do.”
Okay, so it had taken a great deal of effort to detect that slight crack in the queen’s armor, but she’d detected it nevertheless. She’d seen the shimmer of energy surrounding Aliette, seen how delicate the balance of her power truly was.
The Wood Queen was weak. Maybe even weaker than the alchemists suspected. Holding a full human glamour must be costing Aliette a crazy amount of juice; how was she doing it?
And that was when Donna’s gaze fell on the purse strap looped over the Wood Queen’s shoulder. The crack in Aliette’s magic had opened wide enough to reveal the true nature of the purse.
Instead of looking at a leather strap, Donna found herself staring at a length of woven and knotted ivy and leaves forming a … belt. The Wood Queen’s belt! She was wearing it as part of her glamour, disguising it as the shoulder strap of her human purse. That’s how she was able to walk in the iron world and hold such an impressive glamour.
Donna’s heart thumped hard enough to make her dizzy. She felt certain that the entire coffee shop could hear it, and for a moment it seemed as though the drumming of the Wood Queen’s scarlet fingers on the tabletop matched the rhythm of her mounting excitement and horror.
Aliette met her gaze and, for a moment, Donna could see confusion clouding those wicked eyes.
“Give it to me!” Donna no longer cared if her voice carried. She was staring at the thing that could save her mother. She was absolutely certain of it. That belt held the key to her mother’s sanity.
Aliette sneered. “Don’t be silly. The belt is part of me—you cannot separate it from me, or me from it.”
Donna licked her suddenly dry lips. “I could kill you,” she said slowly. “I bet that would work.”
She was surprised—and only a little shocked—to find that she meant it. Had death and violence become so commonplace to her? She wanted to regret her words, and the thoughts and feelings that lay behind them, but she’d be lying to herself if she said she was sorry.
Would she really try to murder another living being to save her mother? She was almost afraid to answer that question.
Luckily, she didn’t have to. The Wood Queen was tapping her fingers on the table again; it was like a nervous tick, and it made her seem even more disturbingly human. “You make empty threats, Donna Underwood. My death wouldn’t serve you.”
“Actually, Your Majesty I think it would serve me pretty well.”
Aliette smiled a particularly nasty smile and pulled the belt more tightly around her. “If you destroy me, then you destroy your mother.”
Donna narrowed her eyes, trying to see through the queen’s words as easily as she’d seen through her glamour. “You’re lying.”
“Don’t be so quick to decide between truth and lies, child. You are not so good a judge as you seem to think.”
“What does that mean?”
Aliette raised perfectly plucked brows. “Is it so hard to understand? I am not speaking in riddles.”
“Says you,” Donna muttered. She bit her lip and thought for a moment. “Okay then, let’s try this. Will you answer a question for me?”
The queen’s painted mouth quirked up at one corner. “Is that your question?”
Donna scowled. “No, of course not. But as a show of good faith, I want to know something.”
“You may ask.” Aliette arranged the sugar and cinnamon shakers into a neat line.
Taking a deep breath and plunging ahead before she could lose her nerve, Donna leaned forward. “Back in the Ironwood, and again just now, you kept trying to put doubts in my mind about the people in my life. About the Order. As though you know something I don’t. I want to know what you’re talking about—whether you’re just playing with me, or whether there really is something I should know.”
There, she’d said it. Her knees turned to liquid and she felt glad she was sitting down. Voicing her fears, especially to an enemy, was dangerous to the point of
Okay, so it had taken a great deal of effort to detect that slight crack in the queen’s armor, but she’d detected it nevertheless. She’d seen the shimmer of energy surrounding Aliette, seen how delicate the balance of her power truly was.
The Wood Queen was weak. Maybe even weaker than the alchemists suspected. Holding a full human glamour must be costing Aliette a crazy amount of juice; how was she doing it?
And that was when Donna’s gaze fell on the purse strap looped over the Wood Queen’s shoulder. The crack in Aliette’s magic had opened wide enough to reveal the true nature of the purse.
Instead of looking at a leather strap, Donna found herself staring at a length of woven and knotted ivy and leaves forming a … belt. The Wood Queen’s belt! She was wearing it as part of her glamour, disguising it as the shoulder strap of her human purse. That’s how she was able to walk in the iron world and hold such an impressive glamour.
Donna’s heart thumped hard enough to make her dizzy. She felt certain that the entire coffee shop could hear it, and for a moment it seemed as though the drumming of the Wood Queen’s scarlet fingers on the tabletop matched the rhythm of her mounting excitement and horror.
Aliette met her gaze and, for a moment, Donna could see confusion clouding those wicked eyes.
“Give it to me!” Donna no longer cared if her voice carried. She was staring at the thing that could save her mother. She was absolutely certain of it. That belt held the key to her mother’s sanity.
Aliette sneered. “Don’t be silly. The belt is part of me—you cannot separate it from me, or me from it.”
Donna licked her suddenly dry lips. “I could kill you,” she said slowly. “I bet that would work.”
She was surprised—and only a little shocked—to find that she meant it. Had death and violence become so commonplace to her? She wanted to regret her words, and the thoughts and feelings that lay behind them, but she’d be lying to herself if she said she was sorry.
Would she really try to murder another living being to save her mother? She was almost afraid to answer that question.
Luckily, she didn’t have to. The Wood Queen was tapping her fingers on the table again; it was like a nervous tick, and it made her seem even more disturbingly human. “You make empty threats, Donna Underwood. My death wouldn’t serve you.”
“Actually, Your Majesty I think it would serve me pretty well.”
Aliette smiled a particularly nasty smile and pulled the belt more tightly around her. “If you destroy me, then you destroy your mother.”
Donna narrowed her eyes, trying to see through the queen’s words as easily as she’d seen through her glamour. “You’re lying.”
“Don’t be so quick to decide between truth and lies, child. You are not so good a judge as you seem to think.”
“What does that mean?”
Aliette raised perfectly plucked brows. “Is it so hard to understand? I am not speaking in riddles.”
“Says you,” Donna muttered. She bit her lip and thought for a moment. “Okay then, let’s try this. Will you answer a question for me?”
The queen’s painted mouth quirked up at one corner. “Is that your question?”
Donna scowled. “No, of course not. But as a show of good faith, I want to know something.”
“You may ask.” Aliette arranged the sugar and cinnamon shakers into a neat line.
Taking a deep breath and plunging ahead before she could lose her nerve, Donna leaned forward. “Back in the Ironwood, and again just now, you kept trying to put doubts in my mind about the people in my life. About the Order. As though you know something I don’t. I want to know what you’re talking about—whether you’re just playing with me, or whether there really is something I should know.”
There, she’d said it. Her knees turned to liquid and she felt glad she was sitting down. Voicing her fears, especially to an enemy, was dangerous to the point of
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