by M. Lynn
Reed threw his hands in the air seconds before Dell ran at him, slamming him up against the wall. He pressed his arm to Reed’s throat. “He heard everything. We can’t just let him go.”
Reed coughed. “If you release me,” he rasped, “I have information you want to know.”
“Dell.” Edmund clamped a hand on Dell’s shoulder.
Dell ripped his arm back and stalked to the other end of the training yard before returning. “Okay, brother, what do you have to tell us? Speak before I ask Helena here to slit your throat with the knife I know she has hidden somewhere.”
Reed’s eyes widened, and Edmund cursed.
Helena turned to hide her face.
“Princess?” Reed hadn’t ever seen her without the mask. If it hadn’t been for Dell’s blathering tongue, he wouldn’t know she stood before him. “They said you died.”
She turned to face him and her lip curled up. “They said a lot of things. Like that they were loyal to their king. Or that they loved their kingdom. Lies. Believe nothing that comes out of a rebel’s mouth.”
Reed pushed himself off the wall. He approached Helena, but Dell stepped in his path. “What are you doing in Gaule, Reed?”
“The king sent me to fetch his brother. He trusts no one besides me and Ian. And well, Ian never leaves his side.”
“The king,” Helena scoffed. “The king is dead.”
“Look.” Reed rubbed a hand across his face. “I saw you arrive today and have been following you since. I’m probably not the only one who saw. Luckily, the rest of Cole’s men who are with me would only recognize Edmund.” He faced Dell. “As soon as I saw you… we didn’t know if you’d made it out or where you’ve been since.”
“I’m surprised you cared,” Dell bit out.
“I didn’t.” The statement shocked Helena, but Dell didn’t even flinch. “But Cole… Madra is suffering. Bela refuses to trade with us and Gaule has nothing of value such as food.”
Helena glanced at Edmund. “Did you know Etta cut ties to Madra?”
“No.” He looked just as dumbfounded as her. The Belaen queen wouldn’t send forces in to help, but she’d bleed them dry. Bela had rich farmlands helped by magic. Since regaining their kingdom, they provided much of the food to the six kingdoms.
But this wasn’t Cole suffering. It was the people. Helena’s people. They were hungry before. Now…
Reed went on. “Cole has grown paranoid that someone will try to take his throne. It’s why he sent me to retrieve Quinn. Even if the brothers don’t agree on this now, Cole thinks his twin is the only person he can trust.”
“Camille.” Edmund clenched his jaw. “Is she…”
“She’s fine.” Reed averted his eyes. “For now. Cole hasn’t been the same since the day he took the crown.” He fixed Helena with a stare. “He blames himself for your death, and it’s the one thing in all of this that’s eating him from the inside out.”
Helena didn’t believe Reed’s words. In order for him to feel guilty, Cole had to have a heart, and she knew now that was the one thing he lacked. A brilliant mind. An iron will. He could have made a good king if he possessed the final piece.
“Cole is not my concern tonight,” she bit out. “Tell me of Quinn.”
Reed rubbed a spot on his head. “We’re set to leave tomorrow on the morning tide.”
“Can we break him free of the dungeons tonight?” Dell’s eyes bounced excitedly as if about to embark on some grand adventure.
Edmund brought him back to reality. “No. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in those dungeons. I’ve even escaped them once with Etta. But they’ve been fortified since then as have the top of the walls. Do you see this?” He pointed to rows of spiked wire lining the walls stretching around the palace. “There’s no way out of the inner palace now if they don’t want you to leave. It’s late, so they have shut the inner walls. They’ll reopen at daybreak but will be heavily guarded.”
Helena studied Edmund for a moment before her eyes rested on a rack of arrows behind him. “How are you with a bow?”
His brow rose as if not expecting the question. “Decent.” Skepticism rang strong in his voice. “But if whatever plan is formulating in your mind hinges on accuracy, you’ll want Tyson’s aid.”
