Fractured Core (Untold Tales Book 6)

by Laura Greenwood

  "It only looks like one," she said, setting it down on top of one of the wooden trunks that served as a table. The lantern she'd brought in with her flickered over the canvas of the tent, giving the whole place an eerie glow that I was certain would look even worse on the outside, particularly in the early morning light. I might have slept in, but that didn't mean it was much past dawn.

  I threw the blankets back, letting the cold air rush around my body. I shuddered, but pushed on. I couldn't let the cold weather defeat me. If I did, then the army was never going to follow me like they should.

  Hannah moved around the surprisingly spacious tent. I hadn't believed it was possible to have a tent with so much space in it until it had been erected and I'd walked in. Most of our tents were this size, though a lot of them were shared by more people than just one. I'd tried to insist that I could share too, but Brutus and Rita had told me there was no chance of that happening. I was the princess, the leader, the queen, and I couldn't be seen as less than that.

  I pulled the lid off the dress box and pulled out the dress beneath. It wasn't like any of the others I'd ordered. Perhaps the person who'd made it had done so with a different pattern in mind. I had to trust them though, I knew next to nothing about dressmaking. Or fighting, for that matter.

  I tugged it out and held it up against me. At first glance, it looked like it would fit, but I wouldn't know until it was on.

  "It's beautiful," Hannah said, admiration hanging onto every word.

  "It is," I agreed. The dressmaker had toed the line between the beauty of it, and the practicality. The skirts had slits that would let them flare for me and not obstruct my legs, and there were hidden pockets throughout it for me to hide knives and other useful items in. The long sleeves ended in fingerless gloves, they even had leather pads on the palms to protect me from the twang of the bowstring.

  I placed it back on the bed so that Hannah could do her thing. It had taken me a while to get used to not having a lady's maid, and now I'd managed that, I'd employed one again. It was difficult for me to let her do things for me.

  My nightdress came off first, and I tried not to shiver in the moments between taking it off and my underskirts going on. The moment the soft fabric hit my skin, I felt better. While there was no one in the tent but me and Hannah, it was impossible not to feel exposed when we were in the middle of a camp like this.

  "Can you step into the skirts please?" she asked.

  I nodded and did as she asked, even though she should have put the corset on first. No doubt she'd realise the mistake at some point, but I didn't want to make her feel inadequate while she was going through the new motions.

  The canvas at the tent flap rustled, calling both of our attention to it. Sapphire swooped in.

  "It gets me every time," Hannah said, clutching her hand to her heart.

  "I know, me too," I admitted. It might not have been smart of me in regards to the army at large, but when it came to my lady's maid, I felt pretty safe letting her know I felt the same.

  Sapphire preened from the new position she'd taken up on one of the cot posts.

  "Can you hold out your arms, please?" Hannah asked.

  I did as she asked and she slipped the bodice up my arms and into place. Now I understood why she hadn't put the corset on first. The dressmaker had built it into the dress, probably so he could reinforce it with a kind of armour. That was smart. I'd have to see about having more like this made.

  Hannah moved around behind me and her deft hands started to lace up the back of my dress.

  I pressed a hand against my stomach. It felt tighter than normal, perhaps that was because of the extra protection built into the dress. She wasn't even tugging that hard on the strings, it shouldn't feel like this.

  "Stop," I commanded, the word coming out like little more than a whisper.

  Hannah's hands stilled instantly. "Is everything alright, Your Highness?" she asked.

  I waved a hand in front of my face, suddenly too warm. That shouldn't be possible. I tried to tell her that I needed the dress to come off, but I couldn't get the words out. What was happening?

  Small spots of white swam across my vision, making it difficult to focus on what was in front of me.

  "Your Highness?" Hannah asked, her worried face popping up in front of mine.

  The spots grew darker and the rest of the world turned blurry. I swayed back and forth before falling to the ground. I was dimly aware of the impact, but consciousness escaped me and I was no longer able to make any sense of the world.

  Chapter Six

  "Lucia, are you alright?" a familiar voice asked.

  I groaned and lifted my hand to my head. "Jonathan?" I asked, my voice croaky and weak.

  "It's me. Just take it easy." He slipped an arm behind my back and scooped me up. He laid me down on my cot and pulled the blankets up to my chin. My hands grazed against the thin fabric of my shift. Where had my dress gone?

  "What happened?" I asked. In those words, I realised it wasn't my throat that was a problem, but my lungs.

  "We're not sure. Your maid screamed and when I got in here, you were barely breathing. It wasn't until I cut your corset off that you started again."

  "My corset?" My brow knitted together as I stared up at him.

  Genuine concern marred his face. He really did care if I was well or not. Perhaps we'd gotten off to a rocky start, but things seemed to be getting better between us.

  "Yes." He held it up and I saw the slash marks of his knife. "I'm sorry. I don't think it's saveable." He grimaced.

  I chuckled, but stopped within moments as I realised how much it strained my chest. "I don't think I want it to be saved."

  He smiled despite his worry. "We can take it to one of the bonfires later and burn it," he offered.

  "After we've discovered what the problem is with it." As fun as burning it would be, I had to work out if it had just been an accident, or if there was something more serious at play.

