“Care to share proof? Because from where I’m sitting, you look like the only one who’s escaped this reckoning.” Ren gestured at the barred doors on either side of her chambers. “Sun above, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you could be the heir yourself. After all, you’ve already used the Vulgar Arts against one family member.”

Akeylah flinched as though slapped. “At least I told you about my crime, Ren. So did Zofi, for that matter. You’re the one who kept yours a secret from everyone, even us.”

“A secret?” She laughed. “The whole world knows what I’ve done by now. But yes, you’ve got me pegged. I’m a criminal mastermind who locked myself in my own chambers. It’s all part of my evil plan to let someone else usurp the throne.”

“Ren, this is what the heir wants. They want to get into our heads, make us distrust one another. We cannot fall for it.”

“I’m worried you already have, Akeylah.” As far as Ren could tell, Akeylah was telling the truth. But she could still be Rozalind’s pawn, whether she knew it or not. “What message did the heir send you?”

Akeylah balled her fists. “They said they’ll hurt people I love unless I obey their orders. Which I’ve already disobeyed, by the way, since they demanded I put you on trial at once.”

“Thank you for that,” Ren replied, serious. That seemed to mollify Akeylah somewhat. “But has it occurred to you there might be another reason the heir isn’t treating you the way they treated Zofi or me?”

“Because I’m weak? Easier to manipulate?” Akeylah’s mouth twisted bitterly.

“Because maybe part of her does care about you, even though she’s using you for her own gain.” Ren spread her hands, palms up. “Or maybe she thinks having you beside her will legitimize her claim. Once Father dies, you two can wed and she can have the baby, raise it as both of yours.”

Akeylah’s body went very, very still. “You’re not making any sense, Ren.”

Oh, Sun above. Did Akeylah truly not know? “Rozalind hasn’t told you?”

“What do you have against her? She’s Genalese, Ren; of all the people in the Keep, she’s the only one who couldn’t possibly—”

“She’s pregnant, Akeylah.”

In that moment, Ren knew Akeylah was on her side. The way her sister’s face, her whole body, crumpled… nobody could fake that. Not even a trained actor with the best hunting face in the world.

“That’s not possible.” Akeylah’s voice came out wooden.

“Maids notice everything,” Ren said, gentler now. “Clean sheets for months, bouts of morning sickness, new, loose gowns Rozalind had tailored…”

“She would have told me.”