“No,” I replied bitterly. “Not even close to what we use it for.”
“I apologize if I offended you.” Her fearful gaze moved from the ash wood of my staff to the dress bag that hung over the back of the door. “Shall we begin preparations?”
I closed my eyes. “Yes.”
“You’re going to make the most beautiful bride.”
I nodded curtly. “I’ll take a bath first.”
“Yes, it would be best.”
I scowled for a second but smiled. Nothing she said was intentionally snarky or offensive, but her innocent honesty did come across humorous from time to time.
Gold and silver threads swept down my body. I had no real curves, so everything fell flat. I held my breath when the veil was placed on my head. My hands were trembling.
“You look beautiful.” Edna squeaked, clapping her hands together.
“Thank you.” My throat felt like it was closing over. “I need a moment. Some fresh air. It’s just wedding-day jitters.” I calmed. “Please.”
“Kiros said anything you require, to make sure you have it. It is, after all, your birthday and your wedding day.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
“Do you need any guards or us to go with you?” She looked to her left at the maids who’d helped me put on the dress.
“No.” I pulled the veil off, then the tiara, and shoved them in Edna’s hands. “I don’t want anyone to see me yet.” I grabbed a cloak to cover my dress. I really just didn’t want to attract unwanted attention. I had to be forgettable. I forced a small smile. “I’ll be on my way then.”
As I hurried out the door, sweating under the weight of the cloak, my heels tapped against the ancient stone. Neoma, with her arms crossed, rounded the corner. She shook her head when she saw me. “Another princess without a backbone,” Neoma mocked with a snide grin. “What a treasure. Happy wedding day.”
I didn’t care to remark back. I craned my head around, looking for an exit. “Where are the gardens? I need some air.”
She rolled her eyes and pointed behind her. “Really?” She huffed. “Down the left corridor, down the steps, and turn right.”
I watched her walk away, then hightailed her directions. Lifting the fabrics of the bottom of the dressed, I hurried down the small staircase with polished bannisters and shining marble. I reached a stretch of unused area. An ornate rug stretched to the corners of the room. I looked to my right, spotting an arched door where the gold frame knotted up into a point. Running out of it, I saw a splash of sunlight on the ground.
My breath hitched. A guard, stationed by the door, looked me up and down.
“I need some air.”
He nodded and moved out of my way. Holding onto my staff like a lifeline, I walked outside. The grass was long and luscious. The heat beat down on my shoulders. I reached a small collection of trees that cast shade I craved. Being out in the sun reminded me of the cage. I didn’t consciously think of it, but my anxiety heightened whenever it was midday. Some days, my heart would squeeze so tightly, I couldn’t breathe. I tried to focus on something else.
Inhaling deeply, I looked out over the vast colors of flowers in their beds and smiled at a gardener who was watering them. I wandered for several minutes, then moved toward the pond. The smell of freshly cut grass calmed me. I strolled along trimmed hedges until my eyes spotted something moving beyond the shadows of an old cedar tree.
I collapsed to my knees when I saw familiar waves of golden hair. The strings of pretending, which had been holding me up, had been cut. “You made it,” I cried.
Cedric rushed to my side and kneeled, pulling me into him. His head rested on mine, and his lips brushed my temple. Everything about him dominated my heart.
“I told you I would come.” He brushed a curl that had escaped, tucking it behind my ear. Tilting my chin to look at him, I sighed relief. His gaze fell into mine. I should have had more faith in him. I knew that now.
“The wedding is in thirty minutes.”
“I’m just in time then,” he whispered and pulled me to my feet. I brushed the dirt from the skirt of my dress, as well as a couple of stray blades of grass.
Whipping my head around in time to see the guard in the distance at the door, my heartbeat quickened. “There’s something I have to do first. I need evidence against Xenos before we leave.” I lifted my staff in the air. “I have this. Don’t worry about me.”
“How did you get that?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “How’d you think?”