  "Where did it come from?"

  "I'm not sure. Hannah brought it in. I assumed it was one of the ones I'd ordered."

  "Your maid?"

  I nodded.

  "She's been detained at the moment."

  "What?" I sat bolt upright. My vision began to swim and I realised it probably meant I'd moved sooner than I should have done.

  "It's alright," he assured me. "It was Brutus who insisted. But she's the only person who knows anything about this so far. She'll answer some questions and be released shortly after, you know how it goes."

  I grimaced but said nothing to dispute him. I was certain that Hannah knew nothing about this, she'd been as much of a victim of this as I had. I just had to prove it.

  "I need to get up," I told him.

  "Not until you're rested. You might have hit your head when you fell."

  I scowled at him, but mostly because I was annoyed that he was making sense. "Can you at least bring the dress box over and we can look through that?" I suggested.

  It was a long shot. If someone had done this on purpose, then it seemed unlikely that they'd have left proof in the box.

  He picked it up and placed it on the bed. I shuffled backwards, but realised almost too late that there wasn't a headboard for me to lean against. One of the many disadvantages of being in a tent.

  Jonathan seemed to realise what I was trying to do, as he moved some of the pillows to act as a prop behind me. I smiled my thanks at him.

  I opened the box and ruffled through the contents. To my surprise, I found a note at the bottom of the box. I picked it up and turned it over in my hands.

  "Anything stand out?" Jonathan asked, perching himself on the side of my bed.

  "Not that I can see." I handed it to him and he went through the same motions as I did.

  He passed the piece of paper back to me. "I don't think it gives us any more information."

  I read the one scribbled line and frowned. "It does," I said after another moment.

  He f
rowned, but didn't voice his confusion. That made sense. As far as he was concerned, the note said nothing more than please prepare the order we discussed. But to me, it revealed far more.

  "This is Katya's handwriting," I whispered, not wanting to admit it out loud because of what that would mean. My former best friend was officially my enemy. I'd known that. Kind of. But this was an act of war. She'd tried to kill me and I couldn't let this slide.

  "Are you sure about that?" he asked.

  I nodded. "I'd recognise it anywhere." We'd learned to write in the same class, which meant I was accustomed to the way she formed her letters. "But it's odd. She's the best person I know at forging other people's handwriting. If she wanted to, she could have used a different one to cover up the fact she had anything to do with this."

  "It's almost like she wanted to get caught." His words echoed the thoughts in my mind.

  "Which doesn't make any sense."

  "Maybe she just thought she wouldn't. It seems foolish to have trusted the dressmaker to do that," he said.

  I was trying not to think about what that could mean. "It doesn't make any sense," I admitted.

  "But that doesn't mean it isn't true."

  "Hmm. Can we not tell the others about it quite yet?" I asked. "Something more is going on here, and I want to have a better idea of what it is before I say anything."

  He nodded. "Of course, you're the one in charge here."

  I chuffed. "You hold the same rank as me."

  "Not true," he countered. "If you listen to most of the people here, you're a queen. And even if you're only a princess, you're the crown princess. I'm the third son of a minor king. That hardly puts us equal." There was an unmistakable bitterness in his voice that I didn't think had anything to do with my position and everything to do with his.

  On a whim, I reached out and placed my hand over his.

  Jonathan started, but relaxed when he realised I was simply offering him some comfort.

  "Thank you for letting me stay in your camp," he said softly.

  "Thank you for your help here," I responded, finding my words were truer than even I'd realised. Perhaps it was because he was a prince and was the closest in rank to me here. But I doubted it. There was something more going on. I found myself enjoying his company and wanting more of it.

  "You're welcome, Lucia. I know I came here announcing that I wanted to marry you, but I've come to care about your cause. I want to see you on that throne and not because I want to trick you into marriage."

  I chuckled, my breathing a little bit evener now that I'd had some rest. "No one would trick me into marriage full stop. When I wed, it'll be for love and nothing more."

  "Spoken like a true queen." He dipped his head.

  "And accepted like a true prince," I responded. He was nothing like I'd thought in the beginning and I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

  Time would tell. But for now, I was going to stop push him away. We were going to build some kind of bond between us, even if I wasn't sure what that was yet.

  Chapter Seven

  "I'm not sure this is the best idea, Your Highness," Brutus reminded me as we stared up at the castle.

  "I know you don't think that. But it's something we have to do," I pointed out. "We have to do something symbolic to show the people that we're going to defeat Katya, and this is what we're going to do."

  Jonathan;s idea of stealing the crown used to coronate our royalty had been playing around in my head for weeks, and I'd finally decided that it was time to do something about it.

  "I understand what you're trying to do, Your Highness, but I think it's foolhardy to go yourself," he insisted.

  "I know how you feel about that, but I'm not going to ask my men to risk their lives when I'm not willing to do it myself."

  "If you die, Your Highness, the rebellion will lose its figurehead," Rita chimed in. She wasn't too happy about me entering the palace either.

