by Megg Jensen
Krissin stood up and paced the length of my room. She tapped the side of her face with one long fingernail. “So you’re a prophet. We know that. But you won’t be able to give us the one thing every Serenian has wanted for six hundred years?”
I nodded, unable to meet her eyes.
“And you won’t lie for the sake of your people?” she asked.
“I can’t. A lie started all of this. I won’t perpetuate it.”
Krissin stopped pacing and stared at me. The spark in her eyes pulsed, growing larger with each beat of my heart. I wouldn’t allow her to intimidate me. Nemison told me to trust her and even though I wanted to run the other direction, I would trust his opinion of his daughter. I would trust Krissin.
“You will lie.”
Walking closer to her, I laid my hand on her arm. Her skin tingled under my touch, as if she had been struck by lightning. Power coursed through her, power I didn’t understand.
“I. Will. Not.”
I squeezed Krissin’s arm, digging my fingernails into her flesh. She didn’t flinch. I squeezed harder, afraid whatever had a hold of her might not let go before she unleashed her gift.
The door opened again, no one ever knocked, but I didn’t look. I focused only on Krissin. She could hurt me, but she could also hurt herself. I didn’t want today to end in tragedy.
“Let me take care of her.” Ace glanced at my bandaged hands before prying my fingers from Krissin’s arm. “Krissin, baby?”
Without showing any fear or hesitation, Ace took Krissin in his arms. She stood, her body stiff, in his arms while he stroked her blonde curls. Tears streamed from her eyes, but the spark continued to pulse.
“What’s going on with her?” I asked Ace. He didn’t turn to me, only continued stroking her hair.
“It’s her gift. It’s complicated. Once she activates it, it’s nearly impossible for her to stop. She told me last night. We were up half the night talking.”
Talking? I misjudged both of them. I had assumed they were doing exactly what I’d refused with Mark. As Krissin’s body collapsed into Ace’s, the spark in her eyes dimmed. Her head fell limp on his shoulder. He bent at the knees and gathered her into his arms, her gown spilling down his arms, trailing to the floor.
Her head rested in the crook of her arm. “Ace?” she whispered.
“It’s me, baby. I’ve got you.” He bent over and kissed her on the forehead, his long hair unbound, making a curtain around her face.
Mark arrived a moment later. He rushed over and pulled me into his arms. “Where have you been?” he asked. “I’ve been sick worrying about you. No one knew where you were. I’ve been out all day searching for you.”
“I’ll explain soon,” I said and kissed him on the cheek.
He looked at Ace as he placed Krissin gently on my bed.
“She’ll be okay,” I whispered.
“But the announcement is only a few hours away,” Mark said. “Without her, we can’t move forward. The people won’t listen to anyone other than the princess. My men will be in danger and I don’t want to start a war without her blessing.”
“I’ll be fine,” Krissin muttered from my bed. Ace sat next to her, her head in his lap. “I need to talk to Jada. If you refuse to help us, then we have to come up with another plan of action.”
Krissin pushed herself up to sitting. Ace tossed his arm around her waist. “Don’t get up yet,” he pleaded. The genuine concern in his voice touched my heart. Two weeks ago I wouldn’t have believed it if anyone told me Ace had a soft side.
“We don’t have enough time for me to recover. I need to talk to Jada and I’m going to her room now.” Krissin pushed herself out of Ace’s embrace and slid off my bed. She stretched out to her full height and even though she was short, her body appeared long and imposing. “Who’s coming with me?”
“I am. This mess is mostly my fault. I may not lie to the people, but I will see this through to the end.”
Krissin grabbed my arm and dragged me out the door.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ace knocked on Jada’s door. We paused, listening, and then Ace knocked again. Still nothing. Krissin rolled her eyes and opened the door. Puzzled, Krissin stepped through the doorway. I peeked over her shoulder. Blankets and sheets were crumpled on Jada’s bed. Clothes were scattered across the floor, bottles on her dressing table overturned, and books strewn everywhere.
