“I’m sorry,” Avery said, finally breaking the silence. “I shouldn’t have left.”
“Save your apologies,” Tuck said without meeting her eyes.
“You shouldn’t have been allowed back either,” Ilsa said. “You know that, right? You’ve jeopardized all of our safety. What if somebody saw you or followed you?”
“But they didn’t.”
“Not true,” Kendrick said, not looking at her. “One of our scouts saw you with Edward on the stairs.”
Avery felt the red creep into her neck. She hated the way he had said that.
She hadn’t anticipated being interrogated by the entire group. Had the scout told Tuck what Edward had said? Had the scout mentioned that Edward had kissed her on the cheek?
She looked at Ilsa with all the pleading she could muster.
You should be grateful I was on the stairs with Edward. I brought him back!
Ilsa didn’t flinch. Her mouth twisted into a bitter smile.
Tuck shook his head and sighed. “You know there must be a public consequence for this. We can’t let other kids think they can just leave the castle or break the rules. Doing so could put us all in jeopardy at any time.” Despite his words, his voice was gentle, and Avery decided his anger would have been easier to take right now than his kindness.
“Fine,” Avery said, eager to end the conversation. “Let me know when you decide what it should be.”
“One more thing,” Kate said, speaking up for the first time. “The old lady has asked me to remind you that leaving this castle jeopardizes the safety of your brother.”
Avery felt her pulse in her neck.
At least I know he’s still alive.
“If you leave again,” Tuck said, “don’t bother coming back.” With those words, he stood and left the dining room.
“Tuck, wait!” Avery ran to the door, but by the time she reached the hallway, he was gone.
Back in the bunk room Avery collapsed on her bed and buried her face in the crook of her arm.
She cried for her family.
She cried for herself.
She cried for Edward.
She cried for Tuck.
She had failed so many people.
When she heard footsteps approach, she assumed Kate had come to sit with her.
“You can have this back. I don’t want it.”
Avery looked up to see Ilsa, the pearl tiara dangling from her fingers. Embarrassed to be caught crying in front of her, Avery pushed herself up and wiped her face. “Why give it back? We both know you’ve wanted it since before I arrived.”
“I won’t be anyone’s consolation prize.” Ilsa tossed the tiara onto the bed. “Anyway, I got what I wanted.”
Avery laughed. “Of course. Seeing me like this.”
“Don’t give yourself so much credit. What I wanted was one more chance to talk to Edward. Now I know he wanted to leave and wasn’t forced to go. He told me you convinced him to speak to me.”
Avery had to let that sink in. So something good had come from this horrible day?
“I’m glad he—”
“This doesn’t make us friends,” Ilsa interrupted. “I look forward to seeing whatever price you have to pay for leaving the castle. It was the stupidest thing you’ve ever done, which is saying a lot.” And as quickly as she had entered, she was gone.
And Avery knew she had somewhere she needed to go immediately.
Chapter 34
Correspondence Game
Avery stood in the darkened chapel alone.
One by one she lit the candles until the room flickered to life, the light dancing on the gold-gilded walls and illuminating the stained-glass windows. Instead of taking a seat on any of the empty high-back pews, however, she knelt on the crimson carpet in front of the pulpit. She leaned forward until she lay prostrate on the ground, her arms above her head and her face pressed into the carpet. And in the same room where a secession of kings had confidently determined their disbelief in God and vowed never to return to worship, Avery acknowledged her belief.
She asked for wisdom.
She asked for safety.
She begged for courage.
And beneath the ceiling where an oppressive mural of the kingdom’s darkest stories had been painted to life, Avery sought the face of God, convinced He could use her at such a time as this.
She had said no to Edward for several reasons, not the least of which was something she had read in her Bible on the day before she left the castle.
God sets up kings and removes them.
Choosing to side against God’s ordained leadership was choosing to side against God.
Avery was shocked to find a parcel under her pillow.
She had assumed Kendrick was just as mad at her as everyone else seemed to be. He hadn’t even looked her direction since she had returned. So this would likely be an angry rant.
Maybe he’s written to take back everything he said. I don’t blame him.
When Avery was certain the girls in the room were fast asleep, she took a candle and a match from the fireplace and sneaked down the hall to the storage room again.
Bronte greeted her as if she had been gone for a month.
She had to fend the dog off as she lit the candle and opened the envelope with fingers trembling.
But before she could spread the page, Bronte began a high-pitched whine that sent a shiver up Avery’s spine. The dog paced near the makeshift dog bed but wouldn’t sit.
“What’s wrong?” Avery whispered.
She carefully placed the candle in a stand and petted Bronte softly, but Bronte still shook and panted. Avery looked around for any sign of rat poison or anything else amiss. Nothing looked out of place. The food scraps and water appeared untouched.
Did Ilsa do something to Bronte? Is this her revenge?
“What’s the matter?” Avery asked, taking Bronte’s face in her hands and looking into the deep, dark eyes that looked like wells of ink. Bronte pulled away, agitated. The thought of her dog being sick terrified her. She couldn’t lose Bronte, too, especially after everything.
