I saw anger and disbelief kindling on the others’ faces. I knew how they felt and had to remember that this was typical Volusian operating procedure. By the terms of his servitude, he really hadn’t done anything wrong. Although I often asked him to give me a heads-up on useful information, he was under no obligation to deliver news I didn’t explicitly ask for. In fact, if I had a standing order for him to tell me “anything important,” I was pretty sure he would talk my ear off nonstop, just out of spite. His hatred for me and the Yew Land must have put him in quite the bind here. Who should he inconvenience the most?

I gritted my teeth. “All right, Volusian. Tell us about the enchantment.”

“The spell originated in the Yew Land,” he said. “Obviously. And that’s where it’s maintained from. I am not familiar with Queen Varia, but I find it unlikely she alone is working magic of this magnitude. Most likely, it is the collaboration of many who have pooled their powers together to establish the enchantment. Even then, a group of magic users could not maintain a spell so vast for so long. There is most certainly a physical component tied into this magic, objects that allow the Yew Land magic users to connect to the afflicted lands.”

I didn’t entirely follow that last part, but understanding filled some of the others’ faces. “We already thought of that,” said Dorian. “We destroyed all those ghastly statues the ambassador left behind. It had no effect on the blight.”

I’d nearly forgotten about those tacky green and white monstrosities that had been gifted to all of us. Looking back with the power of hindsight, I could see now how those sculptures would absolutely be perfect Trojan horses. Varia could have infused them with magic that maintained the blight spell, and then we’d unknowingly keep them on hand, ignorantly obeying the rules of etiquette. It was the perfect explanation—except that Dorian’s words completely contradicted it.

“Because those are not the objects tied to the spell, Oak King,” said Volusian. “This type of enchantment required much planning, and Varia and her conspirators would hardly leave the critical components around at your disposal.”

“Then what are they?” demanded Rurik.

“The other gifts,” I murmured. I remembered when Ilania the ambassador had given me the statues, one for each kingdom, and how she’d said she looked forward to seeing what we gave back in return. Needing to match her kingdom’s custom, I’d given haphazard orders to send some token back with her. I’d never followed up. I had no idea what my people had given to her. “Ilania made the rounds in all our kingdoms, distributing her crappy art, which then obligated all of us to give her something back.” I turned to Shaya. “We sent her with something, right?”