“Your fiancé.” He joked, but his smile wavered. “Do you need to go now? We’re so close.” His eyes widened, the gold flecks reflecting light from the high sun. “Please, Winter.”
“Yes. Just wait for me, okay?”
“You’ve got to be kidding. This is our chance to get out. What could be more important?”
My heart was pounding. I squeezed his hand, my stare begging his. “There are things I must think of before myself. Those dragons I told you of, Xenos must have the papers in the same room where he keeps the contracts. It’s where all the important documents are kept. My wedding contract is in there too. With everyone distracted, I can get in there. I have to blow this up. There are people here in Berovia who are against him. The man you sent to tell me you’d left, he was the head of a group who hates the monarchy. I’m sure they would love a reason to go to war with Xenos. Then there are the firedrake warders. They were at the castle. If they knew the dragons were here, they’d come to fight for them. It would be enough distraction where we could get out, and if he’s fighting his own people, then he can’t fight mine, for now.” My eyes pooled with tears. “If the king succeeds in his plan with siphoning their magic, I won’t have a throne to go back to. I’m sparking a war as soon as I run. Let me have a head start.”
“How will you get the information to all these people?”
I breathed deeply. My nerves were buzzing. “News writers. They don’t control the newspapers here.”
“Nope,” Cedric replied. “It’s a good idea, but I don’t want you to risk your life for it.”
I clenched my jaw. “I will be queen, Cedric. It is my responsibility.”
He shook his head slowly, and his shoulders drooped. “I’ll come with you.”
“They’d know you in a second. It’s better I go alone.”
“Please.” He touched my arm. “Be careful, and fast. I’ll come in fighting for you if I have to, but we all have a better chance of getting out alive if I don’t.”
“I know.” I kissed him, and his lips pressed against mine with urgency. My adrenaline spiked as the invisible hands of time came down upon me. I pulled away, my fingers falling from his. “Where shall I meet you?”
“We’re stationed at the entrance to the tunnels,” he explained rapidly. “There are underground passages. We had to tunnel to reach them. They were filled decades ago. There is a small gate. It’s half hidden on the side of the castle, by the west wing.” He pointed in the direction. “There is a collection of rocks and golden satinas blooming next to it. Duck under there. I’ll be waiting for you.”
I nodded curtly, then turned on my heel and ran across the grass, my lungs tightening, sweat drops forming. I reached the door and nodded at the guard. Looking back, I saw Cedric had already gone. “I heard a disturbance in the bushes all the way at the back.” I pointed in the opposite direction than where Cedric would have run. “Where the gardener is. I think someone may have broken in. It’s past the pond. I’m worried it is an attacker who may have heard about the wedding. Would you go?”
His eyes flamed. He grabbed the hilt of his sword. I hoped it would bide me enough time to get the documents and flee back out the door before he returned. The trip to the garden had already cost me twenty of my precious thirty minutes.
I didn’t stop to catch my breath. With forced determination, I quickened my stride, marching toward the document room. It was so close. Just around one more corner.
My h
eart pounded to a stop when I saw them. My eyes flicked from Kiros to Xenos, who both were walking away from the document room.
“Sweetheart.” Kiros’s eyes gleamed when he saw me. “It’s bad luck to see you before the wedding.”
My teeth chattered, and my skin buzzed as I walked to him, forcing a smile. “I was looking for you.” I looked at Xenos, who wore a cynical frown, then back at Kiros. “I’m so glad I found you. Um, could we talk in private?”
“Ten minutes,” Xenos warned his son and gestured for the guards to follow him to the ballroom. In the distance, violins merged with drumbeats and a harp. The music heightened my anxiety. It was about to begin.
Once we were alone, Kiros grabbed me, pulling me into a tight embrace. “You look beautiful. Also, I’m pleased to see you got my birthday gift.” He looked into my eyes, his baby blues brighter than I’d ever seen. “What is it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“It means a lot you did this for me.” I white-knuckled the ash wood. Knowing what I was about to do to him hurt me. “I wanted to look at the contract,” I said. “I need to check one thing.”
