Glass Kingdom

by M. Lynn

  “I have no idea what that means.”

  “Of course you don’t. So, here’s what will happen: you will forget about Len. You don’t know her. Everything you think you know is a lie. You will never see her again.”

  “You can’t—”

  “Oh, but I can. This is the bargain you’re going to make with me so I don’t turn you in to the king for abducting her today.”

  “I didn’t…” Dell narrowed his eyes. “I was trying to protect her.”

  “If you want to protect her, you will help me keep the Rhodipus in power. You will prevent your family and their allies from throwing Madra into chaos. That is the only thing Len needs from you. She lives in that palace. What do you think happens to her if it’s invaded?”

  Dell didn’t voice the answer he knew in his bones. Rebellion meant death. Any smart rebel leader would want those connected to the king put to death.

  Len.

  He lifted his eyes to the door she’d disappeared through. She didn’t even know the danger she was in. The same feeling that had come to him when the prince showed up at Mari’s rushed through his veins, and he knew with a sudden clarity which side he was on.

  Not for the king, but for those protected by his power.

  He met Edmund’s gaze, seeing the same truth in his eyes. Neither of them had a choice. They had to fight for Madra because the alternative was unthinkable.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Edmund stomped back into the house, the door slamming behind him. He didn’t stop until he stood in front of Helena. For a moment, they only stared at each other—her in apprehension, him in relief. He closed the short distance and crushed her to him.

  “Aw, Edmund,” she wheezed. “Were you worried about me?”

  “Don’t joke about this, Helena. This isn’t you escaping the palace to experience the city. You disappeared from the Madran games. Your games. Do you have any idea how upset your father is?”

  “I didn’t know he cared.”

  Edmund pulled away from her and held her at arm’s length. “Don’t be a fool, princess. The king knows you weren’t abducted. Quinn has already received his punishment and priests have swarmed the city looking for you.”

  She batted his arms away and turned to clutch the back of the couch in the sitting area. Quinn. She closed her eyes, releasing a breath. How could she have been so stupid? She hadn’t even thought of her brother since leaving the games behind.

  “Tell me everything, Edmund.” Her voice cracked. “Please.”

  He seemed to recover from his irritation and he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She laid her free hand over his and squeezed.

  “Come,” he said, his voice gentle as if speaking to a child. “I must return you to the palace. We can talk on the way.”

  A white carriage waited for them outside his front gate. Helena eyed Edmund. “They knew I’d come here first, didn’t they?”

  “Stev thought you might.”

  She flicked her eyes to the royal crest emblazoned on the carriage door. The two wings wrapped around a sword brought another set of wings to mind. The angel Dell carved with such care. Her breath hitched, and she covered it with a cough.

  She was the princess of Madra, soon to be head of the merchant council. If anyone knew of the connection she shared with Dell, Tenyson or not, she’d be ruined. If they knew she’d revealed her face to a man, no matter how noble his blood may be…

  Another question came to the forefront of her mind. Now that Dell’s lineage was known, would he come to the ball? Would he allow himself to be a part of his own family if it meant becoming hers?

  No, that was a silly fantasy.

  He wouldn’t save her from her father choosing Ian for her, or from a life spent wholly within Madra. She’d forever be grateful for today, for the bit of something more he’d shown her.

  She only wished Quinn hadn’t been caught up in her deceptions.

  Edmund hauled himself into the red velvet interior of the carriage and held a hand down to her. As soon as she climbed in and shut the door, they lurched forward, rumbling down the road.

  “Father knows I’ve been in the city without my mask, doesn’t he?” she asked.

  Edmund nodded, fixing her with a stare. “Quinn had to convince them all you weren’t abducted, so he didn’t interrogate the Madran citizens.”

  Helena swallowed. To the king, interrogation was much more than simply asking questions.

  Edmund continued. “He showed them the clothing you’d left in the latrine, including the mask.”

  “What…” She sucked in a breath. “You mentioned Quinn’s punishment.”

  He shifted his eyes to his hands. “He’s gone.”

  “Gone?”

  “The king sent him to Gaule.”

  “But he was supposed to stay until my ball. He was supposed to be there! His assignment to Gaule didn’t start until next month.”

  “Helena.” Edmund lowered his voice. “I don’t think you understand the gravity of this situation. The priests—”

  “Forget the priests.”

  “I wish.” He ran a hand over the top of his head. “I’ve never understood how Madra could have three sources of power. The king, the merchant council, and the priesthood. Yet, the only one with true power is the priesthood. You’ve broken one of their longest standing laws. A Madran princess cannot appear as any commoner. She is above them, at least in the priesthood’s eyes. You are too sacred to be revealed.”

  “It’s bull.”

  “It’s law.”

  “Argh!” She slammed her fist into the side of the carriage as it bumped, sending her tumbling sideways.

  “Helena—”

  “Don’t ‘Helena’ me, Edmund. You’re not even from here. I’ll bet your Belaen queen never has to deal with such horsecrap.”

  “No, she just had to deal with a curse that controlled her entire life. Every leader has their own form of shackles.”

