Golden Chains

by M. Lynn

  Bubbles floated in front of her face as her lungs began to ache. But she didn’t want to rise, to face the world. Not when she still felt him. Her attacker.

  Then she’d been saved. Before her world went black, Alex had been there. He’d come. He’d been choking as well, their curse giving him her pain. It had all disappeared after that.

  She broke the surface of the water, gasping for breath. Tears stung her eyes, and she wiped them away angrily.

  She wanted to go back to minutes before when she didn’t remember. She wanted to forget. She stood, letting the water run from her skin. Grabbing a bath sheet, she wrapped it around herself and stepped out. She barely dried herself before crawling into bed, not bothering to dress before doing so. She wrapped her arms around her chest as she tried to keep herself from falling apart.

  A curse rolled off Alex’s tongue as he stepped into his mother’s rooms. Etta hadn’t answered his knock, so he’d let himself in. It was freezing. After the storm, the entire palace was cold, but most of the rooms had fires roaring. No one had thought to start one in here. He’d have a word with his mother’s maids.

  He went to the fire and began poking around. In all honesty, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d started a fire himself.

  “Dammit,” he snapped, his own uselessness stinging him. Could he do anything for himself? Apparently not. He was every bit the spoiled king people thought he was. Giving up, he walked to the bed to make sure Etta had enough blankets. She was curled up in the velvet covers, but her entire body shook.

  “Etta,” he whispered. “Are you cold?”

  “No,” she whimpered. “Please… go away.”

  He didn’t listen to her, instead taking a seat next to the bed. She rolled over to glare at him, keeping the covers tucked under her chin. Her golden hair was slightly damp and drying wildly around her face.

  When her scowl deepened, he realized he’d been smiling.

  “You look like you’re feeling better,” he said.

  “I was feeling just fine in your dungeons.”

  “I tried to bring you here ages ago.”

  “You still don’t get it.” Her eyes rolled toward the ceiling. There was no anger in her voice this time, only resignation.

  He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Etta, I do. I want to help the rest of the people down there.”

  “What’s changed? Some of them were put there by you.”

  “Me. Everything. I don’t…” He rubbed a hand across his face. “If I can trust one person with magic, why can’t I trust more?”

  “You trust me?”

  “Well… yeah.”

  “I lied to you,” she argued.

  “I’ve heard.” He winked.

  “My father killed yours.”

  “We are not our parents.”

  She paused for a moment. “I don’t trust you.”

  His smile dropped. “Etta, so much of what you’ve gone through is my fault and I will never forgive myself for that. I can’t even imagine what I’ve put you through.”

  She closed her eyes for a brief moment and when she spoke, her voice was no more than a whisper. “But you can, can’t you?”

  “Can what?”

  “Feel it. Feel me.”

  He released a puff of air. “I feel everything.”

  “Your father hunted us for years—”

  “Etta—”

  “Let me finish. He was cruel and ruthless. But I once asked my father if he hated him. You know what he told me?” She stopped, struggling to get the words out.

  Staring into her eyes was like looking into his own soul, tarnished and bruised and when she continued, her voice had lost its strength. “He said your father was still like a brother to him. It would have broken his heart to have to kill him. He did it to save me. But do you see the point? This curse of ours makes me care for you whether I want to or not.”

  “That’s why you told me it wasn’t real that first time.”

  “Because it’s not.”

  He moved to sit on the edge of the bed and looked down into her face. “It sure feels real.”

  “Alex.” Her voice broke on his name. “You held me in your dungeon for weeks. Last night, your guard almost … had me. I should despise you. When you aren’t around me, that’s easy. In my cell, I planned what I would say to you if I ever got free. But now you’re here, now that I’m looking into the eyes of the boy I’ve known since I was little, all I want is for you to kiss me.”

  He stretched his arm out to brush the hair from her face but she flinched away from his touch.

  “I’m sorry, your Majesty.” Her formality was like a punch to the gut. “You should go.”

