The Finale

by Leigh Walker

  Dear Dallas,

  I am so sorry, but I’ve just heard that news of who Balkyn really is has reached your parents. I can’t even begin to apologize for all the trouble that I’ve dragged you into. And here we are, at the end of the competition. There couldn’t be a worse time for this to come out.

  And yet, it has.

  I can’t stop thinking that it’s fate at work, tearing us apart. The stars do not favor us, Dallas. Everything pushes against us, and has from the start.

  And yet, I love you. I love you more than life itself.

  It’s that love which gives me the strength to do what’s right. It’s that love that teaches me to be selfless, even as it breaks my heart.

  I am no good for you. I would pretend to hate you, but you know me too well.

  So I am asking you, if you love me, to let me go. Choose someone who can support your goals and dreams. Choose someone your family approves of. I cannot stand by and watch my feelings for you turn all your hopes for the settlements to dust. I cannot watch my love for you ruin your relationship with your father.

  I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused. And no words can express how sorry I am to lose you. But I know love because of you, and for that, I can never be sorry.

  Who ever said doing the right thing would be easy?

  I’ll do what I can to spare you. You will forever have my heart.

  Sincerely,

  Your Gwyneth

  I folded the letter and put it inside an envelope. I addressed it to the prince and left it on the nightstand.

  And then I went to the window and waited.

  Chapter 18

  Nothing Lasts Forever

  The waiting took several hours. My maids came and went, fussing over me, bringing me tea and chicken soup, taking my temperature. I pretended to fall asleep so they’d leave me alone, even as I wanted to cling to them, to beg them to tell me everything was going to be all right.

  Of course, I knew better than to ask. It wasn’t ever going to be all right again.

  I left the window open so I could hear what I could not see: Dallas’s motorcade returning. I held my breath, wondering if the queen had already informed the king of my transgression. I worried that she and the king would corner Dallas with accusations and that he’d storm up here and try to rescue me. I worried, but I half wanted him to. I waited to hear the heavy fall of his boots in the hall outside my door.

  But he never came.

  Finally, in the early afternoon, I heard the cars leaving again. I wondered what Blake and Dallas would talk about on their drive to Settlement 15—if she’d tell him I was sick or if she’d tell him the truth. Perhaps they wouldn’t speak of me at all. Maybe they’d simply have a great time together, laughing and gossiping about Austin behind his back.

  My heart careened in my chest, veering between hope for Dallas and pity for myself. But I’d made my bed, and it was time to lie in it.

  I dressed in a plain black frock, pulling my hair into a lackluster bun. My plan was simple. First, check on my brother and see if he was still alive. I didn’t know what, if anything, I could do for him. But I would try to protect him as best I could. Second, I’d go to the king and queen and tell them the truth. They already knew it, but they should hear it from me. I would fall on my sword, so to speak, and beg them to forgive Dallas and spare my brother. I wouldn’t ask that much for myself. I wasn’t naive enough to hope for salvation, given the circumstances.

  I expected them to either march me down to the dungeons to share a cell with Balkyn or send me home immediately. Or worse. I knew the slim chance of them ever accepting me as their daughter-in-law was gone for good. A fresh round of tears threatened, but I forced myself to stop before I started. I’d let myself believe it was possible for Dallas and me to be together. My love for him had blinded me to the truth. But now everything I’d done was coming back to me—lying about my brother, the fact that I’d helped Benjamin Vale escape and then he’d killed those guards…

  I saw little use in weeping over the inevitable. What was it Tariq had said? We’ll all be punished for our wrongs in the end, my dear. That wanker had been right, for once.

  I straightened my dress and took a deep breath. And then, with no idea if I’d ever return, I left the safety of my room.

  I’d almost made it down the hall to the dungeon stairwell when a figure stepped out of the shadows. “Gwyneth?”

  As he was tall and strapping, my heart caught in my throat. “Y-yes?” But Austin stepped into the light, and my heart sank. “Hello, Your Highness.”

