“That can’t be,” Arabis said. “She wouldn’t try to harm Kalyll. She wouldn’t.”
I turned and started walking back toward Dandelion, trying to ignore their discussion. I didn’t want to hear any of it. I just wanted to stick my head into a hole in the ground and forget about everything.
Silver huffed. “So she says, but you know she hates Kalyll and always goes against him in everything.”
“That’s not necessarily true. She just… disagrees with him. Besides, she wants peace,” Arabis argued. “It’s the reason she married King Elladan. Why would she make an alliance with the Summer Court just to turn around and try to have the Seelie Prince murdered? It makes no sense.”
Silver shrugged. “I’m sure it makes sense in her mind.”
“What I can’t understand is how they were able to track us?” Cylea said. “I wiped the trail clean. I left no signs at all. No one knows where we’re going, and even if they do, there are several paths to Mount Ruin, this one being the most unlikely of all. So how in the name of all the gods did they find us?”
Kalyll rubbed the back of his neck. “I was wondering the exact same thing.”
Silver ran a hand through his short hair and stared at the ground as if it would provide the answer.
I reached Dandelion and ran a hand down the length of her neck. It was meant to comfort her, but maybe it was more soothing to me. A headache pounded in my temples, and I reached for one of my saddlebags. In the list of ingredients for The Sage Crystal that I’d given to Kalyll, I’d jotted down a few extra things, including headache powders. Headaches were tricky to self-treat, especially when they were brought on by strong emotions.
I searched inside, taking a few things out, but not finding what I needed. Nerves and frustration getting the best of me, I unhooked the saddlebag and dumped its contents on the ground. One particular item that shouldn’t have been there immediately caught my eye.
“What the hell?!”
Everyone turned to me, wearing matching frowns, while all I could do was gape.
CHAPTER 31
Theyallsteppedcloserand looked at the mess I’d made.
“What is it?” Arabis asked, her blue eyes roving over the spilled items on the ground.
I pointed at the necklace I’d worn to the Summer Solstice Ball. “That sneaky little pixie.”
Jeondar leaned down and picked up the luxurious piece of jewelry. “This?” He squinted at it. “It…”
“What’s the matter?” Kalyll asked.
“It looks like… one of my mother’s necklaces, except…” Jeondar shook his head, looking confused.
Kryn’s eyes slid in my direction, narrowing to slits. “It appears somebody has wandering fingers.”
“It appears so.” Silver jumped on Kryn’s bandwagon.
“How dare you?!” I stood up straighter.
Kalyll put a hand up to silence Kryn, who had been about to say something else. Jeondar held the necklace up against the light, squinting at it. The action distracted everyone. He pondered for a moment, then cocooned the necklace between his hands. A thin layer of heat built around it. We all watched, confused. A moment later, a gooey mixture leaked through his fingers and dripped to the ground. When he held the necklace up for everyone to see, it had changed. It wasn’t silver with diamonds anymore. It was gold with onyx jewels.
“Yes,” Jeondar said. “This was my mother’s, and this… this is how they were able to track us. It was made by a Ye’narian master. My father gave it to my mother as a birthday gift. Whenever she went anywhere without him, he wanted her to wear it. Of course, she thought it was the stupidest idea ever. First, it’s conspicuous. Second, queens don’t wear the same jewelry to every important event.” He took a step toward me. “You were wearing this at the ball. I thought it looked familiar, but the coloring threw me off. How did you come to be in its possession?”
Everyone was staring at me again.
“I’ll tell you how,” Kryn said, but a stern look from Kalyll shut him up again.
“Larina put it on me when she was helping me get dressed,” I said. “She said it was a gift from the former queen.”
Silver snorted.
Kryn blew air through his nose. “Ridiculous tale.”
“That’s enough, Kryn.” Kalyll hissed between clenched teeth.