“I knew you were in the north, with…with my father, trying to get home,” Amon said, looking at Raisa. “I knew you were in danger, but still alive. So Lord Demonai and I met with Nightwalker to strategize. To discuss whether to send a guard to meet you.”

“Nightwalker was there too?” Raisa looked from her father to Amon. She knew that Nightwalker rarely descended into the Vale if he had a choice.

Averill nodded. “He’s been there, off and on, for two months. I asked him to come and attend me, with a handful of Demonai warriors.” He hesitated, as if not wanting to introduce more trouble into the present disaster. “Tensions have been running high with the Wizard Council, and I needed a guard I could trust.”

The implications of this settled like a heavy wet cloak, adding to Raisa’s misery. The queen’s consort and the Wizard Council had clashed for as long as she could remember, but the former Demonai warrior Averill Lightfoot had never felt the need for a handpicked guard before.

“We decided Nightwalker should go to Marisa Pines Camp to see if there’d been any word of you. He’d already gone when…when word came of Marianna’s death.”

“Did anyone see it happen?” Elena asked.

Averill shook his head. “The queen was resting in her bedchamber,” he said. “When Magret went in to wake her for dinner, her bed was empty, and the doors to the balcony stood open. Magret looked off the terrace and saw…she saw Marianna lying on the pavers below.”

Raisa fought to drive that image from her mind. “Magret?” She looked from Averill to Amon. “Magret Gray was attending the queen?”

Averill nodded. “Marianna had requested her specifically in recent weeks. She seemed more at ease with Magret than with anyone else.”

Raisa’s dream came back to her, the one in which Queen Marianna stood on her terrace. She heard a noise and turned.…

“Was Magret in the outer chamber the entire time?” Raisa whispered.

Averill shook his head. “She divided her time between the Princess Mellony and Queen Marianna. Since Marianna was asleep, she was attending the princess.”

“And the Queen’s Guard? Where were they?” Elena demanded.

“They were outside her door the entire time,” Averill said. He paused, glancing at Amon. “That’s what they say, at least.”

“Who was on duty?” Raisa asked. “Are they…are they trustworthy?”

Clearing his throat, Amon named them off, a half dozen guards, none of whom Raisa knew. “I know three of them,” Amon said, as if reading her thoughts. “The ones I know are good soldiers. And loyal.”

“Loyal or not, how difficult would it be for a wizard to get past them?” Elena said. “You should be asking where the Bayars were during that time.”

Willo’s hand tightened on Raisa’s shoulder. “Elena,” she said. “We don’t need to—”