  He frowned. “Where on earth do you think you’re going?”

  “Please keep your voice down.” I looked around, relieved no guards were in sight. “I’m running an…errand.”

  Austin’s eyebrow shot up a fraction. “An errand to the dungeons?”

  I shrugged. “It’s nothing interesting.”

  He leaned forward. “I think you’ll need some backup on your ‘errand.’ I’ll come with you. Dallas just bloody made me promise him again that I’d protect you.”

  “You saw him?”

  “Yes. He was in and out of here. The production crew said he didn’t have time to see you, and he was in an uproar.”

  “But he left? With Blake?”

  “Yes.” Austin didn’t look too happy about it.

  “Okay.” I exhaled. “Good.”

  “What’s so good about it?”

  “It means that he’s where he’s supposed to be. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be as well.”

  He stepped in front of me, blocking my path. “Not so fast. What’s down there?” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the stairs.

  I sighed. I didn’t want to involve Austin, but as everyone else knew the truth, what more damage could I do? “My brother. He’s your prisoner.”

  “Bloody hell, Gwyneth!”

  “I’ve got to go see him. He’s been down there for a while. Apparently, your mother just found out that he’s my brother.”

  Austin raked a hand over his head. “This is genius, Gwyn. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse for you.”

  Marching footsteps suddenly headed our way. They sounded as though they were coming from down the hall, near the grand foyer.

  Austin and I looked at each other for a beat. “Here we go, getting worse again. C’mon. No one else needs to stumble across you and your errands today.” We ran into the stairwell and hid in the dark alcove at the top of the landing. Austin quietly crouched, his weapon at the ready.

  “You don’t need to fight,” I whispered. “These are your guards, for goodness’ sake.”

  “And it’s my duty to protect you, or my brother will see me staked.”

  “Carry on, then.” Nervous laughter threatened, so I clutched my stomach to keep the laughs in.

  The footsteps got closer and, much to my dismay, turned in to the stairwell. “We can bring him out, Your Highness,” one of the sentinels said.

  “I’d like to witness every second of this debacle.” The king’s voice was laced with a dull fury. “Why did no one tell me about his relation to the girl?”

  “Because we didn’t know, sire.”

  “Someone bloody knew. And when I find out who—who it was that chose to pledge their loyalty to my son instead of me—I will make an example of their head. On a very pretty, very sharp spike for all to see.”

  The guards glanced at each other as they descended the stairs. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  I wanted to run at them, but Austin held me back. He waited until they’d gone all the way downstairs before he spoke. “We’ve got to get you out of here.”

  “I’m not leaving my brother. I’m a lot of things, but a coward isn’t one of them.”

  “The only thing you’ll be is dead if you don’t listen to me.”

  I shook him off. “I’m not leaving him.”

  Austin cursed under his breath. “You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you? That’s all right. I’ve b
een dealing with stubborn people my whole life.” He put his ridiculously solid hands around me and started dragging me away.

  “Let go of me!” I struggled, and he clamped his hand over my mouth. That didn’t stop me from trying to yell, but it did muffle the effect.

  Austin was as strong as an ox. He hauled me down the corridor easily, as if I weighed no more than a child’s doll. But we met four more sentinels just as we made it to the grand foyer; they eyed us warily. “Your Highness.” The shortest one bowed. “Thank you for finding this contestant. We’ve been looking for her.”

  “I found her first.” Austin smiled at them easily. “I’ll look after her.”

  The sentinel cleared his throat. “We’re under strict instructions from the king to bring her to him directly.”

  “The king’s busy at the moment. I just saw him.” Austin moved to go around them.

  The sentinels mirrored his movement, blocking his escape. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, but we’ve been ordered to take her into custody. You needn’t trouble yourself.”

  Austin took a step back. His eyes glinted, and he looked a bit scary. “Oh, it’s no trouble.” The undertone in his voice was lethal.

