A flicker of concern passed across Aurelius’s face. He hesitated a moment too long, confirming my suspicion that they were working together. Gianne, however, missed the expression, her focus fixed on Jareth. Evidently realizing that she’d notice if he stayed frozen to the spot, Aurelius moved forward, removing two slender bracelets from a soldier’s holster and clapping them on Jareth’s wrists. A spark jolted between the metal bands as a magnetic pull drew his hands together, a sliver of blue light running up his arms, completing the circuit across his neck. I didn’t want to see what would happen if he tried to break free.

“Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this? I am no traitor! What act of treason have I committed?” Jareth pleaded. “I will take you to the lab. I will show you anything you wish to see. Let me prove my loyalty!”

“You told me, to my face, that you had nothing to hide. Yet you hid this creature from me, intending to use it to lure your son back,” she spat. “Did you not think that was something I should be aware of, as it is I who holds the power to pardon him? There is something amiss here, and I do not like the bitter taste it’s leaving in my mouth. I must surround myself with those who are loyal without exception—those who do not lie, and those who do not deceive.”

“Please, Your Majesty. Can you not show forgiveness for this small indiscretion? I hid her for your sake. I didn’t wish to bother you in times of great stress.”

Gianne was having none of it. “Even if I could forgive your lie, I cannot forgive the knowledge that you have been experimenting with the elixir here, away from the palace. Why would you do that unless you wanted to discover something by yourself, where word could not reach me?”

“I did not work on the elixir here, Your Majesty. My lab was here long before I began work on it—it is a relic, as I said.”

“We shall soon find out if that is the truth,” she retorted. “I will be sending researchers to deconstruct your lab. If there is anything amiss, we will discover it.”

Jareth hung his head in despair. “What do you plan to do with me, Your Majesty?”

“You will be thrown in prison, for the time being,” she replied. “Later, if anything is found in your lab that I do not like the sound of, you will be executed. I will make an example of you.”

He nodded. “As you wish, Your Majesty. You will find me to be innocent.”

She ignored his remark as she turned to Aurelius. “Nobody is to know that Jareth Idrax has been arrested. Do I make myself clear? I do not want any gossip leaking out. If my queendom discovers that my greatest, most-valued advisor has betrayed me, the people will begin to doubt me. There can be no cracks in my rule, do you understand? It makes me look weak and disordered. I will not have that image projected to my subjects, not when I am so close to succeeding.”

Aurelius gave a low, awkward bow. “Of course, Your Majesty. I will ensure these soldiers understand what is at stake, too. No word of this will leave this room.”

“Good. Now, take him away!” The queen glowered at her former advisor, hatred bubbling behind her strange eyes.

The soldiers were just about to drag Jareth out of the room when he put down his heels, slowing the progress of his exit. With his mouth set in a grim line, he leveled his gaze at the queen. “You should be careful when you set foot in my lab, Your Majesty. There are some highly flammable liquids in there. If you push one wrong button, or pull one wrong lever, you might end up setting the whole house on fire.”

She snorted. “Believe me, I will not be setting foot in that place! Now, get out of my sight.”

As the soldiers took him away, he cast a conspiratorial glance in my direction. An image popped into my head—a strange lever, beneath the trapdoor to Jareth’s lab. It had stuck out to me the first time Ronad and I had explored the underground tunnels. But was I understanding him correctly? Did he really want me to destroy his lab and burn down his home, just to hide whatever evidence his lab held? It was gutsy, I had to give him that, not to mention ridiculously smart. If he razed everything to the ground, stopping Gianne from gaining access to whatever secrets he was hiding inside, she’d have to keep him alive just to preserve those secrets. He’d be the only one who knew them.

As much as I hated the idea of doing anything that might let Jareth off the hook, especially given his ties to Aurelius, it made sense to burn the evidence. If we didn’t, there was every chance that Gianne might change her mind and go after the rest of the Idrax family too. I wasn’t sure she would, but I wasn’t willing to take that risk, either.

“Do you truly promise that you’ll pardon Navan if he comes back, Your Majesty, even though you’ve arrested his father for treason?” I asked. I wanted to gauge her reaction before I did anything to help Jareth.

She smiled, that same troubling glint in her eyes. “I never forget a promise, creature, and I think you’ve said and done quite enough for one day,” she said. “When Navan returns here, I want you to pass on a message to him. Tell him he must come to see me at the palace so that he may receive the honor of my official blessing toward the marriage between him and Ser… Ser-whatever.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“The moment he arrives. Does your tiny mind understand that?”

I smiled sweetly. “It does, Your Majesty. Do you want me to stay here to keep an eye out for him?”

“Where else would you be?” She looked down at me as though I were something she’d just stood in. “I don’t want you running around the palace, sullying my things with your foreign hands. You stay here, and you wait for Navan. It’s not that hard, is it?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“I will leave word with that trustworthy son to ensure you remain here. He can guard you all, see that you don’t get up to anything. I will give him the same message I have given you in case you forget. I don’t know how your brain works.” She sneered, breezing past me and heading out the door.