  Dark anger flashed across his face and she scrambled back away from him. “I want to kill him. Geoff is lucky he still has his head. He’s lucky I didn’t gouge his eyes out just for looking at you. Etta.” He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. “If he’d …”

  “I know,” she whispered. “I know it wasn’t you. But I can’t separate it.”

  “You blame me.” He got to his feet, not taking his eyes from hers. “You should. It’s my fault. All of it. But hear me in this—if anyone ever touches you again, I’ll gut them myself.”

  She looked away as he crossed the room. He shut the door behind himself and leaned his head against it. He had duties to attend to, but he set off to find Simon. He needed something to hit.

  As soon as Alex left, Etta wanted to call him back and tell him to kiss her until she could forget, until the memories no longer broke them apart. But that was not how her story could play out.

  What had she been thinking trying to escape? The curse wouldn’t have let her get far from him without the pains. Sometimes she failed to remember who she was. Persinette Basile. The girl with nothing to her name but a curse. She didn’t even have a horse anymore. No family. Just an empty kingdom that La Dame had taken from her and her people.

  The door opened again and her traitorous heart leaped at the thought of Alex returning. But it wasn’t him. His mother walked in carrying a tray. Her maid scurried in behind her trying to take the burden, but the queen mother shooed her away.

  Another young girl entered and Etta recognized her immediately. They’d met at the ball.

  She released the edge of the blankets no longer caring what these people thought of her. Alex was the one the curse tied her to.

  She climbed out of bed and the girl’s mouth dropped open at Etta’s brazen nakedness. Etta smirked. “Amalie, right?” She didn’t need to ask. She knew. This was the girl betrothed to Alex.

  Etta stretched her half-starved body as Amalie’s head bobbed. God, she was young. It was almost too easy. Looking around the room, her eyes latched onto the vase of flowers on the table next to the bed. Her lips curved into a smile and she reached it. Power surged through her, warming her chilled limbs. It writhed just underneath her skin as she held her hand over the selection of flowers. Her index finger rotated of its own accord and her body relaxed into the flow of power as the flowers grew. And grew. She stepped back as they shot up past her head. The vase cracked and broke apart around the stems. They didn’t stop until they reached the ceiling. Etta pulled her magic back, leashing it once again. Using it on the flowers was not the same as being outside, but it sated her for the moment.

  And if it freaked these people out, that was a bonus. They already knew who she was so she might as well show them what they were dealing with.

  When she turned again, Amalie was so pale guilt worked its way in. She didn’t run though. Something blazed in her eyes. Curiosity?

  She seemed to forget about Etta’s bare state as she hurried toward her to examine the flowers. “You did this with your magic?”

  “Yes.” Etta narrowed her eyes.

  Amalie touched the overgrown flowers in awe. “That was…”

  Etta knew what she would say. An abomination. Frightening. Illegal.

  “Beautiful.”

  She opened
her mouth to respond, but no words came out.

  “Etta,” Catrine snapped as she walked toward them. “Put some clothes on.”

  Etta turned to the queen mother with cold eyes. She hadn’t put her in that dungeon, but she was still a Durand and not to be trusted. Not anymore. “If I make you uncomfortable, release me.”

  Catrine huffed. “Why? You have to stay near Alex, regardless.”

  “I could live in the outer castle instead of as a prisoner.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t even know what’s been happening. It isn’t as simple as releasing you.”

  Etta sat in one of the chairs and took an apple from the tray Catrine had brought in. It crunched as she took a bite. Wiping juice from her chin, she pinned the queen mother with a stare. “Tell me.”

  Two short raps sounded from the door. Catrine answered and spoke in low tones to Simon. His eyes widened slightly when he glanced past her to see the naked Etta.

  Embarrassment bloomed in Etta’s cheeks. Catrine said nothing to them as she left to follow Simon.

