head. “That one didn’t work exactly as I intended, either, but my brilliance soon saw the broader applications. Turning you into a swan would have trapped you at the lake, certainly, but connecting a person with a group of wild animals? Now that is truly useful. Once again, you had assisted me with your mere presence. It has taken me two years, but I have nearly built my army to the necessary size. And then you attacked my study.”
His eyes narrowed. “No doubt you thought you had struck a blow against me, and I confess to being angry for a moment. But you had not invested the years upon years into studying these objects that I have done, and your efforts were in vain. I will admit, I had hoped not to have to release this second part of the enchantment that now binds you. But really, it’s all for the best. I could have killed the prince at this party, as I originally intended, but I can kill him later just as easily. No, my brilliant mind has found a far more useful role for him.”
“And what is that?” I asked, the words falling reluctantly from my lips.
He turned to beam at me. “Why, for him to betray—and, thereby, kill—you. I hear King Dominic is tearing Palinar apart looking for you. Do you think he will rush to Prince Gabriel’s rescue after he discovers what the prince has done to you?”
Leander adopted a false expression of grief. “What kind of heartless man would woo a young girl without family or friends, make her love him, and then promise himself to another in front of everyone—leaving the girl to die alone?”
“My brother would never…” My words trailed off.
But would he? What did I know of him now?
“Oh, I think he would,” Leander said. “He may even join me in overthrowing Gabriel’s family after this. And will the other kingdoms blame him when they see the disaster that Talinos has become?”
Chapter 26
Leander had claimed he intended to remain by my side, but a servant came looking for him, knocking tentatively at the door and ignoring my cries for help as he relayed a message to Brock.
“I’m afraid I shall have to leave you, after all,” Leander said when he heard it. “It seems my people call for me.”
“Good riddance,” I snapped, not turning to look at him.
Leander merely chuckled, leaving me at the window. The door opened and closed, and I waited a moment before turning to check that Brock had departed as well. As soon as I saw I was alone, I raced to the door and tried to pull it open. It wouldn’t budge.
The solid timber stood up to every assault I tried, and I quickly gave up and returned—drawn irresistibly—to watch the scene unfolding below. The dancing had stopped, and Gabe was speaking to one of the musicians. Audrey hung behind him, her face slightly averted.
I sank to my knees and covered my face. I couldn’t watch. Even if I could break the door down, I would never get down all those stairs and out there in time to stop what was about to happen.
And yet, I couldn’t sit here and do nothing, either. My mind flew from one hopeless thought to another, desperately grasping for something that might save me. But it would need the impossible.
I froze. The impossible. That was the province of the godmothers. And I had one of those—she was the one who had precipitated me into this predicament by placing me in Brylee to start with.
“Godmother!” I cried. “Godmother, where are you? I need you!”
I had never tried to call on her before, and I didn’t have much hope of it working now—so I almost toppled over in shock when a voice spoke behind me.
“These abandoned rooms always have a smell, don’t they? No matter how regularly they’re cleaned.”
A short woman with steely gray hair and bright eyes surveyed the room from her perch on the bed. She might have been a guest at the Keep—someone’s grandmother, even—if not for the wings.
“Excuse me?”
For a moment shock drove every coherent thought from my head. She had actually come.
And then my desperate need reasserted itself, and I glanced frantically back out the window. Gabe was on the stage now, coaxing Audrey up to join him.
“I need help—”
“Again?” The godmother regarded me with a mildly surprised air. “I put you right where you needed to be, you know.”
I fought down a surge of bitterness. “I trusted