Avery slumped against the wall and watched the dog pace. She was tempted to find Kate, Tuck, or Kendrick, but she couldn’t risk their knowing about Bronte, upset as they were with her already.
She would just have to sit and wait.
She retrieved the candle and unfolded the message, steeling herself for whatever she found. To her surprise, it consisted of only two lines:
Why did you come back?
Leave your response under your pillow and it will be delivered.
She had asked herself the same question. The truth was, it was cold outside and she’d had nowhere else to go.
But that wasn’t all, and she knew it.
The truth was that she couldn’t stand the thought of never seeing Tuck. She missed their conversations, his gentle teasing and confident reassurance. She missed the way he looked out for her, especially when she was about to dive into some foolish decision. She needed his confident leadership in her life.
Avery didn’t fully understand her own feelings, but she knew they were real.
And there was something else.
If only for the sake of the other kids, she needed to find the tunnels. They called to her in her dreams. Every night when she slept she worked on their location. She wanted to find them, but not just for the tunnels. What if the underground colonies her mother had talked about were real, too? What if the tunnels were filled with their brothers and sisters?
For now, she would worry only about her beloved Bronte.
Sometime during the wee hours, the old dog fell into what appeared to be a fragile slumber. Avery draped a blanket over her friend, kissed Bronte’s silky head, and tiptoed back to her bed. She couldn’t afford to be discovered missing from her bed in the morning and have people assume she had fled the castle again. Neither could she have them come looking for her, only to discover her dog.
Nor did she want to
see her dog die. She wasn’t sure she was strong enough to handle it.
She needed to reconcile with Tuck and tell him first before anyone else learned about Bronte.
Chapter 35
The Misread
With the memory of her hunger in the woods still on her mind, Avery filled her plate at breakfast with meats, potatoes, and sweet breads.
Carefully folding some of the meat in a napkin for Bronte, she was about to dig in when a breathless, excited girl she did not recognize rushed in and announced, “There are dogs in the storage room!”
The room burst into a frenzy of excited conversation.
Dogs?
Avery dropped her fork, pushed back her chair, and flew past the girl down the hall. A crowd had already gathered inside the storage room, and she pushed past them, too.
Bronte lay on the blankets Avery had spread the night before, only now, three puppies nursed beside her.
Avery dropped to her knees and gently stroked the dog’s head. “Oh, Bronte, you weren’t sick!” she whispered. “You were in labor. How did I miss the signs?”
“Be careful,” one of the kids said. “We don’t know where she came from. She could have a disease. What if she bites you?”
“Motherhood is not a disease,” Avery said, kissing Bronte’s head repeatedly.
“Clear the room, please,” Tuck said from the door. “Let me take a look at the dog.”
Everyone else shuffled out until it was just Tuck and Avery. He knelt and gently cupped Bronte’s face in his hands, making Avery wonder if he, too, had left a dog behind.
“How do you think she got in here?” he asked.
“Maybe looking for a warm spot and hoping we would help her?”
“She looks healthy enough,” Tuck said. “But she can’t stay here. Barking dogs could get us discovered quickly. We need to find a way to let her loose.”
“But we make noise, and we haven’t been discovered. Anyway, it seems wrong to send her back into the cold with babies. They’ll never make it.”
Tuck held Avery’s gaze for a moment.
“Maybe,” he said slowly. Then his eyes widened so that Avery could tell something dawned on him. “You know, we could use a happy distraction around here.”
Avery wiped her eyes and wished Tuck would look away. The kindness in his face unnerved her. She wanted so badly to tell him everything—including what had happened in the woods and why she had come back—but it had been a long night, and she just couldn’t.
Suddenly, here came Kendrick and Kate.
Kate immediately began mothering Bronte, promising her a warm bath and food.
“And water,” Avery said.
“Yes,” Kate said. “Giving birth makes mothers dehydrated.”
“We’ll put the dogs up for a vote,” Tuck said. “If the vote is no, I’ll have no choice but to send her away. If the vote is yes, there will need to be rules.”
Avery nodded. As long as Bronte was able to stay, she wouldn’t tell anyone it was her dog. That could always come later.
Late that night, the kids filed into the great room for “midnight court,” as it had come to be known—a mock version of what happened with the real king and queen downstairs. Matters were discussed and announcements were made. Tonight, Tuck sat at the front with an empty chair beside him and a large sheet hanging precariously behind, obviously hiding something from the kids.
He called the meeting to order and announced two items of business, the first being “the matter of the dog we’re calling Bronte, and her pups.”
Cheers rose from the crowd, and the kids voted unanimously to keep them. Tuck announced that the pups could be named later.
“Another matter of business,” he said, his tone serious. “You all have been discussing Avery’s decision to leave the castle. I am not at liberty to explain why she made the choice that she did, but it was honorable. As restitution, I officially place Avery in charge of looking after Bronte’s well-being. Do you accept this responsibility?”
