CHAPTER 7
THE QUEENMAKER'S WARNING
Seraphine found Elena alone in the garden.
"You should leave."
Elena turned.
"I wasn't aware you cared."
"I don't."
Seraphine's expression remained cold.
"But I care about the kingdom."
Elena folded her arms.
"What do you know?"
Seraphine looked toward the palace.
"King Aldric is not the only person searching for the lost heir."
"Who else?"
"People who believe the throne belongs to them."
"Why tell me?"
Seraphine hesitated.
"Because if you're connected to the heir, you're already in danger."
Elena studied her.
"You were watching me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I was ordered to."
"By whom?"
Seraphine looked away.
"I can't tell you."
Elena stepped closer.
"Then you're not warning me. You're frightening me."
Seraphine lowered her voice.
"The king trusts the wrong people."
"Varian?"
Seraphine's silence answered.
"Who is he?"
"The man who helped raise me."
Elena understood.
"You don't know whether he's guilty."
"No."
Seraphine looked toward the moon.
"But I've seen him disappear into places no loyal adviser should know exist."
Before Elena could respond, a horn sounded.
The palace gates were under attack.
Guards rushed across the courtyard.
Aldric appeared on the balcony.
"Lock the gates!"
Elena's mark burned.
The same voice she had heard in the forest returned.
The blood remembers.
She looked toward the northern mountains.
Something was coming.
And this time, it wasn't hiding.