  At that moment, the queen floated down the stairs, her sky-blue silk dress billowing in waves around her. “Austin, my child, whatever are you doing?”

  He nodded, keeping his hand firmly planted over my mouth. “Not too much, Mother. How’re you?”

  “I’m well. I’ve been doing a bit of snooping, actually. I’m turning up all sorts of things lately. I see you’ve met Miss West.”

  “Yes, of course.” He pulled me closer and clamped his hand down even more tightly over my mouth. “You’re looking lovely, as usual. That color brings out your eyes.” He grinned at her winningly. The baby of the family, Austin was obviously used to charming his mother into getting his way.

  She put a hand over her heart at she reached the landing. “Oh, sweetheart, it’s so nice to have you at the palace. I’ve missed you. You do always know how to light up my day.”

  “Years of practice, Mother.” He smiled tightly. “I don’t suppose you want to light up my day by calling off your dogs?”

  Her sapphire-blue eyes sparkled at her son. “You think your father would be amenable to that?”

  “Since when was he amenable to anything I did?”

  “Darling, don’t be like that…”

  As they went back and forth, I noticed Eve sneaking down the hallway. She put a finger to her lips. She slid closer, eavesdropping on the conversation and inspecting the sentinels’ aggressive postures. They were ready to pounce should Austin make the slightest move.

  I will try to help you, she thought inside my head. I wished I could respond to her, to tell her to run away—it was too late for me. Boots marched down the hall from the direction of the dungeons, and I looked to Eve, my eyes pleading for her to run. With one last nod, she took off around the corner, toward the northern part of the castle.

  The Black Guard marched into the grand foyer. Two guards in the middle held Balkyn up. He was so pale and wasted, he looked as though he could barely stand. His filthy white T-shirt and tan pants hung from his gaunt frame. He looked scarier than the vampires who surrounded him.

  “Brother.” It came out muffled, and Austin finally removed his hand from my face.

  “Don’t say too much,” he whispered gently. He slowly released me as he eyed the guards. “And don’t run away. There isn’t much point.”

  I nodded, then reached toward my brother. “Balkyn.”

  His eyes could barely focus as he turned in my direction. “Is that a witch, or is it my sister?” He cackled as his gaze finally found me. “Or is it both?”

  “We should get them to a private room before the cameras find us and hear all of this,” Austin reminded his mother.

  “Of course.”

  The king stepped out from behind his guard, looking from Balkyn to me in disgust. “I don’t bloody care who hears it. Let them see how we deal with traitors.”

  The queen held out her hand for him. “Come, dear. We mustn’t undo all the good work we’ve done over the past few months.”

  With a final, hateful look in my direction, the king took her hand. “To the throne room,” he commanded.

  Austin leaned toward me as we followed the king and queen. “I won’t leave you. I’ll make them understand that this is all a mistake.”

  “It’s not a mistake,” I hissed. “That’s my brother. He’s a rebel. He hates vampires, to the point where he’d literally rather starve to death than eat your food. He’s been here since the rebels captured me and almost killed Dallas. There’s no way to ‘spin’ this. The only thing that’s about to get spun are both my and my brother’s heads, around the floor of the throne room after they’re chopped off.”

  He gave me a quick look. “I’m not going to let that happen.”

  “You and what bloody army?”

  He didn’t say anything after that.

  Balkyn was behind me, but he didn’t say another word as we made our way to the throne room. I wondered what he was thinking or if he was so dehydrated that he was hallucinating. I swallowed hard as we reached the large room, golden thrones gleaming on a dais. The last time I’d been here, Dallas had been forced to kill Benjamin Vale because of my folly. Oh, how I wished my prince were here now! Even if it were only to say goodbye. I closed my eyes and pictured his handsome face, remembering what it felt like to sink my hands into his thick hair. Every moment we’d shared flashed before me.

