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Rinlora’s mother had convinced her daughter that Raelynn needed testing beyond what could be performed within the palace’s moral restrictions. She’d withheld the Sephra clan exchange until Raelynn was already trapped. And everything she’d forced Rinlora to do came after Raelynn couldn’t help her fight back.

Father didn’t need any of us to believe him. He only needed us to doubt Rinlora’s mother to shift the focus off of him. Something we’d done from the start.

“She could have come to me and requested to use her concoctions under vallant supervision. Yet she didn’t. Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know,” Rinlora whispered.

“Your mother claims the Sephra clan wants to take Raelynn away, force an illegitimate bond, and kill one of our people’s beloved princes.”

Ash shifted, flexing his hands behind his back.

Father swept his gaze over us. “I think Rinlora’s mother was working with someone from the palace to undermine the council, taking Raelynn from us all to weaken you four and threaten Elyrdin’s future.”

Rae glanced at me and then at Father. “She claimed you and Zeke’s parents were responsible for my kidnapping and disposal in Feranzis.”

Father thrust his hand out. “See? Not only did the woman try to frame current events to fit her narrative, but she also went so far as to insist we’d have put my nephew and Rhistel and Caendra’s son in danger by leaving them in the cursed forests of Feranzis?”

Lymsrana leaned back, propping her elbow and touching her cheek with a finger as she seemed lost in thought.

“Had we wanted to dispose of you,” Father said, narrowing his eyes on Raelynn, “we’d have saved the princes and left you to rot.”

Cyn growled at the malice in Father’s tone.

“Oh, come now. I never said I wanted to do such a thing.” Father waved a hand.

“Unless hurting us was part of the point,” Ash said.

Father’s gaze turned glacial. “And what purpose would that serve?”

“Control.”

Rae shifted toward Ash.

I almost reached for her to stop her from stepping into Father’s line of fire, but froze when my shadows rose to the surface of my skin, forcing me to drive them back.

“You believe I nearly killed two heirs to control you and my son?”

Ash didn’t look away, even as Father’s lips curled in disdain at the mention of him. “I believe you’ve hurt Zeke for less.”

I stepped forward, hoping to distract Father before he lashed out at Ash. “If Rinlora’s mother is responsible for all of this, or an accomplice as you imply, why is she not present for us to question?”

Father’s upper lip twitched, and he dropped his foot to the floor, dismissing Ash with a warning look. “The woman is missing.” His hands gripped the arms of his throne as if the admission infuriated him. “When we find her, she will face the council’s judgment. As I said, Ardvaen and Rhistel are assembling the Guard to find her and unearth anyone with knowledge of who assisted her.”

Did she actually work alongside another individual, or was she serving someone else? To what end?

She’d withheld relevant information from Rinlora, aware that Rinlora wouldn’t assist her mother if she understood the gravity of her betrayal. Furthermore, she’d forced Rinlora to fabricate the text message.

“The Guard is identifying the bodies from the Jinphni District now,” Father said. “So far, none appear to be connected to Dugorigi, and no one recognizes any of the dozen or so we’ve been able to gather identifying information on.”

Lymsrana glanced at him. “Why can’t you identify all of them?”

Father turned his sharp gaze on me. “My son is powerful and disciplined, but it appears he still needs to learn to control his shadows.”

I clenched my jaw, shoving my hand into my pocket.

“Then who the fuck were the ones you could identify?” Cyn demanded.

“That is precisely what Ardvaen and Rhistel are determining.”