Avery nodded, but not as vigorously as she felt.
Her heart soared. Tuck was being kind.
“A final matter of business,” he said, “is our crest.”
Avery’s stomach turned. Tuck had asked her to create it ages ago, but since she had sketched it and given it to Kate, she had never followed up on it.
Had she failed Tuck in this matter, too?
He turned to the large sheet behind his chair and, with a flourish, gave it a firm tug. It fell away to reveal a gorgeous silk flag.
Everyone, including Avery, gasped.
In the center lay the black shield, trees with dozens of bright leaves, swirling ribbons with pops of color, and the motto Viam inveniam aut faciam.
I will either find a way or make one.
The crest was more beautiful than Avery had thought possible. Kate had sewn exactly what Avery had imagined.
Avery locked eyes with Kate across the room. “Thank you,” she mouthed, knowing for the first time since she returned that all would be well between them.
The kids were standing and clapping, and all eyes were on Avery.
Tuck motioned for her to join him. Stunned, she struggled to her feet and moved to stand beside him.
“Where’s your tiara?” he asked in her ear as the crowd continued to applaud.
“I wasn’t going to wear it until you said I should.”
“You should,” he said. “You are their queen. Just as you are mine.”
Chapter 36
Book Move
The next day, Avery called her own meeting of the cabinet, asking Kate, Kendrick, and Tuck to meet her in the kids’ store before it opened.
The news bulletin she had received while traveling with Edward was burning a hole in her pocket, and since no one had said anything to her about it since she’d returned, she assumed they hadn’t yet received the news.
And since she finally felt like their friendship was getting back on track, she knew it was the right time to discuss the matter.
“There’s something you need to see,” she said, unfolding the paper and reading the headline, “‘The King Has an Heir!’”
Tuck narrowed his eyes, and Kendrick shot her a double take. The king and queen had only recently married, and rumor had it the king eagerly desired an heir. But so soon?
Tuck reached for the bulletin and passed it to Kendrick, who mumbled as he read, “‘King George has acknowledged a child born to his first wife, Elizabeth, who died within hours of her son’s delivery. The announcement of the heir to the throne was made after careful deliberation by the king.’”
“I don’t get it,” Tuck said. “It’s no secret that Elizabeth gave birth to a baby boy who died hours later. Why make it important news?”
“Maybe someone is trying to upset Angelina by bringing it up,” Kendrick said.
“Then why would the king acknowledge the child now?” Avery asked.
“Maybe the king is afraid he won’t have any other heir and is desperate,” Tuck offered.
“Or maybe the heir is alive,” Avery said. “Maybe they aren’t sure, and this is the beginning of a formal search.”
All eyes turned to Kate, who, so far, had said nothing.
Turning to Kendrick, Kate asked, “When did Queen Elizabeth die?”
Kendrick shrugged. “I’d have to look it up, but I would guess twelve or thirteen—”
The members of the council looked at each other as the light seemed to dawn on each of them.
Avery finally spoke. “So the king’s heir dies or disappears roughly thirteen years ago, and now all thirteen-year-old orphans in the kingdom have been brought to the castle—presumably by Angelina—while she seeks to supply her own heir to the throne? Do we really believe this is a coincidence?”
There was a long, unsteady silence.
“We don’t know this has anything to do with us,” Tuck finally said carefully.
“But if it does?” Avery asked. “And if this announcemen
t has been made ahead of a formal inquiry and Angelina knows a potential heir exists among us?”
“Then our lives could be in greater danger than we thought,” Tuck said. “But why would girls be included? The king lost a son, not a daughter. Until we know facts, we keep this to ourselves, agreed?”
They all nodded.
“The king’s heir could be living among us,” Kate whispered. “Can you imagine? One of us could be the next—”
“Wait,” Kendrick said. “If we’re here because the king is looking for his heir, why are we hiding from him?”
“Because we aren’t hiding from him,” Avery said.
Angelina wants to find the heir before the king discovers him.
The pieces were slowly starting to fit. Before they acted on it, though, they needed to be certain. If they were wrong about the king and he did want them discarded, the wrong move could be their undoing.
Later that day, Avery decided it was time for her to respond to Kendrick’s messages. She owed him the truth and was determined to write him before she changed her mind.
She sat on her bed, agonizing over what to say.
Words, once on paper, can never be destroyed.
“Dear Friend” seemed too impersonal, but “Dear Kendrick” seemed too presumptuous. He didn’t know she had compared handwriting samples and knew who he was.
Thank you for writing me, she began, wishing she had his gift of words. I have looked forward to your messages since you first began sending them. However, as to why I returned to the castle—
Just then, Kate burst into the bunk room, wide-eyed and breathless. “Come quickly!”
Avery set her pen and paper aside and followed her friend into the hallway and down the stairs.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know how to tell you. It’s all so strange. You need to see it for yourself.”
They stopped at a landing. “I know you love the library,” Kate said, “but Angelina has decided to clean up the mess by getting rid of all the books. Look!”
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