CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“By the Immortals, what happened to you two?” Orion snorted from the sofa as Asterin stalked into the living room, throwing her muddy cloak in a pile by the hearth.

“They had a little domestic,” Luna piped in, kicking off her boots. She scanned the room for Eadric, but he must have been busy helping Harry in the kitchen, though the only sounds drifting through the open door were the occasional clang of pots and the tap running.

“About what?” Rose asked, not even bothering to glance up. She sat cross-legged on the living room rug surrounded by maps, her brow crinkled as she made markings with a quill.

“I threw a tantrum,” Asterin answered, sagging against the sofa with a relieved moan. Quinlan gave her a nudge and she scooched over to make space.

Luna grinned and flopped onto her back on the rug beside Rose. “You really did,” Luna said. Rose didn’t seem to mind her there, though she manhandled Luna’s legs to remove the maps pinned underneath to drape them over her stomach instead. That was when Luna caught sight of the rigidity of the Eradorian’s shoulders, the tension in her jaw. “Rose? Is everything all right?”

Silence blanketed the room, broken only by the high whistle of a kettle through the door. Finally, Rose threw down her quill, her eyes flicking to Quinlan, then toward the kitchen. Her cousin nodded in understanding, hurrying through the dining room and into the kitchen. He shut the door behind him, muting the kettle.

“We need to talk,” said Rose.

“About what?” asked Asterin.

“Harry.” Rose hesitated. “There’s something … off about him.”

Orion waved her off. “Yeah, but he’s Harry. He’s been living all alone for who knows how long.”

Rose shook her head. “It’s more than that. Sometimes, when he comes back in the evenings, I swear that the light … shies away from him.”

Orion rolled his eyes. “Right. That makes so much sense.”

“Orion, I’m serious.”

“Well, so am I! Come on, Rose. Don’t be like Eadric.”

Luna shot him a glare, causing the maps to shift under Rose’s hands. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” Orion exhaled. “Listen, you were the one who told me I should give people a chance when it comes to trust.”

Rose lowered her head. “I know. And it’s not that I’m saying we shouldn’t trust Harry, but … I just think it’s strange that the demon has never attacked him, while Corinthe—which is pretty damn close to here—was totally wiped out.”

Orion stared at her. “So? Harry has a ton of traps set up around his house. Maybe the demon knows how to avoid them.”

“Maybe …”

“And what do you mean that it’s strange he hasn’t been attacked? Do you want him to get attacked or something?”

“Of course not,” said Rose. “But we still have to take everything into consideration—”

“No, no we don’t!” Orion exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. He sprang off the sofa, pointing an accusatory finger at Rose. “Why do you have to act like everyone has an ulterior motive? Not everyone is trying to stab you in the back! Even if Harry is keeping some sort of secret, what right do you have to call him out on it? You lied to all of us for an entire month about your identity!”

Rose’s eyes narrowed. “Being a queen and a murderer are two entirely different things.”

“I have to agree with Rose,” Asterin admitted softly, glancing up at Orion. “I’m sorry.”

The princess’s Guardian reeled back as if she had slapped him, betrayal and hurt flashing across his face. With a disgruntled snort, he stomped off to the kitchen, letting himself in and slamming the door behind him with a bang that rattled the glass panes.

Luna watched him leave. “Should one of us go after him and make sure he doesn’t say anything stupid?”

Rose sighed, folding her hands in her lap. “Quinlan is still in there, so I think it will be okay. Thanks for siding with me, by the way,” she said to Asterin.

“Don’t thank me.” Asterin propped her elbows on her knees and lowered her voice. “The truth is, a few nights ago, when our team returned late, we saw Harry running away from the cottage, though he didn’t see us. We tried to follow him, but he was too fast. Remember that deer he took down?” At Rose’s nod, Asterin went on. “I didn’t see a puncture wound from one of his crossbow bolts, but the deer did have teeth marks around its neck. Big teeth marks.”

That was news to Luna. She hadn’t noticed, and Asterin hadn’t mentioned anything at the time. “Maybe a bear killed it or something and Harry just found it?”

Asterin shook her head. “I doubt it. But then again, it’s not like Harry has bear teeth, so I didn’t push it.”

Rose sighed and made a mark with her quill. “If only he had more of an alibi.”

“That tickles,” Luna grumbled, shifting beneath the maps. She craned her neck. “What’s all this, anyway?” The three continents—Aspea, Prydell, and Eyvindr—spread across the long scroll of parchment, the nine kingdoms neatly divided within. She rolled onto her stomach, tracing her finger along the marks Rose had made at seemingly random locations. “Artica.” The uninhabitable, icy wasteland circling the north above Aspea and Prydell. She dragged her finger down a bold black line connecting Artica to a dot on the coast of Eyvindr. “Volteris.” The capital of Volterra. Her finger continued, crossing into the Asvindr Ocean. Luna frowned. “And … the middle of the ocean.”

“No,” Rose said. “That’s Qris. It’s a tiny island that was colonized by Oprehvar, but very few people live there since it’s basically a living volcano.” She drew a final line, connecting the island back to Artica to form a perfect triangle. “This means something,” she muttered to herself. “It has to.”

Asterin sat up suddenly. “I have an idea.”

Rose’s eyes widened. “You do?”

Asterin waved a hand. “Not about the map.” She rose from the sofa and began pacing.

Luna tilted her head. “Then about what?”

Asterin stopped. “The demon, of course. That thing Orion said earlier. About the demon knowing about the traps.” Asterin resumed her pacing, faster than before. “We should set our own. Without telling Harry.” She hesitated, mouth thinning. “Or Orion. As a precaution.”

“It’s a good idea,” Rose allowed. “And we could set them up like Harry’s net trap so that they can only be triggered by a substantial weight.” She made a face. “But even if we cast invisibility charms to mask the traps, I doubt a net could hold the demon for longer than a few minutes.”

“We don’t need it to hold.” Asterin looked at Luna. “Do you remember that time we played that prank on Eadric? With the dye bomb?”

Luna snickered. “Of course. His hands were blue for a month.”

“What do we need to make the dye again?” Asterin asked.

“Not much,” she replied, skimming through the list in her head. “Carbon black. Egg yolks. Honey. Some other stuff, depending on how long you want the dye to last.”

“I can help with the chemistry,” Rose said. “I don’t think Harry has any eggs, but we can find an alternative. Vinegar with baking soda might work.”

“We can rig the secret traps with the dye bombs,” Asterin said. “Even if whatever or whoever we catch manages to escape, then …”

Luna’s lips parted at the simple ingenuity of it all. “The dye will remain.”

Asterin nodded. “So at least we’ll know whether or not Harry is the demon.”

Rose began gathering the maps. “Then let’s get started. It’ll probably take a few days to set it up, and we have to make sure Harry doesn’t suspect anything.”

“You know what?” Asterin said. Her eyes glinted conspiringly. “Just to be safe, what do you say we keep this a secret from the boys entirely?”

All three of them shared identical, wicked grins.