“If you’ll excuse me, Your Majesty. I think the excitement of the day has made me tired.” He turned so that his fingers gently brushed against mine and went from the room. Ayanna followed, and I couldn’t quite read her face. Was she sad? Disappointed? Whatever it was, it didn’t seem good. In her wake, Mother and Scarlet came up.

“That’s a beautiful gesture, Your Majesty,” Mother said.

“Can I please just be Hollis to you?” I asked, very near tears.

Scarlet wrapped her arms around my waist as Mother affectionately ran her hand over my hair. “Of course. You will always be my Hollis. But look at what you’ve become! And look what you’ve accomplished. Etan was fighting with everyone and everything; he’d given up on his life, and you saved it. And you! You confronted the monsters in your life and set horrific wrongs to right. You’re the first queen regnant in Coroa’s history, and, my goodness, just look around this room.”

I did. I really took it in.

“You have joined what most people thought never could be. That alone is an accomplishment for the history books,” she said.

Something struck me just then. Something stupid and reckless and maybe impossible. But I had nothing else to lose, so I was certainly going to try.

“Get Valentina. And Nora, too. I need you all. I need your help.”

Thirty-Nine

THE SUN WAS STREAMING THROUGH the windows, and I was still reading over the law. Mother, Scarlet, Valentina, Nora, and I traded the books to one another repeatedly, checking everything between the five of us.

Valentina let out a gaping yawn. “I don’t think it’s illegal. I just can’t be sure no one could argue your position. Nora?”

“The language they use is impossible. I keep needing to use the dictionary. Why don’t they write this out plainly?” she moaned.

Scarlet wiped at her eyes. “I didn’t see anything against it. But, you know, things started blurring together about four hours ago.”

“I think I may pass out,” Mother added.

“I know, I’m so sorry,” I apologized drowsily. “But everyone’s leaving this evening, so if I’m going to do something, I have to do it now.”

Exhausted but faithful, my friends and family turned back to the law books and history books strewn out before us. I felt like I was shooting arrows in the dark, trying to find something I wasn’t sure existed.

“Hollis . . .” Valentina’s eyes were suddenly sharper, and I watched as she read over a section of the law again. “Look at this.”

She handed one of the large books to me, pointing to a passage. I read it three times to make sure I’d gotten it right. “I think this is it . . . Valentina, I think you found it!”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Scarlet sighed. “Can I sleep now?”

“My bed is that way,” I offered. “All of you, get some rest. I’ll get someone else to dress me, Valentina. You’ve already done too much.”