Natalia blinked, expecting the clearing to melt away and to wake up back in the castle. No matter how many times she squeezed her eyes shut, Via, with her silver glow, remained.
“I don’t understand,” Natalia said.
Via’s eyes snapped to the pond. “Look!”
Natalia whirled around.
She must have missed something, because her baby sister now stood directly beside the Queen. Rose’s face was frozen in shock, bright wet tears gathering in her eyes as a voice, dark and sleek as shadow, said, “I am afraid there wasn’t much left of her when they found her corpse in the woods this morning. I am truly sorry, my pet.”
If Natalia had been a dog, her hackles would have raised at the smile in the Queen’s voice.
Shock visibly coursed through Rose, who now shook so badly she looked like she may shake herself apart. Long, slender fingers crowned in talon-like black nails reached for her. “Come here,” the Queen said. It should have sounded comforting, a mother’s soothing words, but instead her voice was chilled and demanding.
Rose faltered, trying to cover the glower fighting for control over her complacent expression. Stiffly, she walked forward one reluctant step at a time. Her whole body tensed as the Queen – the night incarnate – wrapped her arms around the girl, nearly swallowing her whole with her long midnight sleeves of starlight.
The Queen stroked Rose’s hair, like a master petting her favorite dog. Rose squeezed her eyes shut, keeping her alarm firmly pressed between the thin line of her lips. Watching her, Natalia realized how she had never given her sister any credit for how strong she was. She was always so meek and well-tempered – the exact opposite of Natalia – that she tended to overlook Rose’s quiet strength.
“There now,” purred the Queen. She buried her lips in Rose’s hair, a dark smile on her face. “Everything will be all right. You have me, remember?” She tapped her fingernail on the tip of Rose’s nose, making her blink. “And I know you won’t disappoint me.”
Rose shuddered but kept her mouth shut, the hint of a whimper smothered between her closed lips.
Stay strong, Rose, Natalia thought desperately. I’m coming for you.
“Now,” said the Queen, primly laying her hands in her lap. “If you’ll excuse us, darling, my guest and I were just about to dine.”
Rose’s eyes were filled with tears as she curtsied, but she kept her composure. It was only when she turned to walk away that a single tear rolled down her face, which was pinched with the effort of holding in her grief. She practically fled from the room, nearly running into the cook as she flung open the door, his fist poised as if about to knock.
“Ah, there you are,” the Queen said, spotting him. “I was beginning to think you could not prepare what I asked.”
The cook, an elderly man with the spirit of a rattlesnake, entered the room pushing a cart. Natalia’s brows immediately knitted in concern. Never in the time she had spent in the kitchen had Old Man Black looked this pale. His forehead was beaded in sweat, and his old eyes darted about the dark room nervously. “Your dinner, prepared as you requested, my Lady,” he said, bowing.
The Queen licked her mulberry lips as Cook Black lifted a plate cover and steam wafted from the blackened pieces of meat beneath. One was shaped funny and an odd color. Natalia stared at the weird meat as he carefully laid it on the Queen’s plate, trying to figure out what it was. With a jolt of shock, her stomach heaved.
It was a heart, charred and sautéed like a steak.
The Queen smelled it, closing her eyes in pleasure. “You have outdone yourself this time, Cook Black,” she said, delicately unfolding her napkin on her lap. “My ace huntsman told me it was the biggest game he had ever caught. I can’t wait to taste his prize.” She smiled at Ace and he gave her an elegant nod, his cool countenance unruffled.
“Only the best for a queen as mighty as Your Highness,” he murmured as the cook sat the ordinary steak on his plate. The cook sighed softly with relief when it was safely deposited.
“Thank you, Ace,” the Queen said. “You will be handsomely rewarded, as promised.” She winked and he smiled, closed-mouthed and without warmth. “How do a castle of your own and the title of ‘Count Ace’ sound to you?” she asked.
Ace smiled, a wicked glint in his hard eyes.
Cook Black glanced at the heart and gulped, the lines around his mouth drawn tight. The Queen reached for her crystal goblet and swirled around the red wine. It left an odd, syrupy residue on the glass where it sloshed.
Like blood.
“You are dismissed,” the Queen said, waving her hand.
The cook bowed and scurried from the room as quickly as Rose had, gently closing the door.
The Queen smiled down at her plate, a look of raw hunger on her face. “I’ve waited eighteen years for this.” She picked up her fork and knife and slowly cut off a piece of the heart. She brought it to her mouth and chewed.
Her words slammed into Natalia, and she swayed. Via’s hands caught her.
