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CALLYN

The king has been gone for a week.

In public, the queen is steadfast and kind, issuing orders to have the damaged parts of the palace rebuilt, meeting with soldiers and advisers, making plans to look forward to no magic in Syhl Shallow. No scravers have attacked. None have even been seen . Heralds ride through the city to declare that the king has returned to Emberfall to rule, that magic has departed Syhl Shallow.

In private, I see the queen’s sorrow.

I know she worries about the traitors who are still surely among the army on this side of the border. I’ve heard Verin vow to find out which generals gave the order to abandon their duties and leave the field, but I still don’t quite trust her—especially when days pass and none of the soldiers have admitted to any wrongdoing.

But the queen doesn’t seem pressed to discover who might have been working against her. Maybe she feels as though they were all working against her. I remember the way her advisers were ready to send the king out alone, the way King Grey took her face in his hands and swore to yield for her. The way he made a choice—so she wouldn’t have to.

Some evenings we sit together, watching Nora play games with little Sinna, but her grief is obvious. Her regret is obvious. She loves her husband, but she fears for her people. She fears what his magic would do to her people.

All the while, I think of the magic in my veins.

I think of the magic in hers .

The king’s magic was failing. So was Tycho’s. We both stopped the scravers—me and the queen.

But she doesn’t say a word, so I don’t either.

I begin to think that perhaps our magic will fade, that no one will ever know. That perhaps her sacrifice will work, and any threats will be on the other side of the border.

Just as this hope settles in my chest, Lord Alek appears to meet with the queen. Privately.

I am not asked to join them, and I sit and fret the whole time. I can only imagine what he’s telling her. If my magic is known to the people, will the queen send me to Emberfall, too? Will she lock me away in the dungeon? Will I be hanged for possessing magic? I spend the entire time listening to Nora and Sinna bicker about the prettiest tiles of their game, and the whole time I wait for guards to come drag me off to the stone prison.

But when the queen returns, she looks at my face in surprise. “Callyn, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Is he still here?” I gasp. “Lord Alek?”

“Of course. He said he would like to speak with you.”

“What . . . what did he tell you?”

I have no right to ask, but I can’t help myself. Her eyebrows pinch together. “He simply wished to give me a list of which Houses have reasserted their loyalty. Did you expect something else?”

“No,” I say, shaking my head rapidly. “Nothing.”

“He’s waiting in the salon.”

I pinch myself. I need to get it together.

When I arrive in the salon, he looks the way he always looks—which is to say he’s buttoned into perfect attire, every thread exactly where it should be. His red hair is vibrant in the sunlight streaming through the windows, and when he looks at me, his expression is bored.

That feels like a slap in the face.

“I’ve told the queen that considering the king’s absence, your services to me are no longer required.” His voice is flat. Cold. “I should not have kept you away from your duties with the young princess as long as I did.”

“Oh,” I say, surprised.

But then I don’t know what else to say.

I blink and I remember him above me, and I have to take a slow breath. “I wish you well then, my lord.” My voice almost breaks, startling me, and I have to turn for the door.

“Callyn,” he says.

I put a hand over my chest, because there’s a note in his voice that reminds me of everything he said. It reminds me of that moment in the hallway.

Callyn. Are you well?

It chases back my tears, just a little. I hate how desperately I want to hear that note in his voice again. To know he cares.

I look over my shoulder. “Alek?” I whisper.

“It was real,” he says softly, and for a flicker of time, I see betrayal in his eyes. I see regret. Then it’s smoothed over, and his expression is as cold as ever. “But I know what you did. I know what you are.” His eyes bore into mine. “I know the secrets you’ve kept. As I said, I am merciful and fair, and I don’t want any harm to come to you or your sister. But if magic remains in the palace, it will.”

I swallow. This is worse than a slap. It’s a punch to the gut.

“You don’t know anything,” I snap.

“I do.” He draws close, his blue eyes piercing. “So find a way to leave Syhl Shallow, or I will tell the queen.”

I raise my chin. “What if I tell her myself?”

“She will drive you out the way she drove her husband out.”

“No. She won’t.”

His eyebrows go up. “Are you implying the queen is still harboring magic in the palace, Callyn? That she is lying to her people?”

“No!”

“Don’t you realize that if magic remains,” he says, “those scravers will return?”

My heartbeat stutters in my chest. “The scravers are gone,” I say. “The king’s magic chased them away.”

Alek’s gaze narrows. “I think we both know it was more than the king’s magic that chased them away. Just as it was more than the king’s magic that drew them here.”

“The king is gone,” I say. “The queen is safe.”

“She will be safe,” he says. “You know my loyalty is to the queen. Again, I would not have harm come to you or your sister . . . ?but if you force my hand, I will.”

“What are you telling me, Alek?”

“I am telling you to leave Syhl Shallow.” Again, just for a moment, that flicker of regret and betrayal flashes through his eyes. He blinks and it’s gone. “Leave, or I will rally my supporters, and we will get rid of the magic ourselves.”

With that, he turns his back, and I’m alone.