  Etta rubbed the goosebumps on her arms, trying to keep the cold away as the maid started the fire.

  “Persinette.” Amalie’s voice was shy.

  “Call me Etta.”

  “Alex told me you said everything about Etta was a lie.”

  She bit into her apple again to give her time to think. Did Alex tell his betrothed everything? No. She shouldn’t care. They would live happily ever after and she’d… she’d break the curse. She set her apple down and pushed away from the table. Clothes had been laid out for her on a chair in the corner. Loose fitting pants and a warm, suede shirt. She dressed and turned back to Amalie.

  The girl’s face was so honest, Etta couldn’t help her sigh. She’d lose that, eventually. Etta didn’t know if she’d ever had it herself.

  There was no use for lies anymore. “I have been preparing to be Etta since I was eleven years old.” She dragged her hands through her hair so she could twist it into a braid. “I guess you could say that Persinette is the part of me that no longer exists.”

  Amalie stepped closer, excitement in her eyes. “But they call for you. It’s Persinette they want.”

  “Who are you talking about?”

  “The people. There have been attacks in the border villages. The attackers call for you, but I hear the rumors. The other magic folk call for you too. Why?”

  Etta tied the end of her braid. “I don’t know why any of them would think I can do a thing.”

  “Is it true? Are you their queen?”

  Etta’s eyes sharpened. “That’s dangerous talk, girl.” She scanned the room for the maid but she was gone.

  Amalie cast her eyes to the ground. “You helped Tyson. I think that means I can trust you.”

  “One thing you’ll learn if you survive long enough is the only person you can trust is yourself.”

  When Amalie lifted her gaze again, her eyes no longer betrayed her age. They were hardened beyond her years. “It sounds to me like you don’t even trust yourself.”

  Amalie sat and busied herself with putting food on each of their plates. Was she right? Etta lowered herself into the chair and leaned back. The truth was Etta felt like a past she couldn’t shake, but Persinette was a future she wasn’t yet prepared for. Where did that leave her? Sitting across the table from the woman who was betrothed to the man Etta didn’t want to love. Separated from her people. Unable and unwilling to lead.

  They called for her release based on her name alone.

  She had to prove herself a worthy Basile.

  Chapter Six

  A hand clamped over Etta’s mouth, jolting her from sleep. She struggled against the restraint and Geoff’s face swam in her vision. Her body thrashed as panic clawed at her chest and she lashed out with her teeth, catching the fleshy part of the hand holding her down.

  “Ow, dammit, Etta.”

  The voice wasn’t Geoff’s. Her vision cleared and Alex peered down at her. He removed his hand and held it to his own lips.

  “You drew blood.”

  She shrugged and scooted up in the bed so she was sitting. The blanket fell from around her shoulders, revealing bare arms and the low cut of her sleeping gown. She watched Alex’s eyes skim her chest. His breath hitched before his heated gaze connected with hers. She quirked an eyebrow.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” she hissed.

  He grinned. “You won’t be saying that in a moment.”

  “I’m not going to sleep with you.”

  He laughed, and she wanted to strangle him. “Is your mind constantly on sex?”

  She scowled. “You’re the one breaking in here in the middle of the night and staring at my chest.”

  “I wasn’t staring.”

  “I guess you didn’t look any longer than your betrothed did when I was walking around naked.”

  “She’s not… you were just walking around without any clothes?” He smirked. “Why?”

  Etta shrugged. “She blushes easily, and I was in a mood.”

  “You’re always in a mood.”

  “Tell me why you’re here or leave me be.”

  His eyes lit up. “I have everything planned. Tonight, I don’t have to be king.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Put these on and I’ll prove I’m not your enemy.”

  He set the clothing on the bed and shut the door to wait for her. Curious, she scrambled to her feet. He’d left her tight black pants and a black linen shirt. There was even a pair of shiny black boots. It was her kind of outfit. She finished tying the laces and pulled on a black cloak, using the hood to cover her golden hair.

