“Silence, all of you,” the king says in a bored voice. He raises a hand in the air, waiting for the courtroom to quiet. When it does, he eyes Barnabus. “You have heard my verdict. Do you have a problem with it?”

Barnabus’s expression grows sulky. “I just—”

“Do you have a problem with it?” the king repeats, his tone flat.

“Of course not, Your Majesty.” He bows and backs away. “Chatworth Hold will comply with your decision. I will inform my father’s men at once so they can prepare the treasury.”

And I’d be willing to bet that his father won’t be thrilled.

“Let us continue,” the king says. “Bring up Magpie’s students.”

Hands linked, we get to our feet. Kipp leads the way as we head to stand in front of the king. I keep my chin up, because I don’t want to look guilty. I know what I did. I accept responsibility for it.

“Magpie’s students, you have been accused of attempting to steal from the guild. You—”

“It was me,” I blurt out, stepping forward. “I was the one behind everything. The others are innocent.”

“No, Aspeth—” Lark protests. Gwenna takes my hand and Mereden steps forward to my side, Kipp next to her.

The king sighs heavily and then raises his hand, silencing us. “Let me speak, or it’s going to go badly for you.”

Chastised, I duck my head. Can’t piss off the king or we’re just going to make things worse.

“I have been told that while Aspeth was the mastermind, she could not possibly work on her own. Seeing you now, I agree.”

Ouch.

“Therefore, I find the Five of Magpie’s students guilty of attempted theft and breaking guild law. Guild law states that you should be expelled from the guild entirely.”

My heart sinks. I’ve doomed the others.

“I’ve also been told that in the crypt you found, multiple Greater Artifacts have been discovered. And that the discovery of a Greater Artifact automatically gives a student full membership into the guild.”

I ache all over again, because I have mixed emotions. Part of me is devastated that the crypt has been robbed of its treasures, but at the same time, I’m grateful that something was found to help our cause. I’m just as bad as any other tomb robber. Does this mean that we’re safe?

“I can’t let the two cancel each other out,” the king continues. “Because then you would be left with no punishment at all. So my punishment is thus: You will be rejected from this year’s schooling. You will be repeaters, or you can leave. Should you wish to stay and repeat your lessons, you will work for the guild in whatever capacity any rejected students provide work to the guild, and then you will be allowed to enroll again next year. I don’t approve of your actions, but your teacher was Magpie. A corrupted pool poisons all that drink from it. Next year, when you rejoin the guild as students again, keep this in mind and stay out of trouble, hmm?”

I’m crushed to hear his answer. No more school for us. We’re to work for the guild and try again next year. I’ve caused the others so much trouble, and again, it was all for nothing.

“Lady Aspeth Honori, I would speak to you in private,” the king says. He gets to his feet and flicks his hand again. “The rest of you are dismissed.”

Uneasy, I look at the others. Mereden has tears in her eyes, and Gwenna is stoic. Lark looks as if she wants to punch something, and Kipp licks his eyeball over and over again, a nervous tic. I squeeze Gwenna’s hand and let it go, then turn to the others. “We’ll meet up after this and talk. I’m so sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry over,” Lark tells me.

“We knew what we were getting into” is all Gwenna says. “Now, go mind the king.”

She’s got a fear of nobility and their reprisals, I remember. I nod and follow after the king, his guards moving to flank me. I don’t know what he has to say in private, but I’m sure it’s nothing that’s going to make me happy. If he was exonerating me, he’d do so in front of everyone.

And there’s no reason to exonerate me, truly. I am guilty.

FORTY-EIGHT ASPETH

The guards lead me down the hall to a room with a large, rounded door. A guard stands outside, and when I go in, there are two more of the king’s honor guard there, crowded in behind a heavy, ornate wood desk. On one wall, there’s a shelf full of artifacts, and on another, rows of old books. Behind the desk is a large painted portrait of Rooster in all his guild regalia, and I suspect this is his office. I don’t know if it’s ironic or amusing that he’s got a huge portrait of himself in his office, but it fits what I know of him.

“Shut the door behind us,” the king tells his guards, walking a few steps ahead of me. He pauses behind the desk, pulling off his gloves, and then thumps into the seat. I carefully stand across from him until he waves in my direction, indicating I should sit, too.

Once I’ve perched on a chair, he eyes me.

“Explain to me the reasoning as to why a sheltered holder’s daughter would go to Vastwarren by herself and join the Royal Artifactual Guild. I’m trying to piece it together in my head and it seems a ridiculous choice.” He indicates I should speak. “So make me understand.”

“My father has gambled away our ancestral artifacts,” I say, uneasy. I hate telling that to someone in power like the king, but I’m also aware he could try to confiscate my father’s holding at any time regardless. “We’re exposed and helpless without any sort of magic to aid us in protection of our people. Our hold is also penniless. There are no funds to replace anything. So I thought I would join the guild and get replacement artifacts for my father.”

“By stealing them?”

“No, I was going to do it the right way, the honorable way. Have it taken out of my guild tithe, no matter how many years it takes. Repair our defenses quietly. But Lord Barnabus arrived and started paying for guild teams to hunt artifacts so he could go to war, and I knew where he was planning to attack. I had to do something.”

He nods thoughtfully, leaning back. “It seems to me that you could have prevented all of this by marrying someone, Lady Aspeth. Like, say, Lord Barnabus. I’m told there was a broken engagement?”

I nod. “He said unpleasant things about me to someone and I overheard it. He was marrying me for my position.”

“Then it seems to me that the best revenge would have been to marry him.” The king gives me a polite smile. “Let him pay for artifacts for his new home.”

“I didn’t trust him to do so,” I say bluntly. Fury builds inside me, but how can I expect the king to understand? He’s a man, born to privilege. Of course he’d suggest that I marry Barnabus. “I expected to find myself having an ‘accident’ once he determined there were no artifacts in the Honori treasury. Then he would have both the hold and a rich new bride, and my father and I would be dead.”

“An extreme scenario. You think he would plan such a thing?”

“I believe it to be true.”

The king taps his fingertips together. “As much as I hate to admit it, Lady Aspeth, your suspicions match mine. I’ve been watching the Chatworth family for some time and nothing he’s done this day surprises me. He’s a holder’s son, though, so you understand why I cannot punish him more harshly than I have…just as I cannot punish you properly. You both deserve to go to prison and yet here I am with my hands tied.”