Aurora stifled a cry and covered her mouth with both hands. She briefly slammed her eyes shut, letting the guilt and revulsion roll over her in one consuming wave. This was her fault. She had let this happen. The shame pierced her for a moment, through and through, then she pushed it away for another day.

“Is there something we can do? Is there any way to wake her up?”

“Not quickly,” Jinx answered. “I have to be honest with you, Aurora. I am not positive she will wake up. It depends on what has been given to her. Only time and rest will tell.”

A horrible wailing horn blared through the silent room in several quick bursts, but this was not any storm siren that Aurora recognized. It stopped, then started again. The sequence repeated. A rumbling sound began, followed by shouting, that grew louder when the door opened, revealing a distracted maid carrying a pitcher of water, and beyond her a glimpse of soldiers moving down the far hallway at rapid speeds, shouting about a breach. The maid bumped the door closed with her hip, turned toward the bed, then froze at the sight of Aurora and Jinx. She opened her mouth to scream, but Aurora beat her to it, shoving her into the wall and snarling, “Don’t make a sound.”

The maid began crying, little whimpers escaping her pursed lips. “Are you one of the ones who has been drugging the queen?” Jinx asked from behind Aurora.

The maid tensed, and her crying stopped immediately. “I—uh…”

“Tell the truth,” Aurora demanded.

“What have you been giving her?” Jinx asked.

The maid stiffened her lip, lifted her chin, and replied, “I don’t know what you mean.”

Aurora pushed her hands harder against the girl’s shoulders, pinning her to the wall. “Don’t lie to us.”

“I’m not ly—”

“Enough!”

A jolt of crackling magic shot from Aurora’s hands into the girl, whose body jerked back against the wall. She cried out, her eyes fluttering wildly, then in a whining, wheezing voice said, “I don’t know. He gives me the vials and a coin, and I don’t ask questions.”

“Who?” Aurora asked.

But it was too late. The girl had begun to slump against the wall, her glazed eyes falling shut. Aurora was tempted to let the girl drop, but instead she eased her to the ground, and then took two careful steps backward before shoving her fists against her eyes in frustration.

When she lowered them, Jinx was kneeling by the girl, her eyes trained on Aurora. “That was … new,” the witch said carefully.

Rora looked down at her hands. Was it terrible that she had not even spared a thought for what she’d done? It all mattered little in comparison to what had been done to her mother.