“What happened here?” Krissin asked, as if one of us had the answer. Ace and Mark moved around the room, careful not to disturb anything. I hung out in the doorway, unsure of what to do to help.
“She left with a struggle,” Ace said. “That’s clear at least.” He pointed to one slipper on the floor near the middle of the room. A torn shard of her gown lie underneath the slipper, ripped on one edge. Mark stood next to it, making sure not to nudge it with his toes. “Did anyone have a grudge against her?”
“Not that I know of,” Krissin answered. “She laid low. Not many of the nearby nobles had anything to do with her. She kept to herself most of the time. Helped us plan the revolution.”
Krissin turned slowly and looked at me. I shrank back from her gaze. I didn’t have anything to do with Jada’s disappearance. “You.” She pointed at me.
“I didn’t do it!” I raised my hands in the air. “Why are you pointing at me?”
“Do you think this has something to do with Alia and Reese’s plot? It would make sense. They want to stop us from starting the war. What better way than to kidnap Jada before my speech?” Krissin’s face stretched into a smile. Not the genuine one I’d seen earlier after she found me bloodied on the floor, but the smile that drove fear through the hearts of war-seasoned men. She spun on one foot, her back to me.
“We know where they were meeting,” Ace said. “We have one up on them and can surprise them. We can rescue Jada before the speech.”
“My thoughts too,” Krissin said.
“Hold on.” Mark held up his hand. “If they have her held in that old abandoned hallway, it’s possible they have a guard. They might not suspect us, but they can’t be so stupid as to leave her unguarded. It’s too dangerous. Reychel and Krissin are staying behind, locked up safely in Reychel’s room.”
Krissin stomped her foot on the floor. “No! This is my palace. It’s my war I’m about to start. I will not hide away like a cowardly little woman. Reychel can stay behind.”
“Hey!” I shouted. I walked into the center of the room and stood next to Mark and Jada’s errant slipper. “Don’t count me out. After what I went through today, you can bet I’m going to do anything I can to fix this mess. It’s all my fault anyway.”
Mark looked at me, one eyebrow raised. “How is any of this your fault?”
I opened my mouth, but before I could explain Krissin interrupted. “Zelor lied. Reychel’s not going to have a prophecy to save our people. Sure, she’s a prophet, but the gift isn’t controllable and is of no use to anyone.”
“What?” Mark asked. “She’s lying, right?”
“No.” I placed a hand on his arm. “She’s not. It’s all true. I am a prophet, Zelor knew I’d exist, but he made up the prophecy that all Serenians have depended on for hundreds of years. I can’t force a prophecy to save our people. I can’t do anything useful,” I said, throwing my arms up in the air. As they fell back down, I felt something tickle my fingertip.
Raising my hands back in the air, fingers spread, I closed my eyes and felt the air.
“What are you doing?” Krissin demanded. Mark shushed her. I heard him step away from me. Instead of worrying about what the other three thought, I focused inward. My fingers danced through the air, looking for the portal string I’d felt only a moment ago.
If someone had taken Jada through a portal, it stood to reason she would leave a string behind, something for us to trace her. Even if I couldn’t open a portal, I could pull on a leftover string. My arms shook as the excitement coursed through my body. Maybe I couldn’t make a speech to
lead our people into a war, but I could do this.
Trying to remember exactly where my fingers had been when I’d dropped my arms, I moved a little higher and to the left. A tiny wisp brushed my index finger and I knew I’d found it. I pinched my fingers together and tugged. A portal blossomed in front of me, shimmering in the moonlight.
“Jada’s through here,” I said, confident I’d finally done something useful since arriving two weeks ago. It could be an older portal, but what were the chances? I’d helped for once; I knew it.
Mark grabbed me around the waist and lifted me. “You did it!” He swung me in a circle and my feet flew through the air. Happiness surrounded me like a warm towel after a cold bath. Blood pumped through my veins and I finally felt like maybe we’d have a chance to make all of this work.
Krissin pushed my legs out of the way as she stepped in front of the portal. Mark dropped me to the floor, but left his arm around my waist. “You two make me sick. And congratulations for doing something right. Finally.”
