Ellie’s stiff back didn’t relax; her blank expression didn’t change.
But she didn’t sneer or turn away either, so there was that.
Blaise whipped around to me. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
And I believed her.
That made what I had to do so much worse.
“Blaise.” Something about the way I said her name must have held a warning in it, because she shuffled, though I could only hear buzzing in my ears. “You’re not going to Naenden.”
Her mouth hung open. “But I have to get it out.”
“I know that. That’s why I’ll go myself. Inquire on your behalf.”
She looked about ready to hug me, so I backed away.
Something inside that child splintered. I could see it in the creasing of her eyes, in the depths of her irises, in the slight gape of her mouth.
“You knowingly put Ellie in danger.”
In the corner, Ellie went still as death.
Blaise’s mouth worked for something to say. Finally, she found it. “I know that. I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again.”
I shook my head and exhaled. “No, it won’t. I won’t hold what happened the night of the ball against you. Nor what happened the first night Cinderella attacked Ellie. But from the moment you woke up soaked in Ellie’s blood and kept that information from me, you committed a crime against my betrothed. That’s treason, Blaise.”
Her mouth sputtered, and something deep inside me cracked. “I’m the heir to the throne. I can’t hope to one day be a fair and just ruler if I don’t hold my friends to the same standards I expect of everyone else.”
Blaise’s face was as white as a bleached gravestone. “Are you going to have me executed?”
Fates, the hurt in her eyes made me want to scream. “No, but I will have you tried for your crimes. I’ll put in a good word for you, for giving us the information we needed about your possession. For confessing to the truth. I don’t expect the sentencing to be as harsh as death; my father was too fond of your father to allow it to come to that. But you will be imprisoned until your trial.”
Blaise withered.
She withered, and a part of me died.
“That’s probably for the best,” she said. “At least she’ll be locked up with me. The best way to keep everyone safe.”
CHAPTER 56
ELLIE
My father entered the workshop not long after, barging through the doors with one of Mother’s rolling pins like he was intending to beat an intruder on the head with it.
“I swear, if you take one more of my Ellie’s—”
His face contorted in confusion when he found not just me, but the Prince of Dwellen standing in his workshop.
My father had soundproofed the walls of the workshop years ago at the request of my mother, who couldn’t sleep with all the noise I made in the shop late at night. He likely wouldn’t have heard the commotion Cinderella made when she attacked me, so he must have woken on his own, seen the workshop light from the window, and come to check on me. It must have been the unfamiliar voices that had him grabbing a makeshift weapon from the kitchen.
“Your Highness,” he said, with a slight nod of his head that certainly would not have passed as a bow in court.
Evander bowed in reverence. “Mister Payne.”
My father’s gaze flickered over to Blaise, who was sobbing silently in the corner. “Do fae collect the tears of mortal women as the secret to their immortality? Because, if so, you owe my Ellie compensation.”
My heart warmed even as my cheeks heated with mortification.
Evander crossed his arms behind his back. “Sir—”
My father grunted. “Surely you’re more of a gentleman than to bother Ellie in her own home.”
Evander sucked in a steadying breath, clearly annoyed. But when he opened his mouth, I spoke instead. “It’s okay, Papa. He thought I was in trouble. He only came to make sure I was okay.”
My father’s eyes narrowed. “And are you okay?”
I swallowed and nodded.
He didn’t look convinced, but he at least brought his makeshift bludgeon to his side.
“Mister Payne,” Evander said, “if you wouldn’t mind calling for the palace guard, we believe we’ve found the thief responsible for Ellie’s stolen property.”
There was no anger, no unkindness in his voice, but Blaise let out a shriek of a sob in the corner, one that pierced my heart, despite recalling that she deserved to be punished. Despite reminding myself that she’d put my life in danger on multiple occasions just to spare herself the embarrassment of admitting her feelings for Evander.
My father nodded, then turned toward the workshop door. Before he left, he looked Evander square in the eyes and said, “She’s Miss Payne, to you.”
Evander swallowed and shuffled uncomfortably, nodding.
