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“Don’t think I don’t know what you do for her.” She glares over her shoulder at me.

If she only knew.

I swing my booted feet over to the ground and rub my eyes with the back of my hand. It’s not just a lack of sleep that’s getting to me.

I know the rules—hell, I enforce them. My moral compass shattered a long time ago.

Now I understand why.

And I don’t hesitate to do what it takes.

Last night, I was tempted to just stay on the other side.

And, for once, take what I want.

But I’m all that Birdy has left. I can’t do that to her. I won’t do that to her.

So, I play the part, the dark knight for the darkest queen, to keep my baby sister out of the game completely.

“What about the mirrors?” I brush off her question.

Birdy already knows too much for her own good. The Hall of Mirrors is a powerful yet forbidden place. It’s the only known way in and out of this cursed kingdom.

My father always talked about another way. Those inquisitions cost him everything.

I won’t make the same mistake.

“It’s the only way she could have gotten here?”

“Wait… she?” I nearly miss her little slip up.

“Hmm?” My clever little sister pretends she doesn’t realize that I’ve caught her.

“You referred to the prisoner as a she. How would you know that, Birdy?”

“How would you know to question me?” She’s infuriating, turning the tables on me.

I’m too exhausted from the amount of energy it took mirroring to keep up our little chat. I’ll let her have this… for now. But not without a warning.

“Stay away, Birdy. Something is different about this one.”

“Why? What does the queen want with her?” She’s like a silver fox chasing a snow rabbit.

“I learned a long time ago to stop asking questions because if you’re not a friend of the queen, then you’re an enemy of the Crown.” And that’s the last thing I want… for either of us. Not so much for my own sake—I’m beyond redemption—but for my innocent young sister.

“That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Enough! I said drop it. Do you understand me?” I struggle to hold my anger back, but she feels it all the same. Her smile falls and I feel a twinge of guilt for my tone.

“Hey, while you were talking in the kitchen, did you happen to snag me anything for breakfast?” I tease to lighten the mood, sorry for my anger but never sorry for trying to keep her safe.

“Oh, you mean breakfast, the meal that was six hours ago?”

She plops down on the bed next to me and pulls a chocolate croissant out of her apron before passing it to me.

“So, who is she?” Birdy’s voice interrupts my self-deprecating thoughts.

“Who is who?” I go back to playing dumb because the less she knows, the better and the safer.