He grins back. “Perhaps you can, Your Highness. Our alliance is proving to be more and more fruitful.” I want to squirm at the way his eyes alight with malice, but I hold myself steady.

“What information do you need?”

For the next hour, we discuss the various details he wants us to uncover. Nemesia’s letter burns my skin where it rests against my chest, but I keep my mask and focus in place. Krantz wants details of Laurel’s daily routine, how her advisors who don’t live at the palace get in each day, any additional secret passages we might know of—all the typical things someone would want. I lavish him with promises of information and vows to work together to bring down the Witch Queen. Fionn and Silene stay silent, playing their roles as advisors well. We agree to meet here again in two weeks’ time to exchange any information we collect. Krantz assures me that he has no current attacks on civilians planned, and I leave feeling as if I’ve accomplished Laurel’s wishes. Even if I know the additional information I uncovered will bring her more than she may be prepared to handle.

When we arrive back at our apartment in the palace, I immediately will light to dance across the ceiling of Laurel’s rooms, hoping she’ll see the signal quickly. My mind races with how best to relay the information, and where to do it. I pace in our sitting room, running through every possibility.

“I’m going to go find her,” I tell Fionn and Silene when she hasn’t arrived after twenty minutes of waiting.

“Give it more time,” Silene says soothingly. She places her hand on my forearm, quieting my pacing. “She may have meetings or other things going on. You know she wants information on how the meeting went. She’ll come.” Silene leads me over to a couch, and I sit, pulling the letter out and reading it again and again. I search for clues that it’s not what we think but come up empty.

After another hour, Laurel finally appears, looking somewhat disheveled but still glowing with an ethereal beauty I am as drawn to as ever. I stand abruptly and walk to her. “Is everything okay?” I ask.

“Yes, there were just some families who wanted to speak with me from the merchant district. Have you been waiting long?” she asks.

Before I can answer, Silene cuts in. “No, Laurel. Thorne is just on edge today. Don’t mind him.” Laurel stiffens, eyes searching mine. She’s too sharp, too watchful, to keep anything from, even for a moment.

“What happened?” she demands.

I reach for her instinctually but pull back. Lowering my voice, I say, as calmly as I can, “Everything’s okay, but we found something you need to see.”

“Show me then,” she snaps, clearly concerned. I sigh.