Erador moved down the stairs when hysterical sobs reached his ears and drew him into the throne room. Breck sat hunched on a bench as Pia rubbed his back. When Mikra reached to place a hand on his shoulder, uneasiness overwhelmed Erador. He wanted to hit Mikra away from Breck, but he didn’t understand why.

  “What’s going on?” Erador said.

  Eonidas moved across the room. “It’s not good for any of us.”

  Erador’s heart raced when he looked to Breck’s hands—the silver ram necklace dangled from his fingers. The same one around Emera’s neck coated in her blood, where Erador had left it.

  “Emera’s dead,” Breck gasped. “She’s fucking dead.”

  Anger pulsed through Erador’s skull. That necklace was taken before she was buried. Hawth. Breck gripped the chain with dried blood. He wouldn’t expect Breck to cradle Taurin’s necklace, but it had meant so much to Emera, and it was one of the last things with her before she died.

  “Who told you that?” Erador said.

  Breck looked up with bloodshot eyes and glistening cheeks. “Told me what?”

  “It was Hawth,” Eonidas whispered. “He gave him the necklace. Said he found remains in the woods. Most of her was eaten by animals.”

  “Where’s the body?” Erador said.

  “Hawth said he’d show us but… he said it’s dangerous. Thinks the Raven did it,” Eonidas said his name low, as if being too loud would summon him.

  “Does he have evidence?” Erador said.

  “Evidence?” Breck aggressively said, wiping tears from his face. He took a black raven feather from the bench and waved it. “Hawth found it by her body.”

  Erador took the feather and brushed his finger across it. How unclever. As if the Raven would leave feathers around to prove he was killing them. When he’d sabotaged Lucrethia’s contracts, they never said he left intentional evidence of his crimes.

  “What do we do?” Pia looked worried.

  Erador was afraid fire would leak into his words he meant to use to comfort Pia and assure her she was safe. Mikra offered that by rubbing her arm. Erador couldn’t bring himself to say anything. His fingers tensed around the feather that it bent. Everyone here seemed to believe it, but maybe they wanted someone to blame.

  His eyes followed Mikra’s hand as it moved back and forth on Pia’s shoulder. He slapped it off and Mikra gave him a look of confusion. Erador glared at the servant.

  Breck threw the necklace down and stomped on it. “I’m going to fucking kill him!”

  “Calm down, brother,” Eonidas said, grabbing his shoulder to stop him. “You’re not thinking right.”

  Breck ripped away from Eonidas. “Emera was like a mother to me.”

  “I know.” Eonidas hesitated before patting Breck’s shoulder. “She was there for us too.”

  Erador couldn’t say the same. He never cared for Emera. She defended Taurin no matter what he did, and she did it for Breck too. She was also quick to place blame on Erador and the Paradins. She might have touched some lives, but she could’ve ruined them all and for what?

  A rippling shock rushed through Erador’s skull as the hairs on his neck lifted, and he looked to the ground. Shade pointed in the direction of a pillar where dark eyes peeked out and disappeared. Erador dashed across the room and caught a door before it closed.

  He caught a glimpse of Hawth’s red jacket before he disappeared around the corner. Erador charged after him, passing candles that offered little light in the dark corridors. Hawth looked back and horror struck his face when he noticed Erador coming. He rushed ahead and grabbed a doorknob, but Erador reached him and slammed him into the wall.

  “Hello, Hawth,” Erador said between a breath. “How’s your father?”

  Hawth narrowed his eyes. “He’ll come for you if you hurt me.”

  “I’m supposed to be scared?” Erador said, mocking.

  “When you learn who he is, you’ll run.”

  “A magician and black market dealer sound terrifying.” Erador shoved him harder into the wall. “Did he help you kill Emera?”

  “I didn’t do it.” Hawth jerked against him, but Erador held him firm.

  “Someone didn’t want Emera talking. With the Raven free and her death... it seems like you’ve changed sides.”

  Hawth gritted his teeth. “I haven’t.”

  Erador tightened his grip on Hawth’s jacket. “Then why did you tell Breck about her? I told you to keep quiet.”

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  “He had a right to know.” Hawth narrowed his eyes. “He thinks it’s the Raven, so why are you worried?”

  “A feather was your best idea?”

  “The Paradins haven’t been taking it seriously, so I gave them a reason to.”

  “You’re scaring them.”

  Hawth stared Erador down. “Better to be prepared.

  Erador jammed his arm into Hawth’s chest. He wanted to yell more, but he couldn’t. It didn’t matter how much Erador threatened him, Hawth would do what he wanted. He knew that with how the corner of his lip twitched upward.

  Erador let Hawth go to avoid wanting to choke him. “You better not tell anyone about the crystal.”

  “What crystal?” Fedra said, coming down the hall.

