I’ve only visited her once since we brought her to the palace cells in the two weeks she’s been imprisoned. I’d had to tap deep into the cold and heartless Witch Queen persona to stop myself from aerstepping her away from the cells and into my sitting room, where we could pretend everything was back to the way it was before she left for Velmara. I ordered her to be left alone and well cared for, not able to bring myself to have her tortured for information. I saw a cut that had festered on her arm, and sent healers to mend her, but otherwise have kept my distance, despite my near constant worrying about her. Nothing makes sense to me anymore except Thorne, and the irony of that is laughable.

“Where have you gone, witchling?” Thorne’s soft and amused voice breaks me out of my spiraling, and I look up at him with a soft and sad smile.

“Just thinking about Nemesia.” It’s all I can say aloud without breaking down, but he understands. Thorne wraps me tightly in his arms and places a kiss atop my head. Tears gather in my eyes. “What if I got it wrong, and I’ve left my best friend, my only family, to rot?”

“Then we’ll fix it. If she isn’t the mole, then she’s still the same Nemesia you know, and the two of you have a bond strong enough to survive this.”

“I think I should move her out of the cells,” I whisper, afraid to admit what feels like weakness in me. “She can still have guards posted in a low-level room, but I can’t bear the idea of leaving her down there any longer, even if she is the mole. The Council will be in outrage though.”

Thorne chuckles and pushes me away from him slightly so he can look into my eyes, his warm hands placed solidly on my shoulders. “Laurel, you are their Queen. You rule by committee most of the time, and that’s admirable beyond belief, but you shouldn’t shy away from making the decisions you feel are right out of fear of their reaction. Trust your instinct. And if any of them push back, I’ll spear them through with light and drown them on dry land.” He gives me an unholy smirk, filled with the promise of violence I know he’s capable of.

I laugh aloud. “Look at us now. I’m the charming courtier trying to make everyone like me, and you’re the menacing brute force who will kill any who opposes you. Our roles have reversed.”