“And does she have it?” she asked, her voice sounding very far away. “The heart? The unicorn? Sophie?”

“No,” Thorn said, shaking his head quickly. “She’s still looking for a unicorn, but—” He looked at her quizzically. “Why do you think she has Sophie? Is Sophie missing again?”

“Sophie’s fine,” Claire said over the pulsing in her ears. Her heartbeat had returned with a rush.

Queen Estelle hadn’t told him who Sophie was. What Sophie was. That was good. The fewer people who knew, the better.

Still, as she looked at Thorn, a bit of apple mush dripping down his linen shirt, she was confused. “Why are you telling me the queen’s plans now?” she asked. “When we told you the queen was not what the legends said, you didn’t believe us!”

“That’s just it.” His fingernails clinked against the circlet as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I didn’t believe you, so why would other Royalists believe what I’m saying? You are one of the only people who might believe me—and help me.”

“Help?” Claire asked. “Help you do what?”

Thorn lifted his chin. “Stop the queen.”

Old Claire would have believed him. There, in the moonlight of an apple orchard, in his long blue coat, tall boots, whip coiled at his hip and a circlet of gold around his brow, he looked like a prince from a fairy tale. One who knew exactly how to storm the castle and defeat the dragon, or in this case, the queen. But Claire wasn’t that girl anymore. And even though she wished she could trust his words—words that would make everything so much easier—she couldn’t.

At least not yet.

“What about your magic, Thorn?” Claire asked as she slowly uncrossed her legs. If he was really just stalling, trying to give his fellow Royalists time to locate them, she’d be ready. If he uncoiled the rope at his hip, she’d be ready. “Aren’t you afraid if you defeat the queen,” she prodded, “you’ll lose your magic?”

A shadow flitted across his face, and she could see his lips turn down ever so slightly. “Yes,” he admitted. “And so will everyone who got their magic after the queen woke.” His breath caught. “My grand always dreamed of the day Queen Estelle would return, but she wouldn’t have wanted it this way. Not if it costs us our unicorns.” His voice strengthened. “I would rather have no magic than live in a world without the chance of it.”