Second, I needed to figure out how to escape Tearmann.
Third, get the dagger.
Finally, I’d toss a coin to decide which prince to kill.
Since I couldn’t do the first in this bedroom, I peeled back the covers, rolled out of the bed, and pondered the second.
There had to be some way in and out of this place besides the Black Forest. No humans were permitted to set foot in the Queen’s territory without her permission.
That’s it.
The Queen was there to deter humans from entering Tearmann, right? But I was trying to get out. Surely she wouldn’t refuse me if I explained the situation.
I just needed to find a way to meet with her.
It felt good to have a plan. Someplace to start.
I caught a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror when I passed. Pale, grayish skin. Dark circles beneath my eyes. Blood smearing my cheek.
I looked like death.
New plan: Make myself look less like a corpse,thenKeelynn, andthenthe Queen.
I opened the armoire beside the mirror, not caring what I had to wear as long as it wasn’t covered in blood.
At least a dozen dresses hung inside. All of them stunning. And all of them blue.
They probably belonged to one of Rían or Tadhg’s former—or current—paramours. I silently thanked the unnamed woman as I traded my soiled gown for one of chiffon that miraculously fit like it had been made just for me.
I scrubbed my face as best I could with what little water remained in the jug.
In the bottom of the armoire, I found a small gold hand mirror and comb. Once I had my tangled curls tamed and pulled back from my ghostly white face with a spare bit of ribbon, I went to the door.
The moment my fingers connected with the wood, Rían’s warning growled in the back of my mind.Do not leave this room.
Rían may be a prince, but he wasn’tmyprince. And he sure as hell wouldn’t dictate my comings and goings.
Sliding the bolt aside, I eased the door open, half expecting to see a guard at my door. Instead, I found only candles in sconces letting off a steady orange glow. The borrowed slippers kept my footsteps silent as I tiptoed toward the staircase.
Up or down?
Anyone upstairs would probably be asleep.
Down it was.
After descending three flights, I reached the main entrance. Someone had cleaned up the glass and flowers but hadn’t bothered replacing the vase on the table.
The tapestries became terrifying nightmares in the dim light. Three banshees, with black eyes and white hair, hovered above a body-strewn battlefield. On the second tapestry, a woman wearing all black stood amidst the carnage, eyes closed and face raised toward the clouds, cradling two severed heads.
And I thought the decorations in my father’s house had been hideous.
I stepped back, ramming into something hard. I would’ve thought it was a wall if it hadn’t been warm. Andbreathing.
Whirling, I found myself staring up at a pair of narrowed golden eyes. The owner of those eyes was the size of a tree, with hair as black as coal and a white linen shirt unbuttoned at the throat.
He grinned, revealing elongated canines that could easily tear me apart.“I heard we had company.”
I opened my mouth to scream but couldn’t make a sound.