“We arrived earlier this evening,” Una said. “Our future liaison, however, failed to greet us.”

“Lowry neglected to inform me you were coming.”

“I see,” she said skeptically. “Who’s your friend?” Wren didn’t like the way she said friend. Like a curse, dripping with scorn.

Una guided her in harsh, sudden angles through the crowd, clearing space with the forcefulness of her footwork, the whip of her long hair. While Una was graceful and fierce, she was not a dancer. She was a soldier through and through. They moved to the rhythm of the music, but this was no dance. This was a fight.

“No one you’d know,” Wren said quickly.

“Of course not. Does he have a name?”

“Yes. It’s Henry.”

“Henry what?”

“Henry…” Every single surname she’d ever known slipped through her fingers like water. “Ca … wart … bark?”

“Henry Cwartbark.” Una looked entirely unamused.

“They’re no family of note, the Cwartbarks. Very minor Cernosian nobles,” Wren said quickly. “So when, exactly, does Her Majesty intend to do me the honor of reinstatement?”

“She’s given me no details. Only that she expects you and Lord Lowry to meet with her and come to an agreement on some matter. Although I’ve heard rumors he’s taken ill.” Her eyes narrowed. “How strange.”

This was bad. Whatever Lowry had planned would come to fruition in the queen’s presence tonight. While the chloral hydrate had bought her time, it wouldn’t last all night. But now that she had the key, she didn’t need to prove anything to Una. She could show her.

This nightmare would end here and now.

Wren leaned closer so she could speak softly into Una’s ear. “I’m about to tell you something that may sound mad.”

“And why should I listen to a word you say?”

“Because I’ve solved the case of our missing soldiers.”

Hope softened her features. “Go on.”

Thank the Goddess, she was listening. She was actually listening. If there was anything Wren could count on, it was Una’s ability to set aside her feelings for the sake of her country. “Alistair Lowry is responsible. For months, he’s been targeting mages on border patrols. As soon as he isolates them, he poisons them with goddessblood to kidnap them. I don’t yet know why, but—”

Una let out a pressurized sigh.

Wren fought to keep the hurt out of her voice. “You don’t believe me.”

“Look around you. Lowry is nothing but a fop with an unhealthy obsession with the color black. He’s brokering an alliance with Danu, after centuries of inaction. Why would he target us? Why risk retaliation?”