I followed her into the hallway, stepping over the still-collapsed figure of Ronad, who’d undoubtedly heard every word. I figured I’d come back for him later as I trailed the queen to where Kaido and Sarrask were waiting, on the landing by the staircase. Sarrask looked anxious, while Kaido seemed surprisingly unperturbed. I wondered how much he understood of what was going on.

“Your Majesty, have you arrested my father?” Sarrask asked, dipping into a low bow.

She smiled, brushing her forefinger against his cheek. “I have, and I must thank you for bringing his traitorous behavior to my attention. Had it not been for you, I would not have known he had a private lab here, where he could progress with the elixir at his leisure. Nor would I have thought to pay a surprise visit. It really was an excellent idea. He is hiding something, and my research team will find it.”

I stared at Sarrask in shock. True, I didn’t know him all that well, but he was the last person I’d expected to betray his father. I couldn’t believe what he’d done. Did he know the risks he’d taken, the lives he’d put in danger?

The queen turned to Kaido. “You must be the weird one—the one who offered to draw maps for my men?”

He met her gaze, unfazed by her status. “Yes, Your Majesty. I didn’t end up drawing the maps, because I didn’t know if you had my father’s permission, but then Sarrask assured me that he would take care of it instead. I am sorry if that has caused any inconvenience, but I’m sure it will be quicker if Sarrask just shows your soldiers the way.”

“Yes, I’m sure it will,” the queen replied, turning back to Sarrask. “Where were you, anyway?”

“I’d just gone out for a moment, Your Majesty, when you and your men arrived. My apologies.”

She flicked her wrist in dismissal. “Never mind. I ended up at the conclusion I desired, and you are to thank for bringing me here. Tonight, I shall rest easier, knowing I have one less traitor on the loose.” She sighed. “In the meantime, I have employed the services of this wretched creature, to pass on a message to your returning brother, whenever he chooses to arrive. We shall welcome him back with open arms, but I wish to see him first. As long as this creature remains in this house, I expect you to keep an eye on her—that aberration in the bedroom, too. Neither of them can be trusted. You will guard them and see to it that the task is completed, yes?”

Sarrask bowed again. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I will return. Until then, I put this house in your care,” she added, before sweeping down the stairs and out of the mansion, where a sleek vessel was waiting for her. I caught sight of Aurelius peering out of the hatch, his expression anxious. Things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated for all of us, and, by the sound of it, it was all Sarrask’s fault.

I turned on him the moment the front door closed. “What the hell were you thinking, Sarrask?!”

His face fell. “I tried to give her what she wanted. She asked me to investigate the house and see what I could find out about the elixir, so I did… but I couldn’t find anything useful, and she was threatening me!”

“If you told her to come here, you must’ve known Ronad and I would get caught!” I jabbed a finger at him. “I can’t believe you’d betray us like this. Not just us, but Navan, your mother, your father!”

“I had to find another way to appease her!” Sarrask shot back. “I had to tell her about the lab, that he’d been working on things here, away from the palace.”

“Why?” I hissed.

“She offered me a position as Royal Head of Geological Explorations, all right? I have a nothing job at the geology center, and they were taking away my funding,” he explained solemnly. “I went to her to try and win her favor. I only wanted some more credits for my investigations, but she offered me a proper role, one in which I’d hold sway over where explorations went, and what they should bring back. I would’ve been in charge of an entire fleet of vessels, sending them wherever I wanted.”

Even as he spoke, I could tell the novelty had lost its sheen. Like Jareth, he was vying for higher status in the queen’s inner circle, but he seemed torn between wanting what people told him he should want and what he actually wanted for himself. I imagined Gianne’s offer had been a mixture of the two, and now he was doubting what he’d risked for it.

“There is no such position in the royal court, Sarrask. If you had come to me, I would have told you that,” Kaido said suddenly, looking puzzled.

“What?” A look of pure devastation rippled across Sarrask’s face.

“I do not understand why, but it would appear Queen Gianne made the title up,” he said bluntly. “There has never been a role with that name, and I do not recall reading of any newly introduced positions. Indeed, they are cutting back on exploratory branches at the moment, utilizing the fleet for military purposes instead of exploratory.”

“You made the wrong choice, Sarrask.” I sighed, feeling a little bit sorry for him. He’d clearly been duped. “Now, you’re going to make up for it.”

He looked crestfallen. “What do you mean? I can’t change anything. Gianne already took my father away. You saw her. When the researchers come back and ransack his lab, they’ll find something, and they’ll… kill him.” Sarrask choked on his words, his gaze dropping to the floor.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way—and I have a way,” I said. “First, we need to scour this place and find anything useful. That includes searching the lab. Then, we make sure everyone is out safely, before I implode the whole damn thing!”

“How do you plan to do that?” Kaido asked, with genuine interest. “Did you bring explosives with you?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t have to. There’s a lever underneath the trapdoor that leads to the lab from the underground tunnels. If I pull that, I’m pretty sure everything goes kaboom.”

