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“Birdy, what have you done? We have to find Riven. You can’t risk—”

“Are you listening? I’m telling you something bad is coming—it has to do with the Solstice. That’s only a few days away. After she made the announcement tonight about you being the princess, it all makes sense. I remember once overhearing my mom and dad talking about you when we lived in the cottage out in the woods, long before we came to the castle. And I remember hearing them talk about the fairest blood, some prophecy.”

“And Riven heard this too?”

“I don’t know. He always knew more than me. My father was training him. They tried to keep me away from the queen. Well, the evil queen. The original king and queen, they were friends of my parents. Our father was loyal to King Philip, before that loyalty cost him his life.”

“Birdy, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything; you just need to leave. It’s not safe. Follow me.”

Guilt sits heavy in my stomach. Could I be the cause of their father’s death? It would explain why Riven acts the way he does. Sometimes he seems to hate me, yet other times, it’s like he wants to kiss me. I don’t know which.

The feeling’s mutual.

“I see the way Riven looks at you, Adelaide. And I’ve already lost my parents. I’m afraid if he can’t go through with what the queen wants him to do. She will take him from me or, worse, hurt me to punish him. And I don’t want you to suffer either, so I need you to go. We must hurry!” She starts walking and grabs my hand as chaos breaks out in the ballroom.

The Serpent King’s snake is slithering around the hall, and the raven is squawking around chasing it.

Raven. The sound echoes in my memory, but I can’t place why.

It’s like a bizarre cartoon—the royals are bumping into each other, fighting as they stampede toward the doorways, which are all now blocked, except for the one Birdy is leading me through by pressing her palm to a loose stone in the wall, and suddenly with a groan, we’re thrust into darkness as the secret door shifts closed.

“What does this have to do with my parents?” I ask her as she leads me deeper into the darkness.

“Like I said, I overheard a conversation when I was a child. I’m just a couple of years younger than you, and I remember one of the Seven coming to our house late one night, saying that it was time. I didn’t know what that meant, but my father did. It was a promise he made to your mother, Queen Ravenna, before her death. That was the last time I ever saw my father. The Seven know who you are—they have spies everywhere. They know more about the mines and portals than anyone. You need to get to them, and they can help you get home.”

Home.

“This is so much to process, Birdy.”

“It all just started coming back to me. We never spoke of that day again. One day, not long after our mother never came home, a carriage came from the castle to take us away. Riven began training day and night. And the queen mostly ignored me.”

“When did you hear the queen tell Riven this?”

“After we got ready, when you were eating and I snuck out to go get more wine. I have my ways, but the point is I overheard the queen tell Riven that he’s to bring your heart to her. I don’t know if she was speaking in metaphors, but that’s not really her style.”

“He was in her chamber? He knew this all night? Before we danced?” The hurt comes flowing out, channeled into questions.

How could he?

“I don’t know. All I do know is that you have been a friend to me; even though we just met, I feel connected. You’ve treated me with true kindness, and that’s something that I’ve never really had here. But we don’t have much time. You need to go!”

She’s right. I need to get out of here.

My heart aches because I thought he felt this unexplainable connection to me, that what happened in the bathhouse changed something between us, but apparently, he was just playing a game. Seduce the naïve prisoner. And I played right into his hands.

The queen is yelling for the guards. Her bellowing anger drifts to every crevice of the castle, including where I’m being smuggled out.

“Time’s up. She will be free soon,” Birdy announces.

“Free? Birdy, what did you do?” I whisper.

“What needed to be done.” She smiles proudly. “I created a little diversion. During which Draven might have helped lure her to the chapel… which has no mirrors and a broken lock on a very old door.”

“Why would he do that?” I can’t believe how resourceful and underestimated she is.

“He wanted some old book the queen keeps hidden in her chambers. So as soon as he arrived, I made him a deal.”