I jumped. “Cassandra!”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t my idea. I just tagged along.”

“What do you mean tagged along?” My unease deepened.

“Uncle is camped a day’s ride from the capital. With all the men he could gather from the southern forests.” She glanced across at Alexander. “And with a large contingent of troops from Eliam.”

“Eliam?” I frowned. If the southern kingdom had gotten involved, then this was far worse than I’d feared. I followed her gaze to Alexander. “You’re from Eliam, I suppose?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “King George has been in contact with Lord Treestone for some time. This blight is spreading south, and we have no reason to suppose that a border will stop it. If King Leopold lacks either the means or the will to try to contain and defeat it, then we must see someone on the throne who will at least try to act.”

I looked over at Cassandra accusingly, but she raised both hands defensively. “Don’t look at me. Uncle doesn’t want to be king.” She looked out my window and shivered. “Who would want to live up here in the frozen north? But we can’t sit by and see everyone die. Not without at least trying to defeat it. Whatever it is.”

She looked at me hopefully. “I don’t suppose you’ve worked out…”

I shook my head, and she slumped. “Uncle’s still nervous about you. On account of the whole abduction thing. But I knew you would have at least been trying to find out what’s going on. So I thought I’d better slip away and see you before Uncle does anything irreversible.”

I stood up and resumed my earlier pacing, my mind racing, but coming up with no helpful answers.

“We’ve been trying. Believe me, we’ve been trying. But it’s just getting worse. And there hasn’t been so much as a hint of the cause.” I threw my hands up but dropped them again when I caught sight of Cassandra’s face. “What?”

“You said we. Did you just mean you and your people?”

“No,” I rushed over and sat on the sofa beside her. I had to at least try to stop this, for Oliver’s sake. “Oliver—Prince Oliver, the crown prince—has been freed from the curse and is working with me to try to undo it. You must tell your uncle that we are trying. In fact…in fact we have a plan. We leave tomorrow.” It was true—sort of. I just hoped she didn’t ask what our plan was.

“Well…” She leaned back and glanced across at Alexander. “That does change things. Uncle may see things differently if he knows the crown prince is working on the problem.”

“Please tell him. You have to convince him to stop this coup. It won’t help anything. This kingdom is already under attack—it won’t help for it to be divided as well.”

Cassandra looked thoughtful. “I’m fairly certain with this news that I can convince him to wait while you try to work it out. But I can’t promise for how long. And I want a promise from you in return.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What sort of promise?”

“If you and the prince can’t find and defeat this quickly enough, or if you come back unsuccessful, you’ll help us with the coup. You’ll ensure the prince doesn’t interfere.”

I drew in a breath. Could I make such a promise?

“If he tries to stop us, he’s the first one who’ll get hurt.”

“But he’s the rightful heir. If he’s trying to solve this, shouldn’t your uncle be supporting him?”

She winced. “In an ideal world, yes. Of course. But if he’s already tried and been unsuccessful…” She bit her lip. “How drastically is he willing to act? Would he depose his own father? It’s not just my uncle, remember. The Elamese are afraid as well, and there’s always the chance—however remote—that it’s the royal family that’s the problem.” She gave me a look. “It’s happened before.”

Now it was my turn to wince. I didn’t believe the royal family had brought this on their kingdom, but could I blame the southerners for clutching at unlikely solutions? We were doing the same thing, after all. And as for deposing his father and seizing the throne—I couldn’t imagine Oliver agreeing to such a betrayal.

I sighed. She was right, of course. Oliver would get himself killed.

“Done. It’s a deal.” The words were out of my mouth before I had thought them through. I grimaced. I would just have to make sure we found and destroyed whoever was behind this enchantment before it came to any coups.

Cassandra looked pleased, but I drew my brows together as I remembered she was little older than a child. “Can you really guarantee he’ll wait? That he’ll hold to our deal? You’re not exactly here as an official emissary from the sound of it.”

She eyed me with a hint of amusement. “You can say it. I won’t be offended. I’m only a child.”

I shrugged apologetically, but she merely looked across at Alexander. “That’s why I let him come.”

Alexander shook his head and chuckled. “I should have known your protests were all a ruse.” He looked over at me. “But she’s right. I’m not the commander of our troops, but King George asked me to come personally. The commander will listen to me, and Lord Treestone will listen to the commander. We can give you time. For a while, at least.”

I nodded gratefully. For a moment I was distracted by his mention of his king. “If you know King George, do you also know Princess Blanche? Snow, I mean. Has she recovered from the Princess Tourney?”

A guarded look crossed his face, and he sat back. “The princess is well enough, I believe.”

His manner didn’t exactly invite further conversation, but curiosity drove me on. “I heard…I heard that King George wasn’t in the best of health…?”

“His mind remains strong,” said Alexander, iron in his voice.

“Oh. Certainly. I didn’t mean…” I let the thought trail away and abandoned any further attempt to question him about Eliam. I was glad, at least, to hear that the king remained alive. Snow had been terrified he would die while she was away at the Tourney, but he had obviously managed to hold on longer than expected.