  By the time Austin deposited me in the middle of the room to be judged, I felt calmer. It was better that Dallas wasn’t here. He wouldn’t suffer by witnessing this. Still, I felt his presence. It was as though his love had marked me. He’d become a part of me that nothing—not time, not distance, not the fierce burning of his father’s hate—could take away.

  I’d had my happiness; whatever came next, I could face it. If Balkyn and I were punished now, we would go together forever into the hereafter. Perhaps with eternity on my side, I could convince my brother to forgive me.

  And at least, if we were gone, Dallas would have no more trouble. He wouldn’t have anything to hide, and he wouldn’t have to lie for me anymore. He could marry one of the other girls, someone the king and queen approved of, and maybe he’d have a chance at happiness, real happiness.

  I faced the king and queen, and I was ready. The king looked at me with hate in his eyes, and I understood him perfectly. I forgave him.

  I held my head high, and I curtsied.

  And then I waited for judgment.

  Chapter 19

  I’m Still Waiting

  “They’ve called for the court,” Austin whispered to me. “It won’t be long now.”

  Vampire lords and ladies filed into the room, taking seats along the wall, all the better to watch the spectacle. I’d seen most of them before, the first time I was here, on the night that Benjamin Vale was killed, and they’d also attended the royal gala. They must have all lived at the castle, but they stayed out of sight of the contestants during the day. They peered at my brother and me but said nothing, patiently waiting for the royals to proceed.

  The king and queen spoke in low tones, periodically looking in our direction. I stole a glance at Balkyn, but his eyes were closed, his head lolled back. Two guards held him up—I couldn’t tell if he was conscious.

  “Balkyn.” I kept my voice so low, only Austin and the nearby guards could hear us. “Balkyn.”

  His eyes snapped open.

  “Are you awake?”

  He scoffed at me. “I am now.”

  His skin was a ghastly color, a sickly yellow, and his eyes still seemed to have trouble focusing. “Do you know where you are?”

  “Yes, unfortunately.” He blinked, looking around. “Where’s your vampire? I don’t see him with this lot. Has he abandoned you already?”

  “He’s none of your concern. I just want you to be ready. The king and
queen have discovered you’re my brother. They’re about to—”

  “They’re about to put your heads on spikes.” Austin grunted. “You’d best be quiet.”

  “I’ve nothing to say to her, anyway.” Balkyn looked away in disgust.

  “A real charmer, your brother,” Austin whispered.

  I groaned but immediately silenced myself as the king stood. He bowed to the court, then turned to face us.

  “It has come to my attention that this prisoner—this rebel prisoner—is related to one of the Pageant’s contestants.” The lords and ladies gasped, whispering to each other and staring. “His sister is a girl who has come to live under our roof, eat our food, and spend time amongst us. Her brother is a rebel. Not only is he a rebel, he’s also a leader of the rebel army, captured by my son and thrown into our dungeons, where he’s been kept prisoner for weeks.”

  The audience whispered some more until the king cleared his throat and continued. “This fact has been kept from me by members of the Black Guard, our staff, and the Prince himself.” King Black paced stiffly across the dais. “To say that I’m disappointed, as well as disgusted, is too mellow a description—”

  The door to the throne room was thrust open, and Tariq burst in, his chest heaving. He was followed closely by Rose, Mira Kinney’s harried assistant, as well as several network executives. “Your Highness. I’ve just had word about this terrible situation. I’m so sorry for the interruption, but we’re still filming the final hours of the competition—”

  “How dare you interrupt me!” the king roared. “I’m holding court. Not another word, Tariq.”

  “But Your Highness—”

  “Seize him. Seize all of them.” The king snapped his fingers, and several members of the Black Guard surrounded the humans at the door.

  “There we go, Father. Don’t be shy,” Austin called cheerfully. “Let them see your true colors. The humans at home were starting to think you might actually be likable. You need to set them straight.”