Ace joined her and winked at me. Ace and Mark bumped fists. Their smiles couldn’t have been any bigger without jumping off their faces. For once we were all on the same page. Even Krissin gave me a half smile before her face fell back into its normal scowl.
Zelor hadn’t seen this. He hadn’t seen me helping my friends. Despite his predictions of failure, I wondered if I could do something to help them today. Maybe if I stopped telling everyone what I couldn’t do, I could focus instead on ways to help them.
Krissin and Ace joined hands. “We’ll go through first. You two bring up the rear. Be prepared for anything. Hopefully we’ll find Jada alone and escape with her.”
“It won’t be that easy,” Ace said, squeezing Krissin’s hand. Her knuckles turned white as she grasped his harder.
“I never said it would be. I was only trying on Reychel’s optimistic attitude.” Krissin’s nose wrinkled as she tossed a glance my way.
“It doesn’t suit you,” Ace said. “I like your attitude the way it was before.” He tugged on her hand and they jumped through the portal, leaving us behind in the ransacked room.
“Ready?” I asked Mark. He nodded and we jumped through together.
My feet slipped on the ground as we landed outside a cottage. Alia’s parents’ cottage, or at least the place she told us they lived. If Mark and Ace were right, this wasn’t a mere family home. My eyes scanned the surrounding forest, but I didn’t see Ace or Krissin.
Mark put his fingers to his lips and pointed to the side of the house. The tip of Ace’s shoe peeked out from the corner. We tiptoed across the damp grass, spongy from the dew and smelling sweeter than the orange I’d eaten for breakfast.
Ace’s hand shot out from behind the corner of the cottage, grabbed my arm and yanked me into him. Mark jumped behind me, landing close to my toes. Ace clamped his hand over my mouth before I could ask what was going on. I nodded and he lowered his hand.
“No one will find her here.” Alia’s voice floated out to us as the front door opened.
“You haven’t brought anyone here, have you?” Reese asked. Krissin nodded at me. Thank Eloh I’d found the portal string or we’d be back at the palace searching the deserted hallways all night for Jada.
“Of course not,” Alia said. Mark’s eyebrows shot up as Ace rolled his eyes. Interesting. She lied to Reese. Mark, Ace, and I had all been there at her invitation a couple days ago. “No one will find her here. She’ll stay quiet and we can continue on with our plans. No one can stop us now. Krissin will get what she deserves.”
“And the Prophet?” Reese asked. I sucked in a breath. My stomach muscles clenched as I held my breath captive. I wouldn’t let even a tiny exhale give us away.
“I will personally see to her demise,” Alia said. “Serving her was the lowest moment of my life. She forced me to shave her head, you know. She’s an absolute fool and will never have the power to deliver a prophecy convincing enough. I don’t care how many people believe in the old tales. It won’t be enough to make them give up their quiet lives here in the Southern Kingdom.”
I heard the familiar swoosh as one of them created a portal. Moments later we heard nothing other than the birds chirping their evening song. Ace looked around the corner of the cottage, then stepped back from the wall.
“They’re gone,” he said. “Let’s get in there and rescue your friend. Maybe she heard something else that can help us.
One by one we crept along the wall towards the cottage door. We had no idea when, or even if, they would come back, but none of us let our guards down. Freeing Jada was more important now.
Ace grabbed the doorknob and twisted it to the left. The door opened a crack, but before he could open it all the way Krissin maneuvered around him, pushed it open with flat palms, and ran inside.
“You?” she yelled. “What are you doing here?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
I pushed Ace out of the way and ran through the doorway. Jada wasn’t the one tied to a chair.
“Hanne!” I ran to her side and helped Krissin untie the ropes around her ankles. The rough rope burned at my fingers as I struggled to pull the knots out. Ace ran behind the chair and worked on the bindings around her wrists. Her arms pulled taut behind her back and tears streamed out of her eyes, flowing down her cheeks and over the cloth gagging her mouth.
