own. Pain was a constant in my gut knowing all the things she could leave behind if this went terribly wrong.

I turned and faced Eroan. He was locked in fear, chewing nails all whilst he could hardly look at me. I laid a hand on his shoulder, attempting to offer him comfort when I couldn’t find any for myself. “You did what you thought was right, I cannot blame you for this or harbour any anger toward you. I’m only sorry you were manipulated into her game.”

“So, you didn’t know of this beforehand?” he asked.

“No. I didn’t know of this plan. And it certainly wasn’t given by me.” A violent chill captured my skin, turning it to glass. One wrong move and I would shatter. “But I did know Seraphine was with her, and the fact you didn’t mention the Asp only proved that secrets were brewing beneath the surface. I wouldn’t have asked this of Seraphine. She – she has too much to lose by risking her life so willingly.”

Another reply screamed inside of me. But I swallowed it down, refusing to lay blame on Eroan. He was simply doing what was asked of him. I shouldn’t feel this anger toward him, and yet the emotion was a maelstrom within me.

“Seraphine was adamant this was the only way,” Eroan confirmed. “I admit, the plan was solid. She shared in the desire for minimal bloodshed. A mission – quick in and out. I trusted in her chances because she was confident that all would be well.”

I heard his words, but that didn’t mean I wanted to believe them. “Did they mention any more of their plans?”

I saw the answer in Eroan’s eyes, long before he spoke it aloud. “No. And I didn’t ask further because Gyah told me not to. She made me vow secrecy, on the grounds that she’d tear my insides out if I told a living soul.”

I bristled. “You told me.”

“Because, until now, I thought they wereyourplans, Robin. In fact, they knew you would come. They told me to expect you.”

It clicked, another piece of this puzzle. “Gyah is a woman of her word, which means she knew I’d likely follow. She wanted me to know they were doing this.”

Gyah knew that I’d find out about her plans and chase after them. I’d bet she was banking on us following, for backup. Which meant we needed to leave for Cassial immediately.

“Tell me how to fix this,” Eroan said. “I’m sorry, Robin. If you know of anything I can do to help fix this, I will. Just ask it of me. Anything…”

I felt the rush of blood in every vein and vessel. My ears rang with the echo of my heartbeat, driving me to the brink of madness. Standing here, wasting more time, was making the feeling worse. I had to act – to control the narrative, because this was the only way that we would win.

The realm didn’t need King Robin, it needed a level-headed Robin Icethorn who loved his friends and wanted the potential of a tomorrow.

“Continue with my previous commands,” I said, firm and swiftly. “See that those in Icethorn are protected and a path is made within the boundary for humans. If I can stop Seraphine before she makes this mistake, then we go back to our original plan. We lure the humans north, get them away from Cassial, and then attack… if Duncan has not been successful by then.”

Eroan was silent, staring at me with a creased brow. Then he asked the question I wondered if he’d be brave enough to voice aloud. “But Robin,whydo you need to stop Seraphine? Clearly the Asp knows the price she is to pay. If she is taking this burden off you all, then let her. Sometimes you must understand that not everyone can be saved.”

“No. I refuse to believe that. Seraphine’s life is as important as Althea’s. No one person trumps another, just because of the blood running through their veins.”

It was Eroan’s turn to lay a hand on me. “Seraphine made her intentions clear. A sacrifice she was happy to make if it required it. She knows what she is doing, Robin. Maybe we should allow one life to pass, if it means saving thousands more. Even you said that Cassial, if desperate, will transfer Duwar into Althea. This way, if that is the case, Seraphine will die to secure the Cedarfall name, and save the realms.”

“That’s just it, Eroan.” I stared into his eyes, piercing him entirely with my gaze. “It isn’t just one life. Seraphine has a family. A husband, and a child she has taken as her own. I can’t believe she would do this, I won’t believe it!”

“I didn’t know.” I could see the regret deepen within him, threatening to consume him. It took him a moment to gather himself, and when he blinked away the horror of my truth, he looked at me, brows rising in sudden realisation. “An Asp has no family but the serpents they nest with, everyone knows that.”

I swallowed all my sadness and panic. “I have often said that Seraphine is, and will always be, an Asp. But it would seem that she shed her skin long ago and found something new beneath. I’ve underestimated her, but I alsoneedher to survive this.”

Eroan’s eyes widened, as if remembering something. He reached into his pocket, rummaging around for something. I saw the moment he found what he was searching for as he released a soft ‘ah’, then withdrew a small wooden box. “Seraphine gave me this to pass on to you when you arrived. She said that when you came here, I was to make sure this reached you.”

I took it, fingers shaking, unable to ignore that Seraphine had truly planned for this all along. Duncan must’ve known, because he was the one to give her the command to leave with Gyah.

So many threads where unravelling quicker than I could hold them together.

The box was no bigger than the palm of my hand. The rough edges had been hand-carved, a symbol of a snake etched into its face. Lifting the lid, I peered inside to find a single glass vial.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Seraphine didn’t say.” Eroan visibly shook. “But she made it clear that you would need it.”