The next morning is somehow more disorienting than the previous day. Matilda opens my window as she always does, and the sweet chirping hums while I get ready. I keep waiting to hear Odeia's voice, the loudest and clearest of all, but I don't. It's like her work is finished. She sang because my mother's murderer, Clemaina, still walked freely about. Now that there's closure, she stays silent for the truth has been told.

I linger in my room, swipe a brush through my hair a few extra strokes, smooth a stray wrinkle in my yellow dress. I even open the jewelry box containing the ring of roses, taking several minutes to debate wearing it. Eventually, I slip it around my finger. For the first time, the cool metal feels like a hug from both my mother and father.

A tap sounds at the door, and a maid cracks it open, dipping into a curtsy. "Your highness, Duke Rothbart requests you join him in the royal dining room."

The Royal Dining Room? I don't recall eating breakfast there even once before.

"Of course," I say. I can't tarry any longer. Doing so is pointless anyway, since I'll see her this afternoon, when Sigvard, Uncle Rothbart, and I end her banishment to the forest. I hope no one panics because she's a swan. Maybe we should've told the royal court that detail before, but I didn't want to overwhelm them. If their heads were spinning as much as mine, the slightest shock might completely unbalance them.

Sigvard falls into step beside me in the hallway, and we pass the guards of the Royal Wing together.

"You got a Royal summons as well?" he asks.

"Yes. Any idea what this is about?"

"None whatsoever. At least we'll find out soon."

The dining room's double doors open for us. I take three steps inside before my jaw drops. Next to Uncle Rothbart, a woman in a pale blue gown sits at the head of the table. She twists around, brushing platinum hair aside.

"Odeia!" I exclaim.

"Aylo!" She pushes back from her hair and races toward me. Her twig-like arms wrap around me. I squeeze her tightly, afraid she might turn to feathers and flutter into the wind.

"How are you here?" I ask. "I mean, you're not a swan."

"Uncle Rothbart changed me back into a full-time human." She smiles with teeth whiter than moonlight.

"Uncle Rothbart?" I look past Odeia at my uncle. Above his narrowed jaw, very similar to Odeia's, his lips upturn, a mysterious compliment to the twinkle in his eyes.

"You were wondering who sent those letters to me," Odeia says. "It was Uncle Rothbart. He was trying to help me escape since he knew I was innocent."

"But he signed the letters with 'E,'" I say.

Uncle Rothbart clears his throat. "It stands for Executive as in 'Executive Duke.'"

Of course. Like Clemaina and Sewale, it was so obvious, right in front of me. Another case of things being so close up that they're blurred.

"I always hoped Odeia's innocence would be proven," Uncle Rothbart continues. "I couldn't let her rot in prison, or worse, allow someone with an eye for the throne murder her, too. With a case as delicate and complicated as this one, I wasn't sure what might happen to her."

"I can't thank you enough for what you did, Uncle Rothbart," Odeia says.

"It was my honor. Now, how about some breakfast?"

I sit in my usual place at the table, Sigvard next to me. It's been four years since Odeia has occupied her special spot. Until now, I never knew how incomplete our dining arrangement was.

A breakfast plate already awaits me. I'm surprised to find the eggs still warm, the yogurt and fruit still cold. I guess my timing was perfect.

"How did you become a swan in the first place?" Sigvard asks.

Uncle Rothbart finishes his first bite of food. "I'm sure you're aware of Dr. Grinszein, my old tutor."

If it hadn't been for all our snooping, I wouldn't. But because I'm a nosy little princess, I can truthfully nod my head.

"His main field of study was biochemistry. Around the time of Odeia's conviction, he perfected a formula that causes a reaction in a person's body, causing them to turn into an animal part time. Of course, he needed a test subject to work out the odds and ends of his discovery."

"So Odeia became his lab, er, swan?"

"Exactly. Turns out that she was only a swan during the day, a strange sort of caveat with the experiment. It was something related to the moon's force in relation to earth. I was never the best with science, despite having a brilliant scientist as a tutor. Last year, Dr. Grinszein sent me the formula he perfected to reverse the shape-shifting effect. Truth be told, I never considered that I'd actually get to use it."

"It worked surprisingly fast," Odeia adds. "You and Aylo did, too. I thought I'd have to wait at least a year before returning to the palace."

"We couldn't leave you hanging for that long," I say.

Chatter buzzes between us as we eat. I love listening to Odeia's swan tales, and she enjoys hearing our adventures in the palace, specifically regarding our investigation. Uncle Rothbart takes particular interest when we mention, and quickly drop, the subject of sneaking into palace rooms.

"I hate to disturb this reunion with official matters," Uncle Rothbart says about halfway through our meal. "But we have some important matters to discuss, the first being the throne. I haven't told you this yet, Odeia, but your father gave the throne to Aylo."

Odeia's spoon sinks into her yogurt. She doesn't retrieve another bite of it. "I see. Well, I'm very happy for you, Aylo."

"But I don't want the throne," I blurt out.

"What?" Odeia blinks at me, as if I spoke the most taboo sentence in the kingdom.

"I'm not the one who's received training for the position," I say. "Odeia, you are the best fit for the position. You deserve to be queen."

"The king made his wishes pretty clear," Uncle Rothbart says slowly. "He had us witness the signing of that document. Whether we have it or not, there's no way around this. Odeia is no longer the heir."

"But he couldn't leave the kingdom to Odeia," I protest. "He didn't even know where she was."

"We have no proof of his desire for Odeia to take the throne."

An idea pops into my head. "What if there is proof though?" Uncle Rothbart cocks his head to the side, and I explain. "I found a letter the king wrote to Odeia after her escape from prison. He said that he wished she could be heir to the throne."

Uncle Rothbart takes a sip of his tea. "Well, I suppose the court can take a look at it."

"Please do," I say. "And even if the throne is still left to me, I wish to abdicate to Odeia. She's the oldest and wisest out of all his children." I nudge Sigvard. "Even you."

Sigvard laughs. "Agreed."

Tears bloom in Odeia's eyes. "Oh, Aylo, you don't have to—" Emotion chokes the rest of her words, and I thread my fingers with hers.

"I want to," I say. "I'm not meant to be a ruler. I was the next-in-line alternative to Clemaina. But you were born for the position, and you should be the one to have it."

"Take a few days to think about it," Uncle Rothbart says.

"I have," I insist. "And I'm certain."

"Alright then." A grin spreads on my uncle's face. "We'll bring this to the court's attention. But don't think you'll escape all duties."

"I still expect you to be active in my kingdom," Odeia says, dabbing her eyes with her napkin. "We need more people like you in charge."

I beam at her words. "I'm honored."

"The honor is mine."

We hold each other's gaze for a minute before returning to our meal. At last, all has been made right. I feel lighter, made of remnant feathers Odeia shed.

"Oh, by the way, Aylo," Uncle Rothbart says. "Seeing as you won't be Queen, there's no rush on your royal suitor, or any suitor for that matter."

"That's the best news I've heard all day," I say. A few more years of youthful bliss can't hurt. I can tackle that responsibility, one most likely of forging foreign diplomacy, another time.