The Fiend Queen by Barbara Ann Wright Page B

to hang him; Crowe rescued him. The real murderer died, but Freddie was never exonerated. Yes?”
    “Couldn’t have said it better myself,” he said.
    “So, you didn’t murder anyone?” Maia asked.
    “No,” Freddie said just as Reinholt muttered, “Probably.”
    They exchanged glares, and Starbride had to wonder how much animosity was from Reinholt’s remembrances of the Butcher and how much was for how he’d been treated by Pennynail while in Starbride’s care.
    Maia wriggled out of Reinholt’s grasp and stepped forward to peer into Freddie’s face. She put her hands up, covering his features from her perspective. “Seems like the same old Pennynail to me.”
    He grinned so hard it was like the sun had come out, and when he turned away from Maia, Starbride thought she saw tears in his eyes.
    “You might be a tad better looking with the mask,” Maia said.
    He gave her a tickle. “You ought to wear it all the time, then, if you think so much of it!” He pulled it out of his belt and tried to put it on her head, but she danced out of the way.
    “I don’t see what the fuss is about,” Scarra said. “No matter his past, he’s covering our asses now.”
    “An enviable position from any angle,” Reinholt said with a wink.
    Scarra snorted. “Go ahead and try your luck, Prince, but I’d sooner charm the trousers off the princess consort than you’d talk your way into mine.” She knelt and lifted Hugo in her arms. “I’ve got skinny here. Let me know when you want to move out.” She crossed the street to join Dawnmother.
    “So, the battle is going well for you?” Starbride asked Reinholt.
    He shrugged. “We’ve lost some people. We collected some pyradistés who were hiding in Dockland. They helped destroy this pyramid a few streets over.” He sniffed. “I thought you were supposed to be doing that.”
    “I’ve been busy fighting your uncle.”
    Maia leapt back to their side. “You’ve seen my father?” Before Starbride could say anything, Maia bit her lip. “I mean him . He’s not my father anymore.”
    Reinholt wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Maia seemed to banish his snottier side as easily as shooing a fly. “You’ve got plenty of family left, dearheart.”
    Maia shook her head. “We heard he was out fighting the army.”
    “What else have you heard?” Starbride asked.
    “All rumor, apparently,” Reinholt said. “We heard that the Fiend king, those corpse things, and even some wild Fiends were tearing through the army. But if you’ve seen Roland, it can’t be true unless he can be in two places at once.”
    Starbride told them of what Roland had done to Alphonse, turned a pyradisté into a copy of himself.
    And then, a voice inside reminded her, she’d killed him, stuck the knife in, felt his blood on her hands. And then she’d lit those people on fire, and she’d enjoyed it.
    “Starbride,” Freddie said, “are you still with us?”
    She buried the thoughts again. “He’s probably heading back to the palace. If we’re winning in the streets but his forces have the army pinned down, he’ll want to gather more resources.”
    “How can you be sure?” Reinholt asked.
    She couldn’t, but it was as good a guess as any. “He knows now that Katya isn’t with me. He might know she’s not with the army. He led the Order of Vestra. He knows what kind of jobs we’re best at. He might have guessed that Katya will go for the palace.”
    “You just want to ride off to be with your lover,” Reinholt said.
    Maia said, “Rein—”
    Freddie cut her off. “Watch your mouth, princely.”
    Starbride put an arm between them before they could burst into argument. “I’ve made my decision. We’re heading for the palace.”
    “As I was going to say,” Reinholt said loudly, “I’m glad. If we can, we should all be with the people we love right now.”
    Starbride didn’t know what to make of any supposed sincerity on his part. “Can you send groups sweeping toward the