Vonetta caught my stare and stepped aside.

Air punched out of my lungs as Tawny rose, a beautiful sight in a simple rose-hued gown with long, fluttering sleeves.

“Poppy?” she whispered, stepping forward as she glanced at Vonetta and Emil. “You’re really—”

“It is my sister,” Ian cut her off, and a look passed between my brother and her, one that might have been of warning, but a knot expanded and tripled in my throat because Tawny wasn’t…

She hadn’t Ascended.

I started toward her, but Casteel caught my hand.

“It’s okay,” Ian stated quietly, and the look Casteel shot him said that he didn’t think much of anything my brother said.

But Emil nodded. “It is.”

Casteel’s jaw worked, but he released my hand, and I rushed forward at the same moment Tawny swept past Emil, her mass of brown and gold curls as wild and beautiful as ever. The moment I reached her, I wrapped my arms around her, and when I felt her warm skin under her dress, I shook. I trembled even harder when she curled her arms around me, holding me as tightly as I held her, and I could feel that she was shaking just as badly—I could also feel her emotions. Bubbly and sugary wonder. Earthy and woodsy relief, and the bitter taste of—

“The Queen isn’t what she seems,” Tawny whispered in my ear as her fear coated the back of my throat. “You need—”

“Poppy looks so different,” Ian interrupted, having come up behind us. “Doesn’t she?”

I pulled back, my eyes searching Tawny’s as she nodded. I spared a quick look at Ian and saw that the Handmaiden was eyeing us as she moved slowly behind Casteel and Kieran. Both of them had crept closer. Tawny…she knew the truth about the Queen and the Ascended, and Ian was trying to protect her.

“I know,” I said, meeting Tawny’s gaze. “I do look different without the veil.”

Tawny’s lips trembled, but she forced a smile as she looked between Ian and me. “You look beautiful without the veil.”

I slid my hands to her arms. “I’m so happy to see you. I’ve missed you so much. And I’ve been so worried.”

“As I’ve missed you,” Tawny replied, aware of the guards circling the room. “But there is no reason to worry.” She swallowed as she looked up at where Casteel had come to stand at my side. “Hello.” She paused, eyes narrowing slightly. “Hawke.”

How she said his name and the look she gave him was so Tawny, I almost started crying.

“Hello, Tawny.” Casteel bowed his head. “I am relieved to see that you are well. Although I wish we were confirming that under different circumstances.”

“As do we all,” Ian murmured under his breath.

The young woman drifted closer, her still gaze seeming to miss nothing. Tawny started to glance back at her, but then the Handmaiden’s gaze flicked to the entrance of the Great Hall.

Awareness pressed against the nape of my neck and my back, erupting in icy shivers. Ian stepped back, using his arm to guide Tawny to do the same. I knew before I turned what I would find, but I still moved as if I were caught in thick, cold slush. I looked past the line of guards with their black mantles.