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She’s the one who spotted the drachen by the lake and lured Sterling over.

She’s been working against us this whole time…and we had no fucking idea.

A startling memory hits me. When Mother went searching for Leesa after we returned, she told me she found her in my rooms. Since then, I’ve spent every night with Sterling.

What if she had found me alone that night? Or any of the nights since then? What if I had been sitting next to her instead of Blair?

“Take her away.” Sterling’s order breaks me out of my galloping thoughts.

His face is stone, but his eyes betray him. They’re wellsprings of sorrow as guards remove Blair’s body.

A sudden, terrible thought sucker punches me in the gut. Sterling’s suffered from the headaches as well. Does that mean he’s as corrupted as Leesa and is only pretending to be Sterling?

ChapterTwenty-Five

We regroup inside Sterling’s chambers. Agnar closes the door behind us with a click.

Sterling crumples into a chair, his shoulders heaving. When I catch his gaze, I search for any sign of the darkness that now lives behind Leesa’s eyes. Has it already started to wrap its tendrils around him too?

For a heartbeat, I wonder if this is just another mask, a facade to draw me close. But no, I can’t believe that.

I smother my suspicion under layers of hope and trust and move to stand next to him. My hand finds his, and I offer solace with my touch. Fear for my sister, for Sterling, for the kingdom we’re sworn to protect still churns within me.

“You shouldn’t have to comfort me. Not now.” Sterling brushes my hair back. “After what happened to Leesa?—”

“Leesa’s sick, not dead.” Somehow, I manage to keep all my doubts from coming through in my voice. “Blair was your brother in all but blood.”

Agnar strides over, his expression grim.

Bastian accompanies him and flinches at my comment. A gray color tints his typically pale skin. “That…that wasn’t Leesa. Surely there’s a cure for whatever the drachen did to her.”

“There has to be. And we will figure it out and save her. Healer Luci,” I beckon her to join our tight circle, “come over here. This is the healer I spoke to before about Leesa’s symptoms after the drachen attacks. And Sterling’s as well.”

He stiffens under my touch and stares at me with confusion in his eyes. “Me? Why me?”

I quickly recap the headaches, along with his strange, inexplicable behavior and restless sleeping. And how Leesa’s actions tonight proved Luci’s preliminary diagnosis.

“Leesa was deep in hypnosis when the drachen,” my throat tightens around the words, “showed her things. I think it left a piece of itself, maybe. Something that’s been festering.”

Luci nods, clasping her hands in front of her. “It fits with divine possession. I’ll need a priest’s consult. I’m sorry, but I haven’t had the chance yet.”

“Then go. Now.” Sterling’s command brooks no argument.

Luci doesn’t hesitate. She spins on her heel and disappears through the door.

Sterling’s gaze drifts away, his face contorting with fear. “I was enthralled by the drachen too. Twice.” His voice cracks on the confession. “What if?—”

“Try not to worry.” Agnar’s tone is oddly calm. “I was briefly caught in its snare during the first attack, too, but no symptoms here.” He taps his temple with a wry smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

My heart pounds a frantic rhythm. “I don’t know why it’s different for you, Agnar. No headaches lately?”

He shakes his head.

Pulling himself up, Sterling marches over to a shelf, his movements stiff. He grabs a bottle, uncorks it, and pours the amber whiskey into a glass. He downs the contents in one swallow.

“How long until I’m nothing but a puppet?”

In a blur, he rears his hand back and thrusts the glass against the far wall. The vessel shatters, punctuating his question like he’s daring fate to answer.