Elma POV
For a moment Lora and I stood in complete silence. I looked from her face to the knife in her hand, certain I must have heard her wrong. I almost laughed. It had the shapeless stupidity of a nightmare: I was starving, the castle was falling around us, and the woman whose mistress had ordered me whipped wanted my help.
"Why would I want to help your mistress who set me up for death?" I asked.
Lora remained calm.
"Because she can clear your name. I can get her to believe you about Damien. The court's heard her call you his murderer often enough. Let them hear her say you saved her. Then we demand that they examine what happened to him instead of hanging you on her word."
"You think she'll tell them I didn't kill Damien? How is that even possible when she won't listen to me?"
