and my heart sinks. It’s not going to be good enough. She’s going to be caught.
Suddenly Lief darts towards me and grips my shoulder painfully, forcing me to the ground in a horrible parody of the lieutenant on the road. I let out a cry that dies instantly when he raises his sword and points it at me.
“Play along,” he hisses. “For her sake. And Silas’s. And your own.”
Out of the corner of my eye I see the Sleeping Prince round the doorway, and Lief digs his fingers into my shoulder. “Where is she?” he demands, and I cry out again. “Where did she go?”
“I don’t know,” I say. The pain, the fear, is very real.
“Liar,” Lief says, leaning in. “I know when you’re lying. Where did she go?”
“I’m telling you I don’t know.” Tears stream down my face.
Then Lief releases me, and the Sleeping Prince fills my vision, crouched before me, arms resting on his knees. He looks me over, his head tilted. “She says she doesn’t know, Lief,” he murmurs. “Is that true, sweetling?”
I nod my head, allowing more tears to fall.
“There, there, child.” He pulls me up with him, folding me into an embrace. My face is pressed against his cold armour, metal arms holding me to him. I’m so horribly aware of my brother standing behind us, of Twylla hiding behind the screen. Yet still he holds me. I feel his nose against my hair, hear him inhale. “We haven’t been properly introduced,” he says, lowering his mouth to my ear. “I’m Aurek. King Aurek now. And you’re Errin.”
I pull away and he lets me, smiling with an easy charm. Up close his cheeks are sunken and the skin across them is thin and waxen. His hair looks dry and brittle, and there are lines around his mouth, between his eyebrows. He’s aging. Rapidly.
“Where’s Silas?” I ask before I can think.
This time his smile is brilliant, his whole face lighting up with pleasure. “Ah, Silas. My miraculous nephew. What a gift, what an unexpected joy in a dark time. He’s safe, of course. He’s my treasure. As are you, sweetling. As is your brother. My new family. You can see him soon enough, if you behave. Though I don’t expect any trouble from you. You’re the girl of my dreams, after all.”
My stomach lurches. I’ve been so foolish. “So it was you—”
“One of the perks of being a vitasmith. My little joke. You’re not laughing, though.” There is something hideously childish about his manner. He shrugs. “It was really a joke for me, anyway. Both of them were.”
“What? Both of what?”
He places a long finger against my lips to silence me. “Later, my sweetest.” He turns to Lief. “When did you last see the traitor?”
“In the Great Hall, before they fled. I thought it was her I was chasing. She’s coloured her hair; it confused me momentarily.”
“And you truly don’t know where your friend went?” The Sleeping Prince scrutinizes me, and it takes every ounce of willpower I have to keep my gaze on his and not let it shift to where Twylla hides.
“I told her to run.”
“Oh dear,” the Sleeping Prince says. “That was foolish.” He frowns and turns away, scanning the room, and my heart skitters wildly.
“Is everyone in Tremayne dead?” I blurt. “Did your monsters kill them all?”
“You’re not very respectful.” He looks back at me, his eyes raking my face. “I’m a king, Errin. You’re supposed to bow to me; you haven’t yet. And you’re not supposed to address me until I’ve spoken to you.”
“Tell me what happened to them and then I’ll decide whether or not to bow to you.”
He scowls at me, his lip curling, anger flooding his face. Just as suddenly it’s gone, replaced with the same mechanical smile. “Enough questions, sweetling. Plenty of time for that later.” His hand darts out and takes my wrist, caressing it with his thumb, smiling when I flinch.
Over his shoulder Lief stands with the oddest expression on his face. He blinks once, as if remembering where he is, and then speaks. “Your Grace, if I might be so bold, I can have the golems search for her, if you wish? Matters upstairs should be finished by now, as well as the business above ground.”
“Business.” I stare at my brother. “Do you mean murder?”
“You have to scotch the nest to eliminate the threat, Errin,” the Sleeping Prince says musically. “We don’t expect you to understand.”
“Good, because I don’t.” I turn away from him.