  If I was honest, there was a small part of me that was terrified about going inside myself. The assault was well planned and I didn't expect there to be much bloodshed, but that didn't mean I wasn't scared. But what I'd said was also true. I couldn't ask dozens of men to risk their lives if I wasn't willing to myself.

  "I wish you'd let me go with you," Jonathan said, placing a hand on the small of my back. A month ago, I'd have shrugged him off and stepped away from his touch, but now I'd changed my mind. It was an odd change and one that I didn't like thinking about too much.

  "I know, but we can't risk anyone recognising you," I pointed out. "If they do, then it could put Gideon in danger and after all he's done to help you, I don't want to do that." I spoke quietly enough that Brutus and Rita wouldn't be able to make out quite what I'd said.

  "Your logic is sound, but that doesn't mean I wish it wasn't."

  I looked at him, with a strained expression on my face.

  "It'll be alright," he whispered. "You've planned it too well."

  "Even the best-laid plans can go wrong," I pointed out. But this was it, the one chance I had to prove myself as a commander. I turned my attention back to Brutus. "Are all four units in position?" I asked.

  He nodded. "They're just awaiting the signal."

  "Good." I took a deep breath. I hadn't wanted to risk a lot of men for this crazy endeavour, especially when we were only after a crown. And that meant that they were mostly creating a diversion rather than attacking anyone. It should keep them safe. That was my hope, anyway. "Wait until the night fires are lit in the watchtowers and then give them the signal. I'll be in position to sneak into the treasury by then."

  "You're going into the palace before the diversion starts?"

  Oops. Hadn't I informed Brutus of that part of my plan? "It's the best way to minimize casualties," I said. "They'll likely work out that the treasury itself is breached, but if the guard is distracted, then I'll be able to sneak out without getting caught." I suspected a lot of the guard would just let me past anyway, but that involved me being recognised, and I wasn't so sure about that being possible. I wasn't the same person any longer.

  "Your Highness..." Brutus started.

  I held my hand up to stop him from saying anything else. "I won't have any more arguments about this. I am going into the palace on my own. Our men will provide a diversion and won't risk their lives. If they face danger, they're to fall back, and that is final." The strength in my voice surprised me, but I was glad of it.

  "Yes, Your Highness." Brutus dipped his head. "But you know that we can't win this war without losing lives."

  I gritted my teeth. "I'm aware that lives will be on the line, but I will do my utmost to protect as many lives as I could. That's my duty and I'm not going to do anything to jeopardise that. I won't be the queen that betrays her people."

  The pride on Rita's face was hard to read, but I chose to ignore that as well as the apprehension on Brutus'. I knew they weren't sure I had what took to be the queen the kingdom needed, but I was going to try my best. I'd rather fail while trying to work it out than stay alive because I was too much of a coward to do anything.

  Chapter Eight

  The halls of the palace were as quiet as I thought they'd be and the diversion hadn't even started yet. I had no idea what Katya had done, but there was no one about. Perhaps not enough of the guard had stayed loyal, though if that was the case, I had no idea where they'd gone as they certainly hadn't turned up at the encampment with the others who had decided to convert to my side.

  I crept through the abandoned corridors, thankful that nothing had seemed to have changed in the palace itself. This way, I knew where I was going and could sneak about unencumbered. Yet another reason for me not to have brought other people with me. They'd just have gotten in the way.

  I entered the treasury and looked around. The crown had to be here somewhere. I wished I'd paid more attention when father was showing me these things. Or perhaps it wasn't my fault at all and Katya had rearranged some things in my absence.
r />   "Ahem."

  I spun around instantly, recognising the voice as belonging to one of the people I wanted to see the least. I almost couldn't believe it when I saw her standing in front of me, a sword in her hand and her dark hair still mussed from sleep.

  "Katya." Venom dripped from my tongue and I swear I saw her flinch as I said her name. Good. She deserved every moment of hatred from me.

  "What are you doing here, Lucia?" she said cooly.

  "I came for the crown." Honesty was always the best policy. Perhaps she could direct me in the right direction by accident. I wouldn't put it past her.

  "Then take it and get out of here," she instructed.

  "What? You're okay with me taking the crown?" I blinked a couple of times, trying to understand why she'd do that. It made no sense for her to let the symbol of the monarchy out of her possession.

  She shrugged, as if she didn't care about my father's legacy at all. "The power doesn't come from that piece of metal and we both know it."

  "That's what you think..."

  "I do. Because I'm the one who is sitting in the palace with the servants and the people bowing and scraping, and I've only worn this once." She pressed the amulet around her neck and the gold circlet I'd been searching for was in her hand in an instant.

  I stood there, unable to form a reply, or even think properly. Since when had Katya had magic? There'd been no hint of it while we were growing up. It must have been the amulet. But where did she get it?

  After a moment, I found my voice, albeit a shaky one. "That's what you think. When the rightful queen puts that crown on her head, the true meaning of power will become known."

  "If you think that's the case, then you can prove it to me." To my surprise, she threw the crown in my direction.

  Knowing I couldn't let it touch the floor, I reached out and caught it in an outstretched hand. I hated to admit it, but there was something comforting about having the circlet in my hand, even if I still had to get out of the palace with it. "And you're going to let me walk out of here like this?"