Sapphire looked up from the flowers she had been picking. ‘Are you sure about that?’

Evera shrugged.

‘I hope so. Because part of me almost believes it, and I’m not sure what that says about me. I want to – to tell you it’s not possible to still your worries. But I think everyone deserves to know the truth about where they came from, even if it’s not to their liking.’

‘And if it is true, what does that mean?’ Sapphire said quietly.

‘I don’t know,’ she said honestly. ‘But I’ll be here for you, regardless.’

Nine days had passed since the Shadow Moon, and Sapphire struggled to keep herself grounded.

Currently, she sat at lunch, gripping her fork a bit too tightly.

‘Sapphire, are you listening? This is critical.’ Sapphire snapped her eyes up from her plate, meeting the queen’s narrowed gaze. ‘Where has your head been? I feel like you’ve hardly been present.’

‘I attend every meal, every etiquette session, every briefing you feel I am suited for. I’m not sure what else I could offer you.’

The older woman arched a cautionary eyebrow, warning Sapphire to watch her mouth, but Sapphire didn’t care.

‘Tell me what else you want from me. Tell me what I could do better. Tell me how I am falling short of this perfect, ideal image you had for your daughter.’

‘Sapphire,’ Araxia choked. ‘I would never –’

Sapphire couldn’t listen to another lie roll off the woman’s lips. She couldn’t.

‘I apologize for not being the daughter you feel you deserve. The daughter you wanted.’

Araxia’s expression was a mess of panic and alarm. She stood, closing the distance between them. At her touch, Sapphire pulled away.

‘Something is wrong. Please talk to me,’ the queen begged. ‘Just tell me what you need … whatever it is … and I will do it.’

Sapphire’s breath was short and desperate. ‘I need to be excused.’

Araxia bowed her head with an expression so heartbreaking that it made Sapphire’s stomach turn.

‘When you are ready … I will be here. No matter the time or day, know I am here.’

Sapphire pushed away from the table with shaking hands. As she headed for the door, she refused to look back, afraid that if she did, she might break in two.

Sapphire could not shake the memory of the lunch with Araxia. It chased her through restless sleep and down the dark corridors as she slipped into the lake, heading towards the one place she had been avoiding, with the white stone Ashes had given her in her pocket.

She wasn’t sure if it would protect her, but she hoped that it would help her find the witch, at least. As she entered the forest the numbness that had clung to her since the revelation of the prophecy remained.