“My heart,” Natalia breathed. “She thinks she’s eating my heart.”
Via said nothing.
Natalia gagged, suddenly dizzy. “Stop it,” she rasped at the Mirror. “I don’t want to see any more.”
Instantly, the water cleared and she was staring again at her reflection, significantly paled. She fell back onto her legs, clutching at her chest as her heart hammered against her sternum.
“Natalia,” Via said, “try to control your breathing, or you’ll pass out!”
“Of all the sick…” Natalia gulped down a tight breath. “What sort of beast is she? Does she have no emotions at all?”
The Queen’s words echoed in her head. “And I know you won’t disappoint me.”
Icy dread whispered terrible things in her ear, slithering like worms into her mind, and her heart nearly stopped beating. Was she going to kill Rose, the same way she tried to kill her?
“God in heaven,” Natalia whispered. She pushed away from Via and stood, her knees knocking.
“Where are you going?” Via asked as she stumbled by.
“I have to get back there before it’s too late.”
Via grabbed her arm, halting her. “You can barely walk. I feel your pain, but going to the castle and facing the Queen in this state would only be suicide!”
“I can’t survive losing Rose!” Natalia screamed, whirling around and jerking her arm free. Her voice broke with a sob as tears shone in her eyes, begging Via to understand with her gaze. “She’s all I have left.”
Via looked back at her with pity. “I understand. Believe me, I do.”
Natalia swallowed, taking a deep breath and releasing it. Her face was burning. “Thank you. For showing me, that is.”
“You’re welcome,” Via said with a shy smile.
Natalia ran a hand through her hair. “I… I don’t know what to do. I can’t leave Rose there unprotected. She won’t last three days.”
“Rose is stronger than you think,” Via said, placing her hands on Natalia’s shoulders. “The protection spell is still cast upon her, whereas with you it is gone.”
“Gone?” Natalia asked, staring at her. “It was supposed to last forever.”
Via shook her head. “No Charmed one is strong enough to create an enchantment that lasts forever. That’s a long time. All spells have limits and eventually must come to an end.”
“That’s what the huntsman said,” Natalia murmured.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. “Why would it have worn off? What caused it?”
Via chewed on her lip. “It could have been any number of things. Can you think of a recent change or trauma you went through? Anything out of the ordinary?”
Natalia laughed dryly. “The past few days have been anything but ordinary. Um, let’s see. I was summoned to the throne room.” She shivered, leaving out the part about the hammer. “Rose gave me a present, and I went to the dungeons to clean –”
“A present?” Via interrupted. “Why did she give you a present?”
“Because it was my birthday?”
Via’s eyes widened slightly. “How old?”
“Eighteen.”
“The Age of Accessibility,” Via said. “Of course!”
Natalia stared at the other girl as if her hair were on fire. “What does that mean, ‘the Age of Accessibility’?”
“When you turn eighteen, you’re considered an adult. Any spells cast upon you as a child will wear off within a day or two.”
Natalia looked at her wrist, where the Queen’s Mark had once been. “Including Marks?”
“Anything.”
Natalia was silent. “That still doesn’t explain why I can all of a sudden use magic.”
Via’s eyes sparkled. “I have a theory on that, as well.”
A twig snapped behind them in the brush, and they turned.
Natalia saw it, a tall shadow ducking behind one of the trees just outside her line of vision.
Someone – or something – had been watching them.
Chapter Ten
Beautiful Arrogance
Every muscle in Natalia’s body tensed as she reached for the dagger in her boot, drawing it out in front of her. Via’s eyes were fearful. “Stay behind me,” Natalia ordered, pushing her out of the way and stepping forward. She scanned the trees, listening hard for the rustling of dead leaves or the snap of a twig. Perhaps it was her complete lack of sleep and the fact she had been worked to the bone. Or maybe it was because her shock and anger at seeing the Queen eating “her heart” still lingered within her. Either way, she found her lips moving without her mind’s permission.
“I know you’re there! Come out, coward, and face me!”
She felt the air warm at her back.
“Behind you,” an amused voice said.
She sucked in a breath and whirled, slashing out with the dagger as a shadow leapt back. No, not a shadow; a man, his face obscured by a black, hooded robe. She saw his lips twist into a grin as he drew a rapier. “This should be interesting.”
The handle was finely crafted, with overlapping swirls of gold. It was the sort of petite yet deadly weapon nobility might have, sporting it more for dramatic looks than practical use. Or perhaps he was a rogue and had stolen it from some traveling lord.