“Will he defy his mother and risk his sister?”
Edmund nodded reluctantly. “Ty will always do what he thinks is right. Gaule is his kingdom. If Camille becomes Queen of Madra, Tyson rises to heir of Gaule. If he believes this Madran alliance will plunge Gaule into further trouble, he will stop it.”
Helena faced Reed. “I don’t trust you Reed Tenyson, but I’m short on allies, and I know what you did for us in Madra. You helped Dell protect Kassander. For that alone, I will not kill you. But I will let Tyson shoot you.”
“We can’t trust him.” Dell pulled Helena away as Edmund kept his eyes trained on Reed.
“I know that.” She turned her back on him and put her hands on her head. “But tell me another way, Dell. Please, tell me how we’re going to save Quinn without his help.”
When she turned to face him again, the first emotion he’d seen in her other than anger since they began this journey broke through. Her eyes shone, but she didn’t let a single tear fall.
Without thinking, he pulled her into a hug. She stiffened for a moment before relaxing into his arms.
“Dell,” she whispered. “Reed is the one who told Edmund where Ian trapped you.” She tipped her head back to look up at him. “I know you want to think of both your brothers as evil creatures, but without him, you wouldn’t have been able to come to our aid in the rebellion. Without him, I’d be dead.”
Dell blew out a breath as the truth of her words hit him. His eyes roamed her face, and his hand came up to cup the back of her head. When he thought of that night and what almost happened, he couldn’t breathe.
Helena had made it clear where things stood between them, and he would abide by her wishes. But he’d never lose the feeling she’d struck in him since that day at the beach when they had escaped the demands of their lives.
He hadn’t known the true extent of everything she ran from that day, but for him… his brothers. His step-mother. His life.
But that was no longer Dell’s life. She’d changed his fate. It now lay here, in a foreign kingdom, with her.
He released her with a nod. “Okay, but we have to take precautions.”
“Agreed.” He followed her back to where Edmund and Reed stood in an uncomfortable stand-off. Despite his help, Reed still worked for Cole.
Helena crossed her arms, eying their temporary ally. “Tell me everything. Your entire plan to get Quinn to the ship.”
Reed rubbed his jaw. “There are tunnels.”
Edmund let loose with a string of curses.
“Care to share?” Dell asked.
“Queen Catrine showed them the tunnels.” He rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it. “She’s so bent on this Madran alliance, she’s giving away the kingdom’s secrets.”
On some level, Dell understood the queen’s thinking. A usurper king held her daughter captive and signing his treaty was the only means to save her daughter. It seemed so simple. Trade one man for the princess’ safety. But he also understood why Simon had come for them. Why Etta had sent them. Why even Tyson didn’t want to trade for Camille.
What would be next? Would Gaule lose itself to Madra piece by piece? This was no longer about Quinn Rhodipus.
Reed clasped his hands behind his back. “We don’t want Quinn to be seen making his way to the cove where our ship is anchored. We’ll extract him from the dungeons and take him through the tunnels that lead to the sea. There, we will row out to the ship.”
Helena bit her lip, lost in concentration. Dell watched her consider Reed. He could practically see her mind working.
How had she only been an ornamental princess? Madra would have been better off with Princess Helena on the council rather than as the traditional head
of merchants after her marriage.
Helena stepped forward, scanning Reed from head to toe. She tapped his leg while glancing at Edmund over her shoulder. “If he takes an arrow here, will he bleed out before he can get to the ship?”
Reed froze.
Edmund considered the question. “He should be fine.” He directed his next words to Reed. “Just don’t remove the arrow. Do you have a doctor on that ship?”
Reed nodded, taking a step back. “You want to put an arrow in my leg?”
“How else would we rescue Quinn without raising suspicion?” Helena lifted her eyes to his. “Are there fighting men on your ship?”
“Only a handful. There are two men here with me in the palace.”