Sarrask nodded eagerly. “The one time I managed to get into the lab, I saw weird blocks and wires set up at various intervals around the place. I’m guessing those are rigged explosives,” he said. “I didn’t get to take another look, because Father kept locking the door after that.”

“You really didn’t find anything to give the queen?” I pressed.

“Not a thing. All his notebooks were locked in the cabinets, and I didn’t want to break in, in case he noticed.”

“You could have picked the locks and then relocked them when you were done. It is a fairly simple procedure. All you need is a piece of wire and an electrical charge,” Kaido suggested.

Sarrask glared at him. “Not helpful, Crabweed.”

“You are the one who couldn’t open a simple lock.” I could have sworn a tiny smirk lifted the corners of Kaido’s mouth. If he’d made it any more obvious, Sarrask would’ve lunged for him.

“So you didn’t find anything?” I repeated, distracting the brothers from an imminent brawl.

Again, Sarrask shook his head. “Nothing of value. Well, nothing that wasn’t shut away.”

I thought about mentioning the silver box device that Jareth had been using to contact Aurelius, to forge their plans for a coup, but I held my tongue. I doubted we’d find it again, and there probably wasn’t anything on it anymore. Besides, after what I’d seen today, I had no way of knowing how far I could trust Sarrask. His duty toward his queendom was overwhelming, and I couldn’t be sure he’d ever break free of its grasp. Until I could be convinced otherwise, I was going to keep things from him—things he might feed back to someone like Gianne.

Ronad padded down the hallway, rubbing the back of his neck. He’d wiped most of the blood away from his nose, but the bruises had deepened, forming a pattern of purplish camo across his face. He grimaced as he pressed the side of his jaw, evidently in some pain.

“What’re we talking about?” he asked.

“Blowing stuff up,” I replied. His eyes widened. “Jareth mentioned a lever as the soldiers were dragging him out. I know the one he means. It’s connected to a ton of rigged explosives, and we’re going to trigger them, to bring this whole place crashing down. No more evidence, no more secrets, nothing that Gianne can use against any of us.”

Ronad looked shaken. “Are you serious?”

“Very.”

“No way… We can’t just burn everything to the ground. Most of my life is in this place!” He shook his head, his voice cracking. “If we blow it up, we’re not just taking away Jareth’s lab evidence. We’re taking away our history. We’re taking away every game we ever played in these halls, and every story we ever told, and every prank we did. We’re destroying the way Naya and I began and the memories we shared. Her ghost goes with the house, if we burn it all down.”

I smiled sadly. “I know it’ll be hard, but we have to do this. If we leave anything, we give Gianne a way to punish this family. That doesn’t just mean the brothers you don’t like and the father you can’t forgive. That means Navan, Bashrik, Lorela—all of them.”

“What if I forget to pick up something of Naya’s? What if I leave something behind? I’ll never be able to get it back again,” he murmured.

I rested a hand on his arm. “You’ve got time, Ronad. Go to her old room, go to the places where Jareth put all of her things, and sift through it all until you have everything you need.”

“Many of her belongings are still in the cupboards. I did not need the space, so I did not move much,” Kaido chipped in. “I will need to gather my own things, but I would be happy to give you a few moments on your own, if that is what you want. I do not like watching sentimental behavior. It makes me uncomfortable.”

I smiled, shaking my head in amused despair. He’d almost managed to say something with real feeling. Regardless, it was as close to an emotional gesture as Kaido could manage, and Ronad seemed to respond in kind.

He patted Kaido on the shoulder. “Thank you.”

“You should probably take this, too,” Sarrask interjected, removing the bracelet from his wrist and handing it to Ronad. “She would’ve wanted you to have it.”

Ronad pulled Sarrask into an awkward hug. “Thank you. You’ve got no idea what this means to me.”

“Yeah, I think sentimental behavior makes me a bit uncomfortable, too,” Sarrask joked, though he hugged Ronad back.

A moment later, they broke apart, with Ronad heading off on his emotional excursion to Naya’s old room to retrieve anything he might want to save from impending doom. Kaido sprinted off toward his lab to save his supplies and experimental data, leaving me and Sarrask alone together. I wondered how many of the bioluminescent plants Kaido would be able to save; the thought of him having to give them up made me feel kind of sad.

“Come on, then. Let’s see what we can find,” I suggested, shrugging off my gloom. “We’ve got a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it.”

I led the way, with Sarrask following me as we headed down the hallway toward the basement. It was weird to think that this was the last time I’d be doing this, even though I’d only been in the Idrax house for a few weeks. I could only imagine how the others were feeling, considering they’d spent most of their lives here. I tried to picture what it would be like to watch Jean and Roger’s house burn to the ground, with every memory going with it. It was too sad to even contemplate.

Forcing all those thoughts away, I focused on the mission at hand. Gianne had backed us into a corner, and now we had no choice but to blow this place sky high.