Page 29 of Of Curses and Moonlight

For a moment she stood in silence glaring at him but then she snorted. “You think my cousin despises you that badly?”

“Alecta is anything but logical.”

Red flushed through her cheeks. “You presume too much. I must return to the queen.” She swept around him, moving back toward the throne room.

He caught her arm. “Show me your wrists.”

“Unhand me, sir.”

He released her.

Gertrude’s skin was beat red, her gaze ablaze. “You are mistaken if you think the queen shall not hear about this impertinence.”

With that she spun and flounced away.

Rothbart marched back to his office, worried about what Gertrude might say to the queen. He shouldn’t have grabbed her. Oh well, her majesty had warned he may make some enemies. Stepping into the room, he moved to his desk, picked up a quill, dipped it in the ink, and made a question mark next to Gertrude's name. It was tentative, but every other entry so far had the dreaded black line marking it out. It didn’t mean they were innocent, only that Rothbart could pin down no motive.

At least with Gertrude he had something.

The wall to his left split open without warning. He frowned as Zoya, in her maid disguise, stepped through, the portal snapping shut behind her.

Damn it. She’d found where he’d hidden his beans back at the manor.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” He stalked toward her, the list clenched in his fist. “You can’t be here. It's dangerous.”

She gave him a defiant glare. “I wanted to come with you to find Helga tonight. You are going, aren’t you?”

Helga the midwife. The woman who had delivered Zoya, and right now, their only hope for finding out more about his sister’s past.

He stopped in front of her. “Yes, but you can’t come along. It’s—”

She waved a hand, rolling her eyes emphatically. “Dangerous. I know. Look, Lina is doing well. I mean, as far as I can tell as a swan. I just wanted to come with you for a few hours. That’s all.”

Rothbart let out a breath. Lina was still weak, but recovering, now in swan form. Despite doing better, her movements were still slow so he had set Zoya, in her maid disguise, to watch over her, while he continued his interrogations. At least Lina was improving. Odette would be glad to hear it.

He stepped back to his desk. Putting down the parchment, he pressed his palm into the list of crossed out names and glared at his stepsister. “You do recognize that what I am trying to do here—”

“Of course I do. But look at me! Nobody’s going to know—”

A knock sounded, and they both jerked toward the open doorway. Kilron stood there, his long brown hair tied back from his face, a sheepishness in his lavender eyes.

“Sorry to intrude.” He turned as if to leave. “I can return another time if necessary.”

Something twisted in Rothbart’s gut. Their discussion had been loud. How much did Kilron hear? How much had he understood?

“No. You may stay.” He’d use the interruption to end this argument early. Rothbart narrowed his eyes at Zoya. “My maid was just leaving.”

Her gaze flitted between Rothbart and Kilron, probably trying to decide if it was worth carrying on their discussion with the new person present. She let out a long, exasperated sigh. “Fine, Rothbart, you win.”

Rothbart pulled a bean from his pocket and threw it at the wall. “I will see you when we get home.”

The portal opened and Zoya slunk through it with the most sour expression on her face.

Kilron raised an eyebrow. “You allow her to address you so informally?”

Careless Zoya. “She’s still learning her place. I will give her an earful once I return tonight.”

His friend nodded. “It can be difficult, switching masters.”

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