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bottom is just too—”
    “Don’t make me throw you overboard,” Talia said.
    The yards turned slowly, moving the longboat past the edge of the ship until it hung suspended over the water. Danielle took one of the queen’s hands in hers. Beatrice’s skin was cold, like that of a child who had been swimming too long in the chilly water. Danielle removed her cloak and spread it over the queen.
    The crew set the longboat down so gently there was barely a splash. The presence of queen, prince, and princess no doubt contributed to their care. Four more sailors climbed down a rope ladder to join them in the boat. They removed the ropes, then stood to receive the oars passed down from the ship.
    As soon as the men began to row, Armand turned to Danielle. “My father taught me to see the kingdom as a whole. My mother had a different upbringing. She cares for Lorindar, but she sees individuals first, regardless of their nation. She’s a good deal like you, actually.”
    He glanced at Talia and Snow. “She also kept many secrets over the years. I’ve seen her ruin dukes and settle wars when all the military might of Lorindar wouldn’t have accomplished the same thing.”
    “She’s a good queen,” said Danielle.
    “Yes.” Armand looked down, gently brushing his mother’s hair from her face. “Taking in one of Posannes’ daughters does sound like something she might do, if he asked her. Both as queen of Lorindar and as a friend to Posannes and his family. They’ve known each other for many years.”
    “Beatrice never would have taken us to see the undine if she thought something like this could happen,” Danielle said.
    “No,” Armand agreed. “She was good at recognizing danger. Some believed it was a gift from God.”
    “She might have relied too strongly on that gift,” Snow said, speaking for the first time since leaving the ship. “Even the strongest seer is often blind to his or her own fate. That blindness could have given her a false sense of safety.”
    Armand stared at her, then nodded.
    At the dock, King Theodore stood waiting with a small crowd of guards and bystanders. The cliffs made him appear small, almost fragile to Danielle’s eye. The mist from the waves had darkened his jacket and pasted his gray-brown hair to his head.
    “I doubt he’s slept at all since receiving word,” Armand said.
    “Have you?” Danielle took his hand. Not that she was any better rested. When she finally drifted off last night, dreams of screaming undine had jolted her awake. “I waited for you to come to bed.”
    Armand didn’t answer, but he squeezed her hand more tightly. “Do you think your friends will be able to help my mother?”
    Danielle glanced at Snow and Talia, both of whom sat in silence. Snow had already tried to use her magic to locate Lirea and the undine, just as she had tried to counter the magic that had torn the queen’s spirit from her body. Both times she had failed. Danielle had no doubt that Snow would disappear the instant they reached the palace, barricading herself away with her magic mirror. “They love her. We all do.”
    “Promise me you’ll be careful,” he said. “Lirea has already threatened to kill you. I don’t—” He looked away. “Just promise me.”
    As they longboat neared the docks, the king jumped into the waist-deep water and waded toward them. The sailors stowed their oars. One tossed a rope to the men on the docks.
    King Theodore caught the front of the boat, guiding it alongside the dock. His gaze never left the queen.
    “I promise,” Danielle whispered.
     
    Padded benches lined the inside of the carriage. The queen lay on the longest, opposite the door. She was stretched out as if asleep, her head resting on the king’s lap. The king’s breath caught with each jolt as the carriage made its way up the road toward home.
    There were few words during the trip, and those were spoken in whispers. Theodore had ordered the coastal towns to be on the lookout