  “I’m not a leader.” She leaned back against the wall. “I’m a princess who wears pretty dresses and knows which fork goes with the right dish.”

  Disappointment flashed across his face. “You underestimate me, Helena. I know you are much more than that.”

  She met his gaze. How much did he know of her mother’s training? All of it, probably. He seemed to know everything.

  As if sensing her discomfort with the secrets she carried, Edmund veered away from the subject. “You may never lead an army to war, Len, but I’ve seen you entrance grown men and women who even I struggle to charm. That has its own kind of power.”

  “If you’re talking about Dell, he just thinks I’m Stev’s mistress.” She snorted as the reality of that statement hung between them. “What would he do if he knew who I was, and that you were Stev’s true mistress?” A laugh bubbled up from her chest.

  A wry smile appeared on Edmund’s lips.

  She calmed her laughter and breathed deeply. “I don’t like lying to people. Dell. My father. I don’t think I want to do it anymore.”

  Edmund leaned forward, meeting her gaze. “Then don’t.” He raised a brow, begging her to challenge him.

  Was it really that simple? Tell the truth and people would accept her for it? Or tell the truth and they wouldn’t, but at least she tried?

  The carriage came to a stop and moments later an unbelievably tall woman in a white priestess’ robe yanked the door open.

  “We have the princess,” she yelled to someone behind her as she reached in and wrapped a strong hand around Helena’s arm.

  Helena let out a yelp as the priest dragged her from the carriage.

  Edmund jumped out after her. “Take your hands off the princess.”

  The priestess ignored him and turned Helena toward a crowd of others in the same telltale robes.

  “Edmund,” she called. “Where’s Stev?”

  “Unhand her.” Edmund gripped the large woman’s wrist moments before two other priests pried him off and pulled him away.


  “What’s going on?” Helena yelled, her eyes finding Edmund as she stumbled, her knees hitting the stone before the woman yanked her back up. Another carriage appeared, rumbling through the palace gates.

  “I’m going to find Stev,” Edmund yelled over the babbling priests who now swarmed her, pushing her toward the carriage.

  A tear rushed down her face as the priestess shoved a woven sack over her head threw her into darkness. Someone lifted her. Fear coursed through her veins as her body hit what must have been the bench seat inside the carriage.

  Where were her parents? A sob escaped her throat as the carriage jolted forward.

  “Shut up, girl,” someone hissed. “You brought this on yourself.”

  Helena bit her lip to prevent more cries from escaping. They had abducted her from her own home.

  No, abducted was the wrong word.

  The priesthood took her, but she knew they wouldn’t do this unless the king allowed it.

  This was her punishment.

  Helena had heard tales of the ‘priest hole’ like the one they now led her to. The only prison in Madra. The palace didn’t cage people, in part because the king didn’t want commoners under the same roof as the royal family. He let the priests do the kingdom’s dirty work.

  They didn’t only craft the laws. They enforced them.

  But the king could have stopped them if he wanted to. The fact that she was there meant her father wanted it.

  She’d betrayed her family and her kingdom, by sneaking into the city without her mask.

  Metal rattled as an iron gate swung open and one of the priests pushed Helena into a darkened hall. Damp air curled around her, sending a shiver down her spine. The musty scent of the stale space had her wrinkling her nose in distaste.

  Her tears dried as she prepared herself for what was to come.

  Cries came from occupied cells as they passed. Her breath lodged in her throat, and she stumbled. Stiff fingers curled around her arm in a bruising grip, forcing her forward. They pulled the sack from her head and stopped at an empty cell. No special treatment for the princess. She’d be kept in much the same state as anyone else.

  An emaciated face appeared at the door of a nearby cell. How long had these people been here? She took in the gaunt eyes and ratty hair.

  No, that wouldn’t be her.

  She didn’t know exactly how long they’d keep her, but all of Madra had been invited to her ball at the end of the week. She had to be there, and the priests knew it.

  As she stepped into the cell of her own will, she turned and lifted her chin, because she’d realized something else. She narrowed her eyes at the pudgy man locking her in. They couldn’t touch her. She was the princess of Madra, and the people must see her unharmed when she finally revealed her face to them.

  She sat in the center of her cell and crossed her legs. They could lock her up, but they couldn’t take her freedom because she possessed none. They’d just changed her cage from a gilded one to a real one, but a cage was a cage, and she was used to feeling trapped.

  They would have nothing from her. And when her brother became king, and she became head of the merchant council, they’d use their combined power to put the priesthood in their place.

  They’d regret the day they made an enemy of Princess Helena Rhodipus.

  Nothing changed in the hole. Helena didn’t know if it was day or if night had descended upon the world. How long had she been there?

  They’d fed her mutton stew with watery wine, but how long ago was that?

  She leaned back against the wall of her cell, listening to the coughing and wheezing echoing down the long hall. Footsteps sounded against the stone, and she straightened her spine.

  Two female priests dragged a thin man past Helena’s cell.

  She covered her mouth to hide her gasp. A tapestry of blood striped his back. She crawled forward and gripped the bars of her cell.

  The woman returned, stopping as soon as they saw her.

  “Princess,” one of them laughed before kicking the bars of her cell.

