If Vin had said anything to the queen about their run in in the kitchen, Rona kept it to herself. Kit assumed her mother knew, though. There wasn’t much that escaped the queen. During the dinner before the ball, Rona was particularly quiet, her eyes slightly narrowed, and a knowing grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. Kit wasn’t sure if the queen was up to something or just wanted to pique Kit’s suspicions.

The princess didn’t eat much. She’d come up with a plan the night before regarding how to track Pierce, but it would take help, and she wasn’t exactly sure who she could trust. Danyen would...