I had more questions about the intended coup, but Cassandra and Alexander seemed to feel they had already told me enough. Perhaps, even with our deal, they didn’t entirely trust me. And I couldn’t altogether blame them.

* * *

I paced my room for nearly an hour before I decided to go find Oliver. In the end, I realized that this wasn’t my kingdom, and it wasn’t my secret to keep. If there was a coup coming, I had to warn the prince, at least.

I wandered the hallways for some time after I realized that I didn’t actually know where to find his rooms. Fewer and fewer servants seemed to be in the corridors these days, but I did eventually find one who I managed to rouse enough to get directions. When I reached the right door, I knocked and then walked into his sitting room.

He emerged from his bedroom, a half-full bag in his hands and a questioning expression on his face. When he saw me, his face changed to something I couldn’t read. He looked uneasily at the door I had closed behind me.

“You shouldn’t be in here.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t really think now is the time to worry about proprieties. And weren’t you just in my room an hour ago?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Giselle was there, too.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Not the whole time.”

He flushed and looked away, and I remembered why I had come and let him off the hook.

“Never mind. I have something to tell you. Something important. And you’re not going to like it.”

He frowned and put down his bag, gesturing for me to take a seat. “It’s hard to imagine anything else could have gone wrong at this point.”

I grimaced, and he sucked in a breath, dropping down to sit beside me.

“Just tell me.”

“Lord Treestone has allied himself with Eliam and has an army camped a day’s ride from the capital. They’re planning a coup.”

“What!?” He leaped to his feet and strode angrily around the room. “How could they think of treason at such a time!”

“How could they not?” I asked, my voice soft. “When we’re clutching at straws ourselves. After what happened in Palinar, can you really be surprised they’re at least considering the possibility that your family is to blame?”

“We didn’t turn against our kingdom! We didn’t bring this on Eldon!”

“No, of course not. You must know I believe that. But the Elamese, on the other hand…I think they’re willing to try anything.”

He stopped and looked at me with lowered brows. After a moment his eyes narrowed.

“How do you know this? And what aren’t you telling me?”

I bit my lip. He had learned to read me better than I had anticipated. Reluctantly I told him about Cassandra and Alexander’s visit. “So, they’ve agreed to give us some time.”

His hard gaze didn’t leave mine. “Have they now? And at what cost?”

He was far too sharp. I stood, bringing my height a little closer to his, and took a deep breath. “If we don’t succeed—or if it takes too long—then I’ve agreed that I’ll help them. Specifically that I’ll keep you from interfering.” Just saying the words made me feel like a traitor, although I had no actual loyalty or ties to Eldon.

He sucked in a breath, such a wounded look in his eyes that I felt as if I’d been struck. I closed my eyes for a moment and reminded myself I was doing it for him. Even if he couldn’t see it right now.

“I’d like to see you try!” It was his anger speaking, but it still hurt.

I forced myself to meet his eyes and hoped he could see how sorry I was in mine. “I don’t know why they placed so much trust in me…but you…you, at least, know that I can.” I held up my hands in front of me, and he actually flinched.

I dropped them again, coldness seeping through me for the first time in weeks. How had I gotten myself into this situation?

“There’s still hope,” I said, trying to fill my voice with an optimism I didn’t feel. “We can find Giselle and leave tonight. We can still find a way to defeat this and prevent the coup.”

When he met my eyes again I saw a hopelessness there that hurt more than everything else.

“Do you really believe that, Celine? Do you?”

I tried to think of something I could say that would be both true and encouraging. My mind drew a blank. I licked my lips and looked away.

“See.” His harsh voice barely registered as something else caught my attention. I held up a hand to silence him, my eyes on his already drawn curtains.

“You might as well come out, Giselle. I don’t know why you’re even bothering to hide at this point.” It felt like months had passed since that first time she spied on us. I thought we had moved past that. But there was no one else in the palace with the initiative to bother hiding in the crown prince’s suite.

My breath caught. Unless Cassandra hadn’t really returned to her uncle after all…

I strode forward and violently pulled the curtain back from the small window recess. I wasn’t feeling very generous toward the southern girl in that moment.

But it wasn’t a thirteen-year-old who hid there. I froze, trying to understand what I was seeing. Oliver pushed past me and pulled the man out by his collar, dumping him in front of the fire.

“Who are you? And what are you doing hiding in my room?” He seemed glad to have found another outlet for his anger.

The man cowered back a bit, holding up his hands placatingly. “I didn’t mean any harm. I swear it. I was just working up the courage to speak to Your Highness when I heard the princess approaching. I panicked and hid. A mistake, I realize…but I truly meant no harm.”

He was almost babbling now, but I wasn’t really listening to his words. It sounded like a fairly unlikely story, but was it really any more unlikely than his presence at all? No servant had behaved in anything like such a manner for a long time now.

