“What line of work requires you to need to let off such steam?” Bri asked, leaning her head to the side to see Silvie too. Silvie bit the inside of her lip, trying to keep from smiling at her.

Bri had this effect on people. Something about her eyes and sharp features made people nervous, but her charming swagger made her countenance endearing. She drew people in without even trying. Talhan was the same. His joviality mixed with his soldierly appearance reeled everyone into him—a fisherman who unknowingly hooked everyone on his line.

“We work in the castle,” Terez replied. “In the kitchens.”

“Are you green witches?” Bri asked, running a finger along the collar of Terez’s dress. “I see no totem bag.”

Terez’s eyes fluttered closed, as if that brief touch were exhilarating.

“We’re no witches,” Silvie replied with a huff, covering for her friend. “The witches do the cooking. We mostly clean and taste the food.”

“I understand now why you needed a night out.” Bri lifted her glass of amber liquid and took a long sip, her eyes remaining hooked on Terez. “I’m sure working in the castle is taxing at the moment.”

“We thought we’d struck gold when we got the jobs last year. Silvie was hired first and then convinced them to hire me too,” Terez said, grinning back at her friend. “They pay far better than any of the kitchens in town. I already earn more than my older brother at the stables.”

“I’ve heard rumors the Queen wasn’t killed by a blade but by poison,” Bri said, adding a hint of disbelief to her voice. Everyone loved spilling secrets to someone who was intrigued by them.

“She was, but not by the food,” Silvie whispered. “We tasted everything before it got sent up—”

“And after,” Terez added before Bri could ask the question.

Bri rocked back in her seat. “You tasted it again after the Queen died? That must have been terrifying.”

“It was.” Terez swallowed. “But they all were thinking we had something to do with it.”

“We knew the food was fine,” Silvie added. Her eyes implored Bri to believe her, as if she were still on a desperate campaign to convince everyone of her innocence. “A bunch of us took a bite. The servers too. Everyone wanted to absolve themselves of the crime.”

“Did anyone not partake?”

“Not that I know of.” Terez glanced at Silvie, who shook her head. “None of the staff at least.”

Bri propped her arm on the backrest of the booth, leaning further in. “Then how was she killed?”

“I think some guards know something,” Terez murmured. Her eyes darted around the room as if searching for eavesdroppers. “A few of the guards have family members who were former witch hunters. I heard the second-in-command is brothers with the witch hunter king himself.”

Bri blinked at Terez, remembering how Delta seemed so convinced it hadn’t been any of her guards, but Delta also hadn’t shared that bit of information. Perhaps she knew Bri would want to investigate her second-in-command if she knew of the familial connection. She made a mental note to find him tomorrow.