Meghan’s jaw dropped in indignation, but she remained silent, fascinated by Aaron’s lie. She hadn’t cast a bad spell, and she hadn’t released it. Aaron had. Whether he knew it or not remained to be seen. But clearly the woman in the doorway had seen it, and was keen enough on magic to know something strange had just happened.

The woman walked in. “Who are you?” she asked Meghan.

“Who are you?” Meghan replied. She held a backward bobbly head, ready to fling it at the woman if she got any closer.

“I’m Gondoleery Rattrapp, of course. Tell me, nameless girl, did my eyes deceive me? Or did our fearless leader just release himself from a spell you cast?” The woman stepped closer to Meghan.

Meghan’s eyes darted to Aaron, who gave her a small, panicked look, which confused Meghan dreadfully. What was going on here? “If you take one more step toward me,” Meghan warned Gondoleery, “I’ll—”

With that, Gondoleery pointed at Meghan. A tiny fireball shot from her fingertip, hitting Meghan in the shoulder and singeing her sleeve and the ends of her hair.

Without thinking, Meghan cast the bobbly head at Gondoleery and shot a highlighter spell in Aaron’s eyes, blinding him. And while Gondoleery’s head spun a hundred and eighty degrees, bobbling loosely, and Aaron cried out in pain and pitched into his desk, Meghan Ranger ran from the office, down the stairs, and out of the palace like her life depended on it, passing Liam Healy in the entryway. He turned and watched her go, confused. And then he sprinted up the steps to Aaron’s office, finding Aaron and Gondoleery looking most peculiar.

When Gondoleery Rattrapp’s head was finally on straight and she could think clearly once more, she faced Liam and Aaron, whose sight was beginning to come back.

“Is it true what she said?” Gondoleery asked. “Eva’s dead?”

“What?” cried Liam.

Aaron wasn’t sure if he could speak. He was glad he could blame the highlighter spell for his moist eyes. “It’s true,” he said finally. “She was killed by . . .” Aaron’s thoughts whirled. “By a creature in Artimé,” he said carefully.

Liam’s shock turned to disbelief. “Why? How could that happen? That’s against everything they stand for!”

“Artimé attacked and killed the secretary to the high priest?” Gondoleery cried out, dumbfounded. “And you just stood here and let that Unwanted cast spells on us? What kind of pathetic ruler are you? She could have killed both of us, leaving Quill at their mercy!” Gondoleery moved her face close to Aaron’s—so close he could feel draconic heat emanating from her pores. “You are a terrible leader!”

Aaron stared at her. He could smell her rank breath.

“Gondoleery,” Liam said quietly. “Step back.”

“Yes,” Aaron said, coming to his senses, his chest heaving. “Back off immediately. Or I’ll summon the guards.”

Gondoleery cackled, and a bit of spittle landed on Aaron’s cheek. He narrowed his eyes and wiped it away. After a moment, she took a step back. “You’re a scared little dog,” she said. “You’re afraid to attack Artimé, aren’t you? Aha, you are!” She laughed again. “You know, if you don’t take control of Quill soon, somebody else will, and happily.”

The words cut Aaron hard because he knew they were true. He had failed to keep the Restorers together. He’d failed to train the jungle animals to do his bidding and the panther ended up killing the only person he actually cared about. There was only so much more he could do before somebody figured out he didn’t have a clue how to run Quill . . . especially now, without Secretary by his side.

But he couldn’t show any weakness—not in front of Gondoleery. Not now, when she had seen him release the spell. His magical abilities had to remain his secret weapon. “My dear Gondoleery,” he said, his words like ice, “if you don’t get out of this room immediately, I’ll send you back to the Ancients Sector where you came from.”

A flicker of fear crossed Gondoleery’s face before her self-assured smile returned. She extended her singed fingers, examined them, and loudly cracked her knuckles, knowing she had nothing to worry about. Still, she made no reply, and after a moment, she turned and marched out of the office.

Aaron let out a breath and dropped into his chair.

Liam moved to speak but Aaron shushed him. “You too,” the high priest said gruffly. “Out.”

“But . . . about Eva—what happened?”

“I said get out!”

Liam hesitated, fists balled in frustration and grief, and then turned on his heel and left.

Once Aaron was alone, the realization was almost too much for him to take. Gondoleery was so right it hurt—Aaron was a terrible leader of Quill. He didn’t know what he was doing. He made hasty decisions that had awful, senseless outcomes. He started things that had potential, but he continually failed to follow through. And now, the worst thing of all had happened. Gondoleery had figured out his secret—he was a complete and utter failure.

And he was scared to death.

A Painful Truth

On board the ship, Octavia quickly weaved a large square hammock out of rope while Alex talked over the plan with Simber. When the hammock was finished, Alex and Octavia spread it out on the deck, and then they and Carina lifted Sean and gently lowered him onto it. Simber glided above the deck and let his legs hang down low so Alex and Carina could attach the four corners of the hammock to them. They tested the rope to make sure it was secure, and then tied a few more ropes to one side of the hammock, tossed them up and over Simber’s back, and attached them to the other side to be completely certain Sean would be safe and secure. Hanging in the hammock would give Sean a fairly smooth ride, or at least that’s what everyone hoped.