Following a round of bewildered inquiries where the word what? dominated, Farilane led the way back into the throne room. She was relieved to see that her grandfather’s body and the remains of Ethan had been covered by sheets. Nothing else had been touched, and she found Sephryn’s metal box on the steps of the dais, right where Mawyndulë had thrown it in disgust. She picked it up and handed it to Kolby. “We’ll need to find a safe place for this.”

“What’s that?” Nyrian asked.

“The horn,” Farilane replied.

“Why give it to him?” Dray asked suspiciously.

“It’s heavy.”

Kolby peered down at it. “This can’t be the horn. The key didn’t fit.”

“That’s because Mawyndulë used the wrong key. This”—Farilane placed a hand on the box—“is a dwarven gemlocked container. Perhaps one of the most secure ever made, and a deceptive one at that.” She pointed to the little keyhole. “See this? Perfect size for a key, but it’s fake. A misdirection that Grandfather reinforced by wearing that key around his neck every day of his life. The question I have, that will now never be answered, is if he knew the key was worthless.”

“How do you know it’s fake?” her brother asked.

“Has to be,” she said, smiling at the box in Kolby’s hands as if it were the perfect partner in a captivating show. “Because that’s not how gemlocks work. They don’t use mechanical gears rotated by the teeth of a key. Should that be the case, we would call them key lock boxes or some such.”

“So the emperor never had the key?” Dray asked.

“Oh, no, he had it,” Farilane said. “I’m certain Sephryn—who I suspect arranged all this—insisted that the two be kept apart and that her son guard the key while she protected the box. At his death, that key was handed down from father to son.”

Farilane moved to the sheeted body of her grandfather. She took a breath, bent down, then daintily lifted the sheet, exposing his left, ring-bejeweled hand. The diamond, she thought, the big one. He was wearing it when he placed his hands on my shoulders. That was the first and last time I ever felt he cared about me. The memory hurt for so many reasons.