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“The man in the cage?”

Her smile faded. “Our Queen will not be very pleased by that, but I am willing to give all of you the benefit of the doubt. Especially you,” she said to me. “Do not try anything. If you do, it will not be your lives you forfeit. It will be the lives of those who were riding toward our east gates.”

I stiffened as disbelief echoed through me. Vonetta and the others wouldn’t have made it to the gates yet. “How?”

“We saw them and expedited their arrival,” she replied, the blades at Delano’s throat and stomach steady. “This morning, to be exact.”

Gods.

“Where are they?” Casteel demanded through gritted teeth.

“They are safe and currently waiting for you all to join them.”

“And we’re supposed to believe you?” Kieran accused.

“She speaks the truth,” came a familiar voice from our right.

My breath caught as I turned, and Casteel tensed as if prepared to launch himself at me. Ian stepped out from the hall, his gaze moving from us to the woman and Delano. He looked...tense, his paler-than-should-be features strained.

“You were told no unnecessary bloodshed,” Ian spoke quietly.

“See?” The woman raised her brows at us. “And I haven’t spilled any. Not even a drop.” Without warning, she released Delano and stepped back, lowering her blades.

Delano spun around, his chest rising and falling as he glared at the young woman. She winked at him.

“She has told you all the truth. Your friends are fine.” Ian’s gaze touched mine. “I can take you to them, and the Queen will meet us there. You may keep your weapons.”

I looked over at Casteel. His jaw flexed as he nodded curtly. “Well, we might as well. We are here to see the Blood Crown.”

And it wasn’t like we had a choice.

Gods, this was why there’d been no guards underneath. It could’ve also been why we’d had no problem entering the city. They already knew we were coming in using a different route, and earlier than expected. We’d lost the upper hand before we even realized it, and we were the ones caught off guard.

The guards waited until we started walking, led by the strange woman. Casteel stuck close to my side as Ian fell into step beside me.

He stared straight ahead as we traveled the windowless hall. “I hope you’re well, sister,” he said, and I looked up at him, staying silent. “And that your travels after we last met went well.”

My gaze sharpened on him, and he glanced briefly at me. I could read nothing from those fathomless eyes or from him, but was he trying to ask about Nyktos’s guards without giving anything away?

“They did,” I lied.

His features eased in the slightest, and I swore it was relief. “Good.”

“You’re in—” I stopped myself from blurting out what I suspected. The woman in front of us looked over her shoulder. “You’re alone? Where is your wife?”

“Lady Claudeya remains in the capital.”

Casteel’s hand brushed mine as we entered the Great Hall. Like the hallway, there was no sunlight. Heavy, deep crimson drapes covered the windows, and a knight was stationed in front of each one. Several small tables of untouched food and drinks were situated between a handful of seats and settees before a raised dais. The chairs were occupied. Vonetta rose, followed by Emil, Lyra, and Hisa. Naill was already standing behind them. None of them looked entirely thrilled, but I could feel relief coming from them and us. Someone else remained seated in one of the chairs, partially blocked by—

Vonetta caught my stare and stepped aside.

Air punched out of my lungs as Tawny rose, a beautiful sight in a simple rose-hued gown with long, fluttering sleeves.

“Poppy?” she whispered, stepping forward as she glanced at Vonetta and Emil. “You’re really—”

“It is my sister,” Ian cut her off, and a look passed between my brother and her, one that might have been of warning, but a knot expanded and tripled in my throat because Tawny wasn’t…

She hadn’t Ascended.

I started toward her, but Casteel caught my hand.

“It’s okay,” Ian stated quietly, and the look Casteel shot him said that he didn’t think much of anything my brother said.

But Emil nodded. “It is.”

Casteel’s jaw worked, but he released my hand, and I rushed forward at the same moment Tawny swept past Emil, her mass of brown and gold curls as wild and beautiful as ever. The moment I reached her, I wrapped my arms around her, and when I felt her warm skin under her dress, I shook. I trembled even harder when she curled her arms around me, holding me as tightly as I held her, and I could feel that she was shaking just as badly—I could also feel her emotions. Bubbly and sugary wonder. Earthy and woodsy relief, and the bitter taste of—

“The Queen isn’t what she seems,” Tawny whispered in my ear as her fear coated the back of my throat. “You need—”