  One more reason to blame Hawth. Erador sighed and shut his eyes. Fedra came into the light and she looked Erador over with dark, scrutinizing eyes that made an uncomfortable tingle run down his spine. He couldn’t hide it from Fedra, because she would tell everyone if he didn’t give her reason not to.

  “The Raven escaped with a teleportation crystal.”

  “So you did find out?” Fedra cocked her head at Hawth. “When were you planning on telling us?”

  Erador shot Hawth a glare when he went to answer but he stopped. “I couldn’t.”

  Fedra searched his gaze as she frowned. “Why didn’t you come to me?”

  She was from New Akthelia, where crystals were allowed, but he didn’t trust her. Fedra didn’t need to know his true reason; he was afraid everyone would blame him for the crystal and think he was framing Yuni to get rid of her.

  “I can’t have too many involved,” Erador said. “Anyone could’ve let him out.”

  Fedra sighed. “I’m a suspect?”

  “Aren’t we all?” Hawth said in a relieving high pitch.

  Erador ignored him. “You failed the mission to get the princess.”

  Fedra grabbed her hip. “That was Gillian’s fault. She sent us there during the ball and I didn’t see the princess.”

  Erador looked her over. “Whose side are you on?”

  Fedra raised her chin. “Not the witch, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Erador gave a firm nod. “I think Yuni might have freed the Raven.”

  “Let me see the crystal.”

  Erador shoved Hawth toward the north stairwell, making sure he went up first. A few doors down, Erador turned the knob to his room and forced Hawth inside and shut the door behind Fedra. Erador cranked the lantern's knob on his dresser and the fire grew. He took the crystal from under his mattress and handed it to Fedra.

  “Where did you find it?” she said, examining the crystal. Fedra touched it, not with unease or awe like Erador would expect a Lucrethian born here to do. She handled it as if she were familiar with them and it made Erador more suspicious.

  “In the cage,” Erador said, sparing the details. Fedra would drop it if she knew where it had been.

  Fedra turned the crystal, touching the scratches. “The healers in New Akthelia used them on the queen to bring her relief. She had a difficult pregnancy.”

  “Did you use them?” Erador said.

  “I wasn’t allowed since I had no experience. They were always different sizes.”

  “Don’t they usually keep them small?”

  “Depends on the element and what it’s for. Larger ones hold more, but there is a higher risk of overdosing. Some make them smaller to gain more profit.”

  That had to be Baubie and the shop owner in New Akthelia. These were sellers, whereas in Fedra’s case, these crystals were made for kings and queens; people who liked to think they were more important. They probably had their own fleet of witches.

  “Is there any way to source where a crystal is from?” Erador said.

  “The king’s had an etch. They never trusted others.” Fedra turned the crystal toward the light, as she brought it closer to her face. “This one has no mark. Wait... see these scratches. This is usually where a seal is placed. There are more than normal. It looks like they removed it.”

  Erador took the crystal, squinting at the overlapping scratches that were more in number than the rest. He thought it was damage, and the shop owner didn’t notice it.

  “They wanted to hide it,” Erador said.

  Hawth tensed, seeming to prepare himself to be blamed for it, but Erador was too busy studying the marks on the crystal, hoping that some part of the etch remained. He couldn’t trace it to who they bought it from.

  “Are they difficult to make?”

  “They can be…” Fedra said. “A lot of power is needed to fill a crystal. It doesn't last forever and the efficacy wears overtime.”

  He looked suspiciously at Hawth but couldn’t confirm if Yuni was related. Crystals were not only difficult to make, they were difficult to use based on what Loma had told him.

  “The Raven…” Erador set the crystal on his dresser. “He used it.”

  Teleportation had repercussions, according to Baubie. Something could have happened to the Raven, but maybe he knew how to use them.

  Erador faced Fedra. “He must have experience.”

  “Likely,” Fedra said. “He wasn’t always in that cage.”

  “Is it required for witches to mark them?”

  “Every regulated shop is required to, but you see how well that works. Black market crystals usually don’t have one, unless they’re more reliable.”

  Hawth was quick to look away when Erador glared. The crystal was not likely from Baubie, but it didn’t mean Hawth couldn’t have gotten it elsewhere like New Akthelia. Erador ran his fingers along the scratches on the crystal. Knowing there was an etch didn’t make this easier.

  The Raven had been free for nine weeks and there was no sign of him. As the weeks passed since his escape, the Paradins didn’t seem worried when someone didn’t have their sleeve up. If Erador asked them to raise it, he felt insane. No one should have been annoyed at something so simple. What was wrong with him wanting them to be safe? Could he blame them when they hadn’t seen what happened to Emera? Hawth was right about them letting their guard down and maybe the stunt he pulled would help keep them on guard.