Aurora’s advisor had seemed harmless enough to Maleficent: a scurrying scribe, an old man who wished to return to the glories of King Stefan as uselessly and impossibly as he might wish to return to the glories of his own youth. He had seemed a nuisance, nothing more.

How annoying to be wrong.

“Your surprise gratifies me,” Lord Ortolan told her, “as so little does these days.”

“Just what do you think you are doing, locking me in a cage?” Maleficent asked. “Do you hope to keep Aurora from my wicked influence? She won’t thank you for it. In fact, I rather think she will make the little you have left of your life a misery—if I don’t manage it first.”

“Care to make a small wager?” Lord Ortolan said. “Because I’d put the odds on my having more time left to me than you or the prince.”

“Just what do you mean by that?” Phillip demanded.

“With both of you conveniently removed from the palace, little Aurora will marry Count Alain. And when he’s king, there will be no more ridiculousness. He will return to war with the Moors. His iron will once again be in high demand, and the world will go on as it ought.”

“Iron mines,” said Phillip. “That’s right. Alain has that land full of iron. No wonder he doesn’t want peace.”

“But what do you want, counselor? What will you be given for delivering us into his hands?” Maleficent asked.

Lord Ortolan snorted. “You are mistaken. This is my plan—and he, my pawn. It might have been any of the noble families who worked hand in glove with me in the time of King Stefan and Queen Leila. What I intend is to do as I have always done and have a hand in trade and taxes and tariffs. And when my time is done, I will pass down my role to a nephew whom I have groomed for the part. Gold is always more powerful than iron.”

“How dull,” Maleficent told him. “And how naive. I doubt that proud Alain will want anyone around him who knows what he really did to get the throne. It is not, after all, nearly as heroic a story as murdering a monster from the Moors.” She paused, contemplating. “And of course, that’s all assuming that Aurora will have him.”

“She was once a biddable enough girl,” Lord Ortolan said, although he didn’t sound certain. “And she will be again, following the tragedy ahead. Her dear prince Phillip abducted her godmother and murdered her. Terrible, no? But I’ve made sure the evidence will bear it out. Still, he might have convinced her of his innocence. Unfortunately, he will be slain by her royal guards before she can interrogate him.