But none of that was what held my attention. I recognized him. Or rather, I didn’t recognize him. It was the same man I had seen twice before. Once in the palace, and once in the city before we went into the tunnels. The one who I was sure I had seen before. In the excitement of the cave in and then learning to control my powers I had forgotten all about him.

I could see Celeste’s disappointed face chastising me in my mind. Despite all her teaching, I had let the small detail escape me. And his appearance now suggested it wasn’t such a small detail after all.

“Where have I seen you before?” I finally blurted out, cutting him off.

Both he and Oliver stared at me.

“Seen…seen me, Your Highness? Perhaps in the corridors, I work—”

“No.” I cut him off again. “I mean, yes, I did see you in the corridors. But I’ve also seen you before I came to Eldon. I’m sure of it.”

He thought for a moment and then his brow cleared. “Marin, I suppose it must have been. You have an excellent memory for faces, Your Highness, for I’m sure we never spoke.” He gave me a half bow. “I would have remembered if we had.”

I frowned. “So you were there at the Princess Tourney, then?”

He nodded. “I was one of the servants in the Eldonian delegation. But my position is not significant enough to give me opportunity to talk to foreign royalty…”

“Never mind that,” said Oliver. He paused. “What’s your name, by the way?”

“Sterling.” He didn’t specify first or last, and Oliver didn’t bother to inquire.

“What I really want to know is why you’re not…” He waved his arms vaguely.

“A mindless automaton?” I supplied helpfully.

“Yes, that,” he said without looking at me.

I bit my lip and looked at his back. How long did he intend to stay angry with me?

“Oh, right,” said Sterling. “Well, that’s why I decided to come to speak to you, Prince Oliver. I know it’s not my place to approach the crown prince, but I just couldn’t take it anymore. Everyone is acting…” An uncomfortable silence fell.

“Bewitched?” I didn’t know why the two men seemed to have so much trouble spelling out the true situation.

“I did wonder about an enchantment…” Sterling looked thoughtful, and his eyes flicked to me. Did he suspect me or my kingdom of being involved somehow in the enchantment? Was that why he had hesitated to approach us before?

“Of course it’s an enchantment. What else could it be?” Oliver was getting impatient, but I could also hear a barely suppressed note of excitement in his voice. “What we want to know is why it isn’t affecting you.”

I understood how he felt. This was the first hint we had found of someone inside the capital being able to resist the enchantment without my help.

“I don’t really know.” He saw our unimpressed expressions and rushed to continue. “Not for sure, anyway. But I have a guess. I come from an extremely remote mountain village. Not many of us ever even leave the village. But I wanted to see more of the world.”

He glanced at me. “That’s why I asked to be included in the delegation to Marin.”

“How remote?” Oliver sounded skeptical. “The mountains are too treacherous in winter for anyone to live up there permanently.”

Sterling nodded. “That’s what made me wonder…” He looked between us both. “You see our village has a secret. One I’ve been sworn to keep. But in the circumstances…”

“Spit it out, man,” said Oliver.

Sterling wrung his hands together. “You have to understand that our village isn’t like other villages. The people who live there don’t like the city. They want to live away from all the complications of that life, surrounded only by nature. We like to have our own space. It’s the way we’ve been raised. The way of our ancestors.”

“That’s all very well,” said Oliver. “But how?”

“Well, according to the elders, several generations ago, one of my own ancestors came to the aid of a poor orphan girl. A poor, but deserving, girl.”

I could see where this was going. “Let me guess. This oh-so-deserving girl had a godmother?” My mind instantly flew to the blue velvet queen.

Sterling nodded. “The royal family at the time were under some sort of enchantment, apparently, and the godmother gave her a magic object. One that kept her safe from all enchantments. She freed the prince and married him. At her wedding, she asked her godmother as a wedding gift to shift the enchantment on the object just slightly. To make it so that it would protect against snow and ice rather than enchantment. And then the girl gave this object to the ancestor of mine who had helped her. She knew what they wanted, and once they had it, they retreated into the mountains and founded our village.”

He shrugged. “We’ve lived there ever since, safe from the mountain snow. Every now and then a newcomer will arrive, someone driven up the mountain by necessity or desire. But few leave.”

When I gave him a disbelieving look, he shrugged. “Oh, we have a small number who venture out to trade on occasion, and sometimes someone like me wants to leave. But we don’t talk about where we’ve come from, and the traders at least always return. Otherwise we keep to ourselves. “

My mind buzzed between thoughts, going almost too fast for me to pin any of them down. “And you grew up under the constant protection of this object. And now you think that perhaps…”

He shrugged. “It’s only a theory, Your Highness. But this enchantment does seem to be based around snow and ice…even the people…” He stopped and shivered.

“And perhaps some of the original magic on the object lingered,” said Oliver, his eyes alight. “Perhaps it combined with the second enchantment, the one to ward off snow and ice…”

He looked at me, our earlier disagreement forgotten in the excitement of the moment. As one we turned back to Sterling.

“Take us to your village,” Oliver commanded.