Light knows?” I asked Falin as we crossed the clearing that joined the courts.
“Knows what?” he asked. “That her son plotted to overthrow his aunt? That he could now be pitting shadow against winter?”
“Both. Either. I never thought Ryese was clever enough to engineer the drug he used on the Winter Queen.”
Falin turned and frowned at me. “I don’t suggest you share that theory with the queen. She adores her sister.”
“I noticed.” And I had. There had been true affection when she’d greeted the Queen of Light at the revelry. But was that affection returned?
The guards that greeted us on the winter side of the door made no attempt to stop us. They nodded respectfully to Falin and watched Dugan, but they must have been growing accustomed to the Shadow Prince following us around, because no one even fingered their weapons today.
“Can the guards see through glamour?” I asked as we walked down the long ice halls.
“Their hoods allow them to see through most glamours that could be used as disguise,” Falin said.
“Only most?”
He nodded without expanding on an explanation.
It was Dugan who said, “Faerie is run by the strongest and most clever. If someone can slip past the queen’s guards, then they are probably strong enough to challenge her rule. There is no penalty for using any means available unless they fail.”
But it also meant someone very strong in glamour—or working for someone masterful at glamour—could walk into the winter court and there would be no one who noticed. Jurin was probably the inside person who got Lunabella and whoever else helped her kill Stiofan inside, but they’d somehow managed to transport Kordon’s body through the winter halls without anyone noticing.
“How good was Ryese’s glamour?” I asked.
Falin cut his gaze toward me, a warning in his eyes. Now that we were inside winter, there was a chance we could be overheard, and the queen had forbidden anyone from mentioning her nephew.
“Masterful. Now we are here.”
Which meant it was time to be silent. I nodded and followed Falin through the archway.
The queen lounged in a chaise, a breakfast tray set up beside her. Her frost-covered robe was nearly see-through and she wore only a thin gown underneath it. She had clearly only recently started her day and I had the distinct impression we should have at least knocked before entering. She looked up as we entered, her pretty features cold as she studied us.
“Knight, while I have no qualms receiving you this early, I do not appreciate the extra company.”
Falin bowed deep. I mimicked him. Hey, it had worked out for me last time and I didn’t get stuck in a never-ending curtsy. Dugan inclined his head only marginally.
“My queen, we have an issue to bring to your attention that could wait no longer,” Falin said without looking up.
The queen plucked a strawberry from her breakfast tray. “I’m listening.”
“We located two fae we believe were involved in Stiofan’s murder.”
“Good news with breakfast.” The queen took a bite of the strawberry and lifted her shoulders slightly, as if this news were trivial.
“Unfortunately, both were murdered directly after the revelry and we did not get a chance to question them thoroughly. One belonged to the court of light. We would like to return her body to her queen.”
She dropped the strawberry and swung her legs around until she was sitting up straight. “What?”
“May we return the body?”
The queen chewed at her bottom lip. “Where did this happen? How? Has an attempt been made to revive the fae?”
“There will be no reviving her. She had basmoarte.” He left off the part where we’d taken the body to the mortal realm and her soul had been collected, but I wasn’t going to be the one to tell her that.
The queen’s brows knitted together and she shook her head. “How did she get basmoarte?”
“She was acting as a mule attempting to pass it to the Shadow King,” Dugan said, his voice low and challenging.
“Did she succeed?”
“The king rebuked her advances. He is well.” He smiled as he said it, the expression dark and somehow far more threatening than a smile should be. But I did understand that twist of truth. If the Winter Queen realized how weak the shadow court actually was, she might strike at them whether she thought they were responsible for the attack on her court or not.
The queen paced in front of her chair. She seemed to be silently arguing with herself, ignoring us as she moved. After a moment, she