I smiled with genuine gratitude. “All of my dresses are beautiful. Thank you.” Ebb helped me remove the gown I was wearing, and I stepped gingerly into the white dress. The satin on the bodice was so old it was beginning to yellow, and it was delicate as a moth’s wings.

“This was Queen Serena’s wedding gown, milady,” the seamstress explained. “We can replace the bits that are discolored, if you like.”

I recognized the dress from the portrait in Ceren’s chambers. It was cut low at the neck, and the hand-sewn lace trimming wasn’t quite long enough to cover my chest.

“You’re a bit more shapely than the late queen, milady,” the seamstress said. “I’ll add more lace here.”

The bodice was tight but manageable, with glass beads and more lace covering the white satin. There were no sleeves, just little chiffon drapes across the shoulders, and the skirt was a frothy mix of lace, tulle, and chiffon, like sea foam, all covered with more of the delicate glass beadwork. It was a beautiful dress, but considering the occasion, mourning colors would have been more appropriate.

“I’ll let out the hips just a bit,” the seamstress said, “and then I think we should be all set. I’m having some white lace gloves made up as well, if that pleases milady.”

I nodded and thanked her. “I’m sure it will all be lovely,” I added.

She smiled and curtsied again before bustling out with the dress form. Ebb helped me change back into my other gown for dinner. Only a few of the most prominent lords and ladies were in attendance tonight, as well as Talin, who was staying at New Castle while the king was ill, in case he should take a turn for the worse. But he had not come to see me since our return, and if there really was a reason for me to remain hopeful, I couldn’t imagine it.

“How was the fitting today?” Ceren asked as he sipped his wine.

“It went well. Your mother’s dress is even more beautiful in reality than in her portrait.” He reached for my hand, and I let him take it. I was tired of fighting. Not quite resigned, but tired.

“I know you’re not yet eighteen, and Father is holding on better than we’d dare to hope. But we’ll need to move forward with the wedding either way. You understand, of course.”

I nodded. Marrying me wouldn’t do him any good if Talin seized the crown, but knowing Ceren, he had a plan for that outcome, too.

“I imagine Varenian weddings are quite different from Ilarean ones,” he said as he sawed at the slab of liver on his plate with a knife. “There will be a brief ceremony in the great hall, and once we’re wed, we’ll leave the mountain and go through the nearby villages in a carriage. The people will be out in droves to see their new princess. Or queen, as it may be.” He smiled, but there was something about the way he spoke that unnerved me. “Afterward we’ll have a feast here at the castle, and then it will be our wedding night, of course. I don’t think I need to go into further detail about that—do I, my lady?”

I didn’t blush or cringe, as he’d no doubt hoped I would. “No.”

“Here, let me cut your meat for you.” He came to stand behind me the way he had when he’d presented the bat pie. “I’m finding it especially tough this evening.”

Something was definitely not right. I glanced at Talin out of the corner of my eye, but he looked as confused as I was. Then I heard the knife screech against the plate and felt a searing pain in my arm. I looked down to see a deep cut, already welling with blood.

I was too shocked to speak, but Talin was on his feet immediately.

“What have you done?” he asked Ceren as he clamped a napkin down on my forearm. “You clumsy—”

“Calm down,” Ceren said coolly. “You’re in the presence of ladies. The knife slipped. I’ll take Zadie to have her arm bandaged.”

“You’re not taking her anywhere,” Talin said, helping me to my feet.

Ceren stepped in front of me, his gray eyes flashing with anger. “Keep your hands off my wife.”

“She’s not your wife yet.” I’d never heard Talin so cold.

Ceren lowered his voice to a growl. “Stand back, or I’ll have you put in the dungeon.”

“Talin,” I said quietly. “I’m fine.”

Ceren glanced between the two of us, and whatever he saw there only angered him further. He pushed me roughly toward the doors. I could feel the eyes of every lord and lady on us as he marched me out of the dining hall, one hand placed firmly on my back, the other still gripping the knife. He didn’t stop until we’d made it to his study, where he shoved me over the threshold and locked the door behind us.

“Show me your arm,” he said before I’d even turned around. He ripped the bloody napkin off my skin. The wound was deep and hadn’t fully healed yet, but the bleeding had stopped.

He grabbed my wrist and brought my arm closer to his face. I’d forgotten about his poor vision. “So the bastards weren’t lying,” he said. “I wondered how you managed to heal so quickly when Salandrin bit you. Does your arm hurt?”

I pulled my arm out of his grasp. “Not anymore. Who told you?”

“My fool guards. They couldn’t save you from the woman king’s men, apparently, but they did manage to catch this. How is this possible?” His eyes were wide and wild, and somehow the excitement on his face was more terrifying than his usually stony demeanor.

My blood pulsed loudly in my ears. I had hoped to hide this truth from Ceren, at least. Now I’d made things even worse. “I don’t know. There was an...accident. When I was a child. Ever since then, I’ve been able to heal quickly.”

“What kind of accident?”

I hesitated, and Ceren stepped forward with the knife. “Don’t disgrace us both with lies, my lady.”

I bit my lip, wondering how vague I could be. “It was a cut.”

“From?”

I had no hope of getting out of this with both my secret and my life, but I had to try. “A coral,” I said.

“Not a normal coral, surely.” Ceren cocked his head, considering. “I’ve heard that the pearls get their healing properties from the blood coral.”

I tried to keep my face impassive, but he already knew he’d hit the right line of questioning.

“How bad of an injury can you sustain and still fully heal?”

My blood went cold, and I took a step backward, in case he was hoping to find out. “I don’t know.”

“Miraculous,” he repeated, still staring at my arm. “I wonder if it’s possible the coral entered your bloodstream. And now, whatever is in the coral that makes the Varenians so healthy and the pearls so potent...is inside you.”