  She pulled her hands back moments before the boot would have crushed them.

  They moved on, and Helena sat back on her heels. Because of that one word, every prisoner in this place now knew who she was.

  And it only confirmed what she feared.

  Unlike her… they weren’t getting out.

  Pain shot up Helena’s back as she turned onto her side. Sleeping on the stone floor for the last few nights—or what she assumed was night based on when she fell asleep—had wreaked her body.

  She pulled her knees into her chest, trying to gather any bit of warmth she could. She wore Quinn’s clothes still, which she’d never been more thankful for. Her dress would have been even more uncomfortable.

  Quinn. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to think of her favorite brother. He was missing her ball, the most important day of her life, because of her selfishness.

  His voice wound through her mind. You deserve some selfishness, he’d say. He’d always been too understanding for his own good. It was why he’d helped her. He knew how trapped she’d been in the palace. All of them knew.

  A tear tracked down her face. Were her brothers ashamed of her? She didn’t know what she’d have done locked inside the palace most of her life if it hadn’t been for them. Until recently, she hadn’t tried to go see the world because they’d brought the world to her.

  It was wrong, she realized too late, to be satisfied with that. Traditions or no, she should have always fought for her freedom. Dell made her see that. Stories of the sea and the city were great, but actually experiencing them for herself was life altering.

  A key rattled in the rusted lock, and Helena jerked her head up. A wiry older man with thinning gray hair and a manicured beard peered in, his face alight in the glow of the lantern he carried. He offered her a kind smile, the first she’d seen since arriving.

  “Princess,” he whispered. “I’m glad to see you awake.”

  She didn’t respond.

  He took that as a cue to continue. “I’m afraid I have to interrupt your pleasant evening and ask you to come with me.”

  Pleasant evening? Was this man mocking her?

  “My name is Koran.” He held a hand down to her.

  Helena had made it a point not to learn the names of Madra’s priests throughout her life. She’d wanted nothing to do with them, blaming them—rightfully so—for her masked life.

  “I won’t bite,” Koran said, giving his hand a shake. “Please, I promise you want to come with me.”

  It wasn’t like she had a choice. A sigh deflated her chest, and she gripped Koran’s hand, letting him pull her to her feet.

  The priest tried to hide his disgust at the smell of unwashed bodies as he gently led her to the door, but his nose crinkled.

  Helena had grown used to it, sure her own smell wasn’t pleasant after so long in her cell.

  He found a key on his crowded key ring and unlocked the door. Fresh air struck her the moment she stepped out of the prison.

  The monastery that housed the priests was a compound of buildings she’d never visited before. In her studies, she’d learned aside from the prison, they had a winery, as well as lavish living quarters.

  The priest led her down a dirt pathway to a nearby brick building. Inside, furnishings were sparse.

  Koran released her. “These are my quarters.”

  Something wasn’t right. “Why have you brought me here?”

  “Ah, so you do speak.”

  “Of course she speaks,” a third voice said. “Sometimes she won’t shut up.”

  “Stev.” As her brother appeared from an adjoining room, she ran toward him, her tired legs faltering.

  Stev had never been the hugger of the family—not like the twins—but this time, he wrapped her in his arms as if he never wanted to let go.

  “I’ve been so worried,” he said. “We didn’t know where you were. Kassander has been crying ev
ery night. Cole beat the crap out of a few of father’s guards trying to get the information. But you know how loyal they are.”

  Helena released him and peered up at his tired eyes. “How’d you find me?”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “I worried the entire time you might be here, but then I convinced myself father would never allow them to take you. I was wrong. I had Edmund looking into it.”

  “His spies?” One corner of her mouth quirked up.

  Only Edmund would take a post as ambassador in a foreign kingdom and then develop a network of spies better than the ones employed by the prince.

  “I reached out to Koran.” He sent a nod toward the priest. “I’ve had him keeping an eye on Kassander’s training.”

  Relief rushed through her at the words Stev wasn’t saying. He didn’t trust the priesthood either. “When you’re king, Stev…”

  “Helena,” he said in warning. “We cannot only plan for a future that lays many years down the road. We must deal with things as they stand now. Your ball is tomorrow night. You will return to the palace with me now.”

  “But father—”

  “He cannot punish all of us, can he?”

  Her lips quirked up. “Yes, he can.”

  Stev laughed, the sound so unlike him, Helena stepped back.

  His laugh cut off abruptly. “I’m sorry. I’m just so relieved to have you with me.”

  His face grew serious, and Helena reached up to brush her thumb over his cheek. Her brother tried to hide everything deep inside himself. He always had.

  Just as she’d had to hide everything on the outside of her.

  “You would defy the king for me?” she asked.

  “Of course.” His brow crinkled. “You’re my sister.” He reached into the pocket of his black jacket and procured a simple white mask. “I’m sorry.”

  “I know.” She took it and tied it around her face, finding comfort for once in the feel of the soft fabric.

  Koran led them outside into the darkness of the night. Clouds obscured any stars, but a sliver of moon winked in and out of view.

  “I couldn’t bring a carriage because that would attract attention,” Stev explained as Koran retrieved a single horse.