Ivy’s Pov.

I turned, startled, to face a girl standing behind me.

She looked about my age, though her frame was thin, her cheeks hollow, and her clothes tattered and dirt-stained. Her hair hung in uneven strands around her pale face, and her eyes, though dull, studied me.

“I—I…” I stammered, words catching in my throat.

She tilted her head, eyes narrowing as she looked at me from head to toe.

“Wait. If the coronation’s happening now, shouldn’t you be there? Or…” she ...