Mark grasped a knife in his nimble fingers. He dragged it across the silk, not cutting it, for fear of tearing at Hanne’s face, but scoring the silk, making it easier to tear. He ripped the silk gag in two and pulled the fabric out of Hanne’s mouth. She coughed, then licked her lips.
“Water.” Her voice, sounding like her throat had been scratched dry, pleaded with us.
“How long have you been like this?” Krissin asked, still fumbling with her knot. Mine fell loose and Hanne stretched her leg out towards me, flexing her calf muscle. Her face contorted in pain. “Your own husband did this to you? And where’s Jada?”
Mark handed Hanne a cup filled with water from the jug on the counter. “It’s a little warm,” he apologized.
“I don’t care,” Hanne said. Ace dropped her wrist bindings to the floor and Hanne reached out with one shaky hand, taking the cup and drinking greedily. I tried not to look as the water dripped out the side of her mouth. She wiped it with her sleeve, set the cup down on the table next to her, and eyed us all wearily. Her head drooped to the side and tears flooded her eyes again.
“What happened?” I asked, placing a hand on her arm. I crouched down in front of her and looked up into Hanne’s drenched eyes. We’d heard Reese leave. He’d been here. He’d known his wife was tied up and he’d left her. My heart broke for her.
“This morning...” Hanne cleared her throat and took another sip of water, “I woke and found Reese gone. I didn’t know when he’d slipped out of bed, but I knew how much work he had to do before Krissin announced our plans to the town.” She glanced over at Krissin, her eyes filled with sorrow. “I know you wanted everything to transition smoothly. That’s what I thought Reese was doing so late every night.”
Krissin’s face softened as she listened to Hanne’s story. Hanne had been like a mother to Krissin since the queen died. Their bond ran deeper than Krissin’s bond with Nemison. Krissin knelt down on the floor next to me. I scooted over, giving her full access to Hanne. She laid her head on Hanne’s lap. “What did he do to you?” Krissin whispered.
“I went to Jada’s room, hoping maybe she knew where Reese was working.” Hanne paused and a defeated cackle escaped her lips. “Oh, I found them both. They were ... together.” She spat the last word out and my hand flew to my mouth. Jada and Reese?
“No,” Krissin said, raising her head up off of Hanne’s lap. “Not Jada and Reese. I’ll kill them both!”
Hanne grabbed Krissin’s shoulders and shook them. “Don’t say that. I won’t have you unleashing your gift on them because of their infidelity.”
“I don’t understand,” Ace interjected. �
��If you found Jada and Reese together, why was her room trashed? And why was Alia here with Reese? None of it makes sense.”
“When I found them in her bed,” Hanne said, “I may have reacted badly. In fact, I’m the one who trashed Jada’s room.” Hanne wore only one slipper and her dress was torn along the bottom. So it wasn’t Jada who’d struggled, it was Hanne. “When I refused to calm down, Reese grabbed me and Jada ported us here. They didn’t want either of you to know.” She glanced at Krissin and me. “In fact, they said if you found out about them it would ruin everything.”
“Everything?” Krissin asked. “What everything? Do you know anything about their plans?”
Hanne shook her head. “I don’t have any idea what they were referring to.”
“Hanne, they’re planning something with Alia, something that goes against everything Krissin and Nemison are trying to accomplish. But we don’t know what that is yet. You didn’t hear anything that can help us?” I grabbed her hand in mine.
“No, nothing. Alia was here most of the day, but she was back in that room.” Hanne pointed to the door we’d thought lead to her parents’ bedroom, back when Mark, Ace, and I came here with Alia. “She didn’t say a word to me all day. Reese arrived not long ago. He avoided me and since I was gagged I couldn’t say anything to him. Then they left together. I suppose they assumed I couldn’t go anywhere tied up like that.”
The tears tumbled down her cheeks again. I could kill Reese for doing this to her. He was almost old enough to be Jada’s father; it was disgusting.
“So where has Jada been in all this?” Mark stuck his head in the room Alia had hid in all day.
“I don’t know,” Hanne admitted. “After they brought me here, she helped to tie me up. They left me here, alone, and went outside. Neither of them came back, just Alia.”
