And hoping to cheer her brother up. Because despite having brought her to court and occasionally asking her to intercede for him with other nobles, he ignored her a great deal of the time. He’d grown irritable. He would shut himself up with hoary Lord Ortolan for hours on end, becoming quite short with her if he was interrupted. And when he wasn’t with Lord Ortolan, he seemed to prefer to be alone. She’d spotted him heading out on errands late at night, and when she inquired where he was going, his answers were guarded.

Perhaps he’s desperately in love with Aurora, she thought, and redoubled her efforts to push them together.

But at the festival, his mood went from bad to worse. Alain had demanded she tell Aurora that Prince Phillip had left for Ulstead. He’d gripped her hard around the wrist and looked into her eyes in a way that frightened her. But it had obviously been important, so she’d done it.

The moment the words were past her lips and she saw Aurora’s expression, she regretted saying them. Well, she reasoned, trying to convince herself she’d done the right thing, Aurora liked him. They were close. It must be painful to find out he left, but someone had to tell her. And now the way is clear to love my brother.

And yet, as Aurora walked off, Fiora couldn’t help remembering the way that Alain’s fingers dug into her skin and the desperation in his eyes. Just thinking about it made her uncomfortable.

Heart beating fast, Lady Fiora went into the palace and up the winding stairs to Prince Phillip’s rooms. I just want to see for myself that he’s gone, she thought, refusing to closely consider why she doubted it.

And, truly, she expected his rooms to be empty. But when a servant opened Prince Phillip’s door, she peered inside. To her horror, she saw his trunks still resting in one corner. Books were piled up on his desk, beside a half-finished note. A sword was propped against a dresser. If Phillip was gone, why had he left all his things behind?

Fiora tried to come up with some explanation. She knew she ought to say something to Aurora, but what? She couldn’t speak against her beloved brother.

She just couldn’t.

And she tried to stop Aurora from leaving. But when that didn’t work, and Alain rode out with her, Fiora’s guilt grew worse.

Everything had gone wrong, and she didn’t know how to fix it.

That night, Lady Fiora used her key to let herself into her brother’s rooms. His doorframe was marked with a fresh cut in the wood. She ran her fingers over it. Just inside, she spotted a smear of blood at the corner of a carpet.