“Do you care if they’re killed?” Her voice held no emotion, only a cold logical tone.
Dell’s jaw fell open.
Reed straightened. “They’re loyal to your brother.”
“Were they there that night?”
Everyone knew which night she spoke of. The rebellion.
Reed’s silence was answer enough.
Helena clenched her fist, but didn’t speak again before the door to the courtyard opened and Tyson appeared, a grim set to his mouth. He didn’t bother to ask who Reed was because his gaze locked onto Helena.
Helena rushed to him. “Have you made any progress?”
His eyes dropped, giving them the answer.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I will continue to try.”
Helena’s eyes hardened, glowing in the torchlight. “You have to know, Tyson… we’re going to keep Quinn from getting onto that ship no matter your mother’s decision.”
He nodded as if he expected no less. “I convinced my mother to allow you to visit the dungeons.”
Helena froze, her words choking her on the way out. “I can see him?”
Chapter Eight
A row of guards stood at attention at the bottom of the narrow dungeon staircase. The first thing Helena noticed was that each cell had some poor soul trapped inside. Did Gaule have this many criminals? Maybe they were rebels.
Their harsh screams and moans sent a shiver down her spine as she sidestepped the arms reaching out for her.
How could Quinn be in a place such as this? Her sweet brother, the best of them all. And this was his fate? Sorrow churned within her, turning over and over until it hardened into anger chilling her heart.
This too was Cole’s fault.
“There was a time,” Edmund whispered, “When these cells stood mostly empty. But Gaule has changed.”
Helena wasn’t interested in hearing of Gaule’s past. She scanned each face she passed until the guard leading them through the dank passageway stopped in front of a set of rusted iron bars. He took a knife from his belt and slammed it against the metal, jolting the man inside.
“Oy, Prince.” The guard sneered. “Seems like someone came to say goodbye.”
Quinn lifted his bruised face and Helena sucked in a breath. His hazy eyes drifted over her, and she wasn’t sure he truly saw her. The beginnings of a beard coated his sharp jaw, giving him a darker look than she was used to. But it was still him. She stepped back, for a moment feeling as if Cole sat in front of her with his identical looks.
Not Cole, she told herself. He’s not here. The fear subsiding, she sank to her knees on the dirt-covered floor to get closer.
Quinn’s eyes cleared, and he shook his head as his gaze locked onto her. He mouthed her name, not making a sound.
She nodded.
Ignoring the presence of the guard, Edmund, and Dell, Quinn scooted across the cell on his butt. “Helena.” His voice sounded as if he hadn’t used it in days.
“I’m here.” A tear tracked down her face, and she reached through the bars.
His eyes widened, and he gulped back a sob. “You’re dead.”
She shook her head; dark curls falling loose from her low tail. “I’m here,” she repeated.
Her strong brother shook as sobs wracked his body. He buried his face in his hands. “I thought…” He couldn’t get the words out. “I thought it was just me. And Cole…”
“Don’t speak his name,” she said, hardening her jaw. “He is no longer our family.”
He lifted his glassy eyes to her. “You found me?”
She nodded.
“You came for me?”
She reached farther into the cell, needing to touch him.
He squeezed her hand as if still not quite believing she was real.
“I was so scared that in the end…” He sucked in a breath. “That you died thinking I betrayed you along with Cole.”
She wiped a tear from her face. “No, Quinn. I know you. I know what’s inside of you. You loved us… you loved them.”
“Father.” He shook. “Mother. Stev. Kassander—”
“No.” She squeezed his hand to stop him. “Kass is alive.”
It was as if a light entered his eyes. “Both of you? I never imagined. Where is he?”
“Waiting for us in Bela.”
“Us? They tell me the queen has agreed to allow the Madrans to take me.”
“We have a plan, Quinn.” She gestured to Edmund and Dell.
“Did you help her?” Quinn asked Edmund.
Edmund shook his head and jabbed a thumb toward Dell. “It was all him.”
