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P alladia reached forward and took Hellebore’s hands. “I’m so sorry you were caught up in all of this. I’m so sorry it took us so long to rescue you. I can only imagine what he’s done to you these last six months.”

Wait…

“Done to me? Aunt, he’s done nothing to me, I assure you—”

“Hels, he has lied to you, used you, and manipulated you all so you cannot see him for the monster he is.” Palladia shook her head, not letting go of her hands.

Hellebore fell silent. Maybe she was right.

Hellebore needed to know the truth. She couldn’t pretend it didn’t matter anymore.

“You are not the first princess and alchemist he tried to capture and bind in matrimony.”

Now that—Of all the things she could have imagined, that was not it.

“Shortly after the old king of the Sun Elves died, so did my father, making your father king. That was when our kingdoms convened to reevaluate the terms of our truce as was standard. King Taiyo and his sister arrived, no desire for true peace in their hearts. All they wanted was to get revenge for a centuries- old grudge by taking a princess and alchemist and subjugating her to the humiliation of being married to an elf. I was just about to take my position as the King’s Alchemist but hadn’t officially received the position when the idea was put forward. A marriage alliance. Your father’s reasoning was that it would make us truly allies and finally put to rest all the bad blood between us. He really just wanted to get rid of me. But I wasn’t about to let either of them get away with it. I wouldn’t let the elf king trap me and force me to be his bride.”

Emerson eyed Palladia for a moment before whispering to Callahan, “Wait, seriously? She was engaged to the elf Hels is married to? Um, ew.”

Hellebore was more focused on her aunt’s story than Emerson’s commentary. “What did you do to break the engagement without sending us to war?”

“I made it clear to him that I was not some little human he could toy with. He did not respond well. Thankfully, I was much cleverer than him, and the leverage I secured was what I bargained with in order to break the engagement. I escaped Auror and while your father was displeased, I refused to let him sell me off to that monster. By that point, there was nothing your father could do about it. The elf king had no interest in a wife that wouldn’t let him run roughshod over her. I did what I had to in order to protect myself, but I thought that was the end of it. I never imagined he’d try again with you. Or that he would succeed.”

Hellebore took a deep breath. She couldn’t cry again in front of her aunt. Once was already unacceptable. Twice?

“You… You make him sound like some kind of evil, scheming mastermind,” Hellebore whispered.

“I trusted her. I shouldn’t have.”

“She looked at us the way you look at your plants.”

“You have proof before you twice over that he is. Hels, he is very good at putting on an act. I’m grateful I never once fell for it, but I don’t hold it against you for letting him get to you.”

Who did she believe? Taiyo, who’d been lying to her for months and preventing her brother from reaching her, or her aunt, who had been diligently trying to rescue her since the second Taiyo had slung her over his shoulder?

It should be an easy choice. There was clearly a right answer.

But…

“Aunt, twenty-five years ago, he was basically sixteen and you were thirty.”

Callahan’s side of the story had been completely honest. She had no doubt about its veracity. Her aunt, however… wasn’t telling her everything.

Callahan’s eyes widened and Emerson muttered, “Oh, that’s worse.”

Palladia raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t change his nature.”

Her aunt couldn’t even at least be a little remorseful at taking advantage of his trust?

Hellebore had been so blind.

“Oh, yes, I’m sure he was thrilled to be engaged to a woman who was twice his age in development and maturity and that he had orchestrated all of it to get revenge for something that happened centuries ago rather than facilitate peace!” Hellebore ripped herself out of Callahan’s grip. “Oh yes, I’m quite certain he was manipulating you when he showed you the secret entrance to a sacred garden of Sunrise Irises, trusting you with that only for you to curse it and his kingdom with a rot that has lasted twenty-five years!”

Hellebore should have seen it sooner. She should have figured out ages ago who had been behind it. It’d been painfully obvious, if only she had been willing to even consider it. She’d assumed it was the Moon Elves, and he’d never corrected her.

If he had, would she have taken Palladia’s side?

“You’re just repeating the lies he told you to win your sympathy. I know you’re confused—”

“He didn’t tell me anything about this. He never told me what you did, probably because he feared I wouldn’t believe him. But it’s the only thing that makes sense. You were the one manipulating him.” Hellebore pushed herself to her feet, and the three around her quickly rose as well, blocking her in. She glared at her aunt. “You’re trying to make me believe he’s the villain when it’s been you all along.”

