BRAHM
The guards drop me as soon as my mother falls, apparently free of whatever bond she has been using on them. Horrified, the changeling edges toward the door.
“Drake!” I yell on impulse, “Catch him!”
Drake races for the changeling, tackling him to the ground. Then he looks up, eyes wide, as we both realize what just happened.
I spoke to my brother for the first time in ten years.
Regina kneels, taking Sabine in her arms, rocking my sister as they both cry.
And Alice.
She sits on the floor, staring at my mother as if in shock. She still holds the letter opener like a dagger, even though the metal shakes in her fist.
I race to her, stumbling to the floor as I grab her shoulders.
“Are you all right?” I demand, looking her over, my hands traveling over her face.
She nods numbly, finally pulling her eyes to the letter opener in her hand. Immediately, she tosses it away, shivering. Her voice wavers as she asks, “What happened?”
“Mother’s magic ricocheted back at her,” Drake says heavily. He looks at me. “The illanté tether protected Alice.”
I look down, realizing the golden band of magic no longer rings Alice’s wrist. “It’s gone.”
She rubs her skin as if somehow sensing it as well. “I was linked to you, but I made the vow with your mother. And now…”
We all turn to the fallen queen.
“Is she…?” Sabine croaks.
Reluctantly, I rise. After a deep bolstering breath, I kneel and press my fingers to Mother’s wrist.
“She’s not dead,” I say wearily.
Suddenly, Mother flinches, crying out in her unconscious state. Her eyes move, unfocused, and her face contorts with horror.
“What’s wrong with her?” Alice demands, edging away.
Repulsed, I close Mother’s eyelids. “She’s suffering the effects of whatever spell she intended to use on you.”
The room falls quiet.
“What do we do with her?” one of the guards asks.
I shake my head, choking as I try to control a wave of intense nausea. “Take her back to the castle. She’ll pass away, or she’ll wake. Only time will tell.”
Nodding, several guards step forward, scooping the queen’s lifeless body into their arms.
Another guard turns to me, understandably nervous. “Your Highness, we—”
“I know,” I say heavily. “We all know. There is no need to apologize.”
Solemnly, he nods and joins the others.
I walk toward the changeling, wondering what we’re going to do with him. “Where did you leave Wallen?”
“In a pit in the woods.” He enunciates the words very slowly as if I’m dimwitted. “Didn’t we already have this conversation?”