Color rose in Dell’s cheeks as Quinn climbed to his feet, legs wobbling beneath him. He stuck his hand through the bars.
Dell took it. “Helena was hurt. I wouldn’t have left her behind. If she hadn’t been injured, she’d have saved us all.”
“I know.” Quinn’s eyes bore into Dell for a moment longer before he released him.
“Quinn.” Helena regained his attention. “Tomorrow, when you hear someone yell your name, duck.”
“Be careful, Lenny.” He leaned his head against the bars. “I can’t lose you again.”
She had him back. Before seeing Quinn in person, the idea of him still existing was like a dream. She’d waited for so long to just hear him say her name, but the dream didn’t even compare to reality.
The palace of Gaule was a contradiction. The people treated their group as unwelcome guests. The queen planned to send Helena’s brother to her enemy. Yet, they’d been given lavish rooms. Servants had brought trays of cheeses and meats along with pitchers of burgundy wine stronger than any offered in Madra.
So much for Gaule being a starving kingdom.
But this was how it always was, wasn’t it? The average person went hungry while those higher up feasted. She’d lived her life on one side, always having more than enough food. Always receiving the best of the trade from neighboring kingdoms.
Locked inside her castle, she hadn’t known it could be any other way.
But now she saw it in the faces of the men who’d tried to rob them. She heard stories of the rebels who only wanted to eat.
Her mask no longer shielded her from the world.
And it was terrifying.
She rolled over in the four-poster bed that could have fit three people. Plush white blankets insulated her from the cold many of the Gaulean children would experience that night.
Overhead, a deep purple canopy hid the window from view. She pushed back the curtains and sat up to gaze down upon the sleeping castle. Her room looked out on the outer castle. The people who lived there were the lucky ones. The crown took care of them.
But what about the rest?
What about people like Quinn who were nothing but pawns to those with power? Who took care of them?
She let her legs hang over the bed, her bare feet grazing the soft white carpet. Before bed, a palace servant had brought water for her to bathe and provided her with a silk, pink sleeping gown. She hadn’t experienced such luxury since leaving Madra.
Back then, she’d expected it. She was a princess.
Now, it irritated her.
She slipped her hand under the pillow where she’d stashed a knife. Having it nearby gave her som
e sense of strength. But if they came under attack, she’d be no use against a host of well-trained guards.
Would the Gauleans give her up? If Cole found out she still lived and that his supposed allies were harboring her…
She tossed the knife into the air, catching the hilt with her other hand before throwing it toward the door. It started to open moments before the knife stuck into the intricate woodwork.
Dell froze. “Was that meant for me?”
Helena shrugged and stood from the bed. The sleeping gown only reached the tops of her thighs and she tried to pull it down as Dell’s gaze slid over her. A blush stained his cheeks, reaching all the way to the tips of his ears.
“Thanks for knocking.” Sarcasm dripped from her words.
He didn’t take the bait. “I had an idea.”
“It’s the middle of the night.” She gestured to where silver moonlight filtered in through the window.
“Yet, you’re up throwing knives about the room.”
She walked to the table in the sitting area where two pitchers sat. Pouring herself a glass of water, she lifted it to her lips without offering any to Dell.
With a sigh, she set the glass down. “Do you know why I throw knives? Why my mother taught me that one skill and kept her others from me?”
He shook his head and crossed the room, taking her cup. He sipped it as she narrowed her eyes.
“Throwing a knife requires great concentration. It’s almost as if it takes you into an entirely new world, one where life or death can be decided with the flick of a wrist.” She snatched the cup back from him. “My mother thought I needed something that allowed me to pretend nothing else existed. No expectations or limitations. Just me and a blade. It was never about protecting against others. She thought I needed protection from myself. From the doubts in my mind.”
Dell reached for the pitcher and poured himself his own glass. “Your mother sounds like an amazing woman.”
