I knew at once this was the Duke of Seren’s chambers.

The moon was setting, but the last of its silver light streamed in through the open balcony doors. The wind sighed, stirring the curtains. Anna came to a halt, a strange mark on the floor between us. It was wide and dark. Old blood that had dried long ago.

“This is where it happened,” she said to me, meeting my gaze. “Where the Duke of Seren was murdered. Where the curse was cast. His sister always believed she was the true heir, not him. And when she hatched a plan to be rid of her brother, six other court members readily joined her, never dreaming of what their ruthlessness would inspire.”

The golden jewel gleamed at her chest. I let out a long breath, the dagger slick in my hand.

“Why have you brought me here?” I asked.

“Because you need to see it,” she replied. “You need to stand on the same ground where the crime was committed.”

“Did my uncle kill the duke?”

She chose not to answer. I could hardly discern her face—the face I had drawn for myself months ago.

“They say the duke was a cruel man,” I said.

“Does that excuse the court of the murder they plotted? Lady Raven may have first spoken the idea aloud, but it lived in the other six hearts.”

I was quiet.

“Go on,” she taunted me when my hesitation continued. “Strike me and bring about the end.”

“You act as if you’re not a part of me,” I said. My hands shook, much to my dismay.

She smiled. “Of course I’m a part of you.”

Knox Birch’s nightmare suddenly came to mind. He had wanted to claim the throne of Seren, and he had cut down his wife and daughters to do it. He had sliced through his own heart and had not even realized it until afterward, when the blood stained the ground, when he had obtained his desire at an unthinkable cost.

But there is no other way, I thought. The dream had to be vanquished so the throne could be claimed and the curse broken. I wondered if the greed shone in my eyes like a film as I prepared to pierce Anna’s heart. I wondered if one had to become a monster in order to end the curse.

I took a step closer. One moment, it was just her and me. The next, a rough hand yanked me backward. I collided with someone’s broad chest, the point of a dagger prodding my side, just beneath my ribs. A little more pressure, and it would pierce me.