“Oh.” His eyebrows furrowed. “Yes, um, do we need to do it right now? I mean, our wedding is about to start.”
“Yes, I’m worried something has been added,” I explained, not really knowing what I was rambling about but praying he bought it.
He licked his lips and sighed. “Okay, but we must be fast.”
“I promise. It’s probably nothing,” I said, “but I have to be sure.”
“I understand,” he mumbled and walked with me to the door. After he unlocked it, we walked inside.
He searched through a chest for the marriage contract, and I leaned against the long, oak desk. I shuffled through papers. I found several open letters bearing the king’s seal. I skimmed the words and grabbed two that spoke of the dragons, then shoved them down the front of my dress before he could see. My face flushed red when he turned around.
“Here,” he said when he reached me, scrolls in hand. “Do you know where you want to look? We’ve already gone over this.”
“Thank you.” I placed it on the desk, proceeding to pretend to look through the inked words. After a couple of minutes, I smiled. “It’s fine. I was wrong.”
“Shall we then?” He gestured at the door. “Let’s go.”
Watching the contract left behind on the desk as I was led out, I ran my fingers along my staff. “I must find my ladies and get my flowers. I will see you under the arch.”
“Winter.” His expression darkened for a second, his gaze uncertain when he searched mine. His fingers tightened around my arm as desperation clung to his features. “You do love me, don’t you?”
I swallowed thickly. I closed my eyes, unable to look at him without my composure cracking. “I love you, Kiros. You know this.”
I opened my eyes. Relief washed his expression, replacing a frown with an excited smile. “Let’s get married.”
My hands were shaking. “Yes. I’ll see you soon.”
Time stopped when he kissed my forehead. I couldn’t believe what I was doing, but I reached up, ran my hand along his chest, and brushed my lips against his cheek. “Thank you.”
“Always, darling.”
My stomach dipped when I watched him leave. He fixed the collar on his shirt, from under his white jacket with gold fastenings. He looked back one last time before rounding the corner, his eyes filled with hope.
After waiting thirty seconds, I hurried out, but the other door was too far away. The servants’ entrance was closer.
Reaching down, I caught a few loose threads, then pulled until the fabric ripped enough for me to tear. It was uneven but reached my knees. I dropped the discarded satin on the ground.
Ducking under a white wood door, I gripped the stone ledge and shimmied down until I reached the laundry room. Buckets of water stood stagnant. Servants kneaded fabrics that could easily pay their yearly coin. They all looked up when I hurried through the middle of the room until I reached the small door that led to the gardens. I turned the brass knob and gulped. I was far from the west of the castle.
I pulled my heels off, threw them into the mud, and fled barefoot, curving with the high walls. I jumped down three steps and hissed when a stone cut into my toe.
By now they’d be wondering where I was.
The air was thick with humidity. The stench of death permeated around the red delicate flowers that reached up from the soil. Squashing them under my feet, I ran through them until I saw the golden satinas.
The guards would be looking for me now, surely.
I took a moment to drop my hands onto my knees, feeling the wood from my staff pressing against my skin, and gulped in a deep breath before breaking into a sprint. I climbed down seven hot stone steps, and fell into a metal gate that screeched open. Iron spikes pointed down at a pitch-black entrance, a small opening under the walls. After dropping my legs into the hole, I scraped down into the darkness.
“You’re here.” He grabbed my hand, holding a lit torch in the other. “We must run.”
I nodded, chasing him down rat- and cockroach-infested tunnels. Squirming when I felt something crunch under my toes, I matched Cedric’s pace. “How far?” I struggled to gasp for air. “I need—” I said. My lungs felt like they were going to collapse. “A minute.”
He placed his hands on my shoulders, his breath hitching when he spoke. “We made it. They won’t think to look here. They think the exit is sealed off. My men are waiting, with hundreds of horses. These tunnels lead out to a small town nearby.” He paused. “Did you get what you needed?”
