But it wasn’t true. She still loved Amon Byrne. Her feelings about him were too raw for close examination. And she loved Han Alister, if she understood love at all.

Would she ever see him again, and if so, could they build from a relationship based on a lie?

And what did she expect to build on that shaky foundation? By the way, Alister, I’ve been lying to you for more than a year; I’m actually a member of the royal family you despise. There’s no future for us, but I’d still like to be friends.

Would Raisa herself be satisfied with friendship, when the memory of Han’s kisses and caresses haunted her?

Would Amon and Han be able to set aside their antipathy and put the pieces of her disappearance together?

Her mother was a weak queen—but she’d been mired down by circumstance. Maybe when Raisa returned, there would be a way to connect with her, to join with her, to help her, and become a better queen herself someday.

Ahead she saw the break in the trees that meant they were coming up on the road. Reining Ghost in with some difficulty, Raisa slowed their pace to a walk. Pausing in the last fringe of trees, she looked up and down the road and saw no one.

“Let’s go,” she said, applying her heels. “We need to go a lot farther before we rest.” They turned north, setting a more sustainable pace.

After nearly a year, she was going home. The decision had been forced on her. But more and more, she believed it was the right one.

C H A P T E R  T H I R T Y - S E V E N

A PARTING
OF THE WAYS

Han had meant to spend his last days at Oden’s Ford preparing for his mission in the north. Instead he spent it desperately searching for clues about Rebecca’s disappearance.

The dead at the Wien Hall library had been strangers to Oden’s Ford. None were wizards. They’d been seen around the academy for several days, asking questions. Either they carried nothing in their pockets, or whoever had killed them had stripped them of identification.

Han slipped into Micah’s dormitory, familiar from his many visits, and tossed their rooms. They had departed in a hurry—leaving many of their belongings behind.

It couldn’t be a coincidence. Had they left because they’d murdered her? Or had they taken her with them? No matter how Han put it together, it didn’t make sense. Three of the dead had been killed with wizardry. Had Rebecca been witness to the killings, and been killed or carried off for that reason?

Han walked over to Grindell Hall the morning before he planned to leave. The dormitory was a hive of activity—cadets running up and down stairs, packing their belongings.