“What?” Jhessail exclaimed, all of her courtier’s discretion and manners forgotten in an instant. She stared at her cousin in disbelief. “If this is a joke, it isn’t very funny,” she added, but the somberness of Aysia’s expression quickly convinced her that this was no joke. “You’re serious.”<br/><br/>Hope surged within her; if they could only find her father, he would explain everything and prove his innocence, she was sure of it. And Aysia knew where to find him. Their journey, previously so fraught with uncertainty, now had a clear path and purpose.<br/><br/>And yet…<br/><br/>As Jhessail contemplated further, she realized what else her cousin’s words meant. If true, then the queen had lied to them. Misled them. Why? She could not imagine why the queen had withheld that information, and she felt her insides grow cold with doubt; and beneath the doubt lay simmering anger. Had the queen not called them friends and family? Had she not said she trusted them implicitly? Then why had she not told them?<br/><br/>Hope and doubt and anger warred within her, a conflicting, confusing whirlwind of emotion. The world seemed to tilt alarmingly as she struggled for understanding, and as a last resort she stepped closer to Aysia and placed a hand on either of her cousin’s shoulders, both to steady herself and to emphasize the seriousness of what she was about to say.<br/><br/>“Tell me, cousin,” she said, looking directly into Aysia’s eyes. “Tell me everything you heard. Leave nothing out. I must know every detail, no matter how small.”