“Not as much as I could. Kiros found me, but I did get two letters. I didn’t get to read them, but I saw the word dragon, and they were recently opened.”
“We’ll read them soon,” he said with promise. Flames flickered light on the obsidian walls, bringing life to the spiders, rats, and crawlies I didn’t want to see. “I’m good to go.” I shuddered, looking at the insects.
He tugged my hand and we hurried, this time walking fast. The backs of my legs burned, begging me to stop and take a break, but I persisted until they numbed.
“Finally.” Cedric handed me the torch and climbed up the stone. He pushed on two stones until light glistened through, illuminating the grime around us.
I wiped the sweat with the back of my arm. Cedric offered me his hand through the gap and pulled me up. Digging my toes into the hot rocks, I made it out the other side.
I dropped the torch on the ground and raised my head. Sand and dirt covered the desolate road. A small, wood-paneled shop stood lonely under the shade of three trees. I looked around.
The small army moved as one. Fae sat gracefully on their white horses. The leader, who had shoulder-length dirty blond hair and green eyes, looked down at us with a regal air. His long fingers curled around the silver reins. His expression was unmoving. I noticed scars along his left temple, down to his pointed ear, and over to his mouth. His nose, long and strong, appeared as if it had been broken more than once. The rest of the fae wore purple-and-silver robes, thinly waving all the way down to cover the backs of the horses. A crest was embroidered on the back.
Cedric cocked his head slightly to the side. “Meet the best army in Berovia.”
“Are they the light fae soldiers?” I questioned, confused as to how he managed to pull them away from the king.
“No, they’re private, hired when needed. Skilled in archery, sword-fighting, combat, and trickery. They’re the best.”
“How did you afford them?” I asked, looking around at the fifty or so men.
“I sold all my rare items,” he admitted.
“Oh, Cedric.”
He shrugged, leading me to a beautiful short-haired horse with silver eyes. “What use is precious gems and beautiful things if I can’t sell them to save the woman I…” He smirked. “You know.”
I wanted him to say it, but I understood. Now wasn’t the right time. “She�
��s gorgeous.” I footed the stirrup, Cedric gave me a boost, and I climbed onto her back. “Are you not riding with me?”
He chuckled. “Can you not ride alone?”
“I’ve missed you. That’s all.”
His grin widened. “Then we will have plenty to talk about when we stop for camp. My only focus now is to get you out of Bluewater, tonight. The province will be on high alert. Time is of the essence.”
The corner of the letter hidden in the front of my dress pricked my breast. “I want to take these first.” I pulled out the letters.
“We will find a news writer in Woodbarrow,” he said sternly and walked to his horse. “Let us go, Dragoir,” he called to the long-haired fae.
Dragoir led out front, guiding us through poor burrows of the town until we hit a tree line.
“We will ride through the forest,” Dragoir told Cedric, whom I trotted behind.
My chest tightened. “The Forest of Tranquillium.”
“Where we were taken.”
“But, Cedric,” I pleaded. “What about the dragons? Is there no way?”
He gave me a disapproving look. “Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t.”
“We could make it there. The papers in Bluewater will be read by more people,” I countered.
He shook his head. “We have tested fate enough for one day.”
Distant yelling and trumpets sounding forced us into the tree line. They’d come for me at last.
“They’re here.” Cedric looked at Dragoir. “On guard.”
Dragoir nodded with his strong jaw clenched when he peered out. “If they come, we will kill first. Ride,” he ordered.
Cedric pulled me from Dragoir, who remained behind with half of the army. The rest went with us. The seriousness of what was happening washed over me. People were going to die. Battles fought. Hearts broken.
The sun set on my second wedding, bringing with it a blazing army that would stop at nothing until I was dead.
TWENTY
The Fate of Crowns: The Complete Trilogy: A YA Epic Fantasy Boxset Page 41