Callahan grabbed her shoulder. “Hels, you didn’t see him when he came to the capital, trying to do again exactly what Aunt Palladia describes he did twenty-five years ago. Did you already forget what I just told you? If he was innocent, why wouldn’t he tell you the truth? Why would he run out after discovering you weren’t at the academy and kidnap you and force you to marry him? Why would he refuse to let me even enter the city the day of the wedding? Why would he stop all of my letters from reaching you?”

“But how can I be certain I can believe you ?”

Callahan shifted back, heartbreak filling his eyes. “Why would I lie? Do you really think I would ever abandon my little sister to a monster? Do you really think I would have chosen Emerson to be my alchemist over you?”

Everything Callahan was saying was what she wanted to believe, and why would he lie? Why would Taiyo do that to her?

He claimed to love her…

Had he just been manipulating her? Trying to get her to fall in love with him by pretending to be in love with her?

She looked over at her aunt. “Did you poison the irises or not?”

Palladia lifted her chin. “I did what I had to in order to protect myself. The elf is the one who brought it on himself.”

“If I hurt you, would you forgive me? Or would you let me die?”

Hellebore looked up at the moon, traveling through the sky.

She didn’t know. She didn’t know who to believe. But she did know one thing—if Taiyo was dead by the end of the week, she’d never have the chance to find out.

“Take me back,” Hellebore whispered.

No one responded; they just stared at her.

“Take me back to my husband.”

Callahan let go, stepping back while Emerson shifted his weight from foot to foot. Palladia crossed her arms.

“Fine. I guess we’re doing this the hard way. Emerson.”

Emerson grabbed Hellebore and she gasped. “No! Emerson—No! Please—”

But his grip was too strong, and before she could stop him, another syringe was in her neck. The sedative.

She tried to push him off her, but it was already taking effect. There was no fighting it.

The next time Hellebore woke up it was morning, and her hands were tied behind her back as she was lying in the wagon as they loaded it up.

Callahan sat next to her in the back while Emerson drove the wagon and Palladia rode ahead.

Hellebore blinked her eyes open at her brother, who was staring at his hands. The same expression on his face as when he’d been caught by their tutors cheating on his assignments. Guilt.

He noticed her shifting, glanced over, and his expression soured further at the sight. She muttered, “Let me guess, Emerson ran out of the paralytic he transmuted into my blood four months ago?”

“Sorry about that,” Callahan whispered.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was you coming for me?” Hellebore tried to sit up. “I thought it was a trap.”

“It needed to look like one so the Sun Elves blamed the Moon Elves; that way we could hide you away,” Callahan muttered. “The masks were designed so if anyone came across us, they wouldn’t be able to tell we were speaking Chymesian. We just needed to grab you and get you out and then we were going to explain. Clearly necessary since you’ve been brainwashed and won’t come willingly.”

“You believe our aunt over me?” Hellebore whispered. “I am telling you, Taiyo trusted her and she betrayed him. She’s started the rot that’s been hurting his kingdom for twenty-five years, and it’s killing him. She’s lucky her actions didn’t start a war. That’s why he did all of this. He needed an alchemist to clean up Palladia’s mess.”

“I don’t care what happened twenty-five years ago, Hels. I care about you. I care about the things he’s done to you, isolating you, manipulating you, using you as some sick, twisted revenge on our aunt. I’ve been beside myself with worry about what he’s been doing to you these past six months.”

“Cal, he needs me. I won’t defend him keeping you away and hiding your letters, but I won’t condemn him to death for it. If you don’t take me back, I’ll never get answers. He’ll never have the chance to explain himself. Right now, he needs me. You’ve got to let me go.”

“Why do you care if he needs you? Why do you want to go back and hear anything that monster has to say?”

Hellebore didn’t like why.

The sun was rising in the sky as they set off. Before Hellebore could come up with an answer that made any sense to her or her brother, something shifted in the trees. Palladia whipped around, reaching into her belt, but before she could, a horse came tearing through the brush. Hellebore gasped.

“Taiyo.”