Years of sword fighting kicked in, and she began cutting and slashing at him in a series of precise, quick movements. His mouth dropped open in surprise as he struggled to block her attacks in time, the sound of their striking blades echoing through the trees.
“I – must admit. You’re better – than I expected – from a woman,” he said between grunts, edging along the pond’s bank as she advanced on him.
Her brows shot up.
“Expected from a woman, indeed!”
Rip!
The tip of her dagger shone red, a scrape of his shirt pierced on the end as he yelped and gaped down at his arm. “You – you cut me!” he cried incredulously, examining the shredded sleeve. “Do you have any idea how much this shirt cost?”
She shrugged. “Maybe you should have parried faster.”
His hood swiveled back around, an odd smile on his face. “You’ll pay for that,” he said, though it sounded more playful than like a threat. He lunged, crying out, and she found herself on the defensive.
He came at her quick, and it took every ounce of concentration she had left to make her sluggish mind keep up with him. She couldn’t see Via out of the corner of her eye, but she dared not turn her head to look for her. She was so focused on his rapier that she completely missed how close they were to the forest, realizing his plan too late until she backed up hard into a tree, surprising her for a single, precious second. It was all he needed. Fast as a snake, he knocked the dagger from her hand with the pommel of his rapier and pinned her other arm to the tree. Cold metal pressed against her throat as he brought his rapier up.
Her pulse thrummed in her head and chest, and they both panted hard, winded.
“Well that… was quite unexpected,” he said between pants. “You’re better than most of my men,” he added with that over-confident smile she had first seen on him.
Her eyes narrowed. “Who are you? Did the Queen send you?”
With fluid grace, he reached up and removed the hood. She heard herself gasp, her breath lodging somewhere in her throat as she stared back at the handsome, wry face of a young man about her age, with sweat-dampened gold hair and bright green eyes. Those eyes… I’ve seen them before. Stubble shadowed his jawline, and she found herself tracing the outline of his parted lips with her gaze.
His eyes dropped to her mouth. “Caspar,” he said. His voice sounded huskier, and the chills popping up along her skin were not from the night air. “And no, she didn’t,” he added.
The way he was looking at her made her shiver, like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
“What?” she asked softly.
“Nothing,” he murmured, blinking, and the secret in his eyes was gone. “You remind a bit of someone I once knew, long ago.” He smiled wryly. “You must have one of those ‘familiar faces.’”
Something flashed in the waning light, and her eyes rose to a gold brooch at his throat. It was in the shape of a dragon unfolding its wings, its head tilted upward, breathing fire at the sky. Something blue flashed near his hand; on his ring finger was a deep blue gem encrusted in a gold ring. A crown was stamped to the middle of the stone.
Her eyes widened as she stared at him in disbelief. “That’s the royal crest of Elyon,” she breathed, looking again at his face. “You’re the Crown Prince.”
Elyon was a secluded kingdom high in the Shadow Peak Mountains, about a week’s journey on horseback from Thesper. It was rumored to be home to a clan of thugs and barbarians. Judging from Caspar’s appearance, she doubted there was little truth to the tales.
“What are you doing all the way out here?” she asked, recovering from her shock.
His eyes flashed dangerously and he paused, searching her eyes so intensely she thought he might be trying to peer into her soul. The tightness around his eyes relaxed and he smirked.
“I’ve been sent to assassinate your queen.”
Chapter Eleven
Caspar
Natalia blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
Caspar’s eyes turned stony. “Since the dawn of her reign, the mountains I call my home have turned wild and dangerous. Dark creatures we’ve never seen before lurk there at night, and I fear the worst for my people. That’s why I’ve come to kill her before she can cause more harm.”
Natalia tried to make sense of this. “But you can’t kill the Queen. I’m not sure anyone can.” People had certainly tried over the years, but they always wound up dead before they could get close to her.
“Someone has to,” he said fiercely. “She must be stopped.”
Natalia opened her mouth to say something brilliant or witty, but no words came out. All she could do was stare into his evergreen eyes. Caspar searched her gaze, tiny wrinkles creasing the skin around his eyes, giving them a playful look.
He was still pinning her to the tree, and she awkwardly cleared her throat. “I think we’ve established you won,” she said, with annoyance. “I think it’s high time you moved back into your own personal space.”
Caspar made a show of looking disappointed, then winked. “Most girls can’t get close enough to me.”
At that, she shoved him off. “Well, I’m not ‘most girls.’”
He sheathed his rapier, stepping away from her a bit. “Yes, I noticed,” he murmured, bending to retrieve her