“Violet, please. Listen.” “I’m listening.” I think of the dozens of obstacles she’ll face when she gets to the palace. There are footmen and doormen and guards everywhere—guards who may not be loyal to the king, if Captain Huxley was in the woods with Arella Cherry. I don’t know what to make of any of this, and my thoughts refuse to organize. They tried to kill me once. Is this a second attempt? Are they trying to kill Corrick? A sob nearly forms in my chest, but I swallow it down.