  When she met him in the hall, he eyed her and nodded in approval. He was dressed similarly. Simon joined them and the three walked through the empty palace. Outside the main corridor, a familiar face greeted them.

  “Maiya,” Etta gasped. She knew Maiya must have been the one to heal her, but hadn’t spoken to her.

  “Etta,” Maiya cried, rushing into her arms. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Shhh, I understand. You had to save your dad.”

  “This is great and all,” Alex cut in. “But we don’t have time.”

  “What are we doing?” Etta asked.

  “Fulfilling a promise,” Alex answered vaguely.

  Maiya looped their arms together. “We’re setting our people free.”

  Alex explained. “I had a friend in the kitchens put a sleeping drought into the guard’s food. I know personally that it works like a charm.” He looked to Maiya who shrugged.

  Shaking his head, he went on. “It’s easy, really. When you’re the king, at least. All we have to do is let them out. Maiya is here to heal any that need it. I have the list of crimes to differentiate between dangerous criminals and magic folk. We’ll get them into the outer town where they’ll disperse and hide out until morning when they can get past the outer wall. There’s a wagon laden with packs of food waiting on the other side. After that, they’re to be on their own.”

  Etta looked from Maiya to Simon. He nodded with a smile on his face. When she turned to Alex, there were tears in her eyes. She gripped his arm and stretched up on her toes to press her lips against his cheek. “Thank you.”

  He took a knife from the sheath on his belt and stretched it toward her. “You may need this.”

  Since becoming a prisoner, she’d felt naked without her weapons. Her entire worth had been tied up in her ability to handle them. As she curled her fingers around the hilt, a small smiled spread across her face. She nodded once, and they headed down into the dark.

  Memories assaulted Alex as he walked farther into the musty dungeons that sat beneath his palace. Only days ago, he’d stumbled down those same stairs choking and gasping for breath. That wasn’t what haunted him, however. It was the image of Geoff holding Etta against the wall.

  She’d stopped fighting and the girl he knew had more fight in her than any man in his guard. He thought he’d been too late
. Regret washed over him as he covered his nose against the smell of filth.

  They walked around the sleeping form of the guard and made their way down the long hall toward the back. Etta gripped the bars at the end of the hall and spotted an older woman who was huddled in the corner.

  “Analise,” she whispered. “It’s me.”

  “Persinette?” The woman clambered to her feet, swaying slightly. She moved closer and looked into Etta’s face. “I told them you’d come back.”

  Etta smiled. “There’s no way I’d leave you down here.” She turned to Alex expectantly.

  He tossed the keys, and she caught them mid-air before spinning and jamming them in the lock. The iron door opened on rusted hinges and Etta rushed in. She didn’t go to Analise, but to the other corner that had been hidden in shadow. Alex hadn’t seen the man curled on his side. No, not man. He was only a boy.

  “Henry,” Etta cooed, brushing damp hair back from his face. She knelt and pulled him into her lap. He went like a rag doll, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “He’s burning up.” She turned pleading eyes on Maiya.

  Maiya knelt beside her and placed her palms against his cheeks. She closed her eyes. In moments, the boy’s breathing evened, and he opened his eyes slowly.

  Etta let out a sound that was half sob, half laugh. “I wasn’t too late.”

  “We saw them take you,” Henry said, looking up at her. “We thought you were dead.”

  She hugged him. “I promised you I’d get us all out of here.”

  Alex finally understood why she refused to come with him when he’d tried to save her from this place. These people. She’d told him and he hadn’t listened. They were hers and she was theirs. He got it because he was a king and he belonged to the people of Gaule.

  “Sire,” Simon said, stepping forward. “I don’t think we want to linger.”

  He took the keys from where Etta had left them in the lock and walked to a nearby cell. After unlocking it, he handed them to Simon. “You and Maiya start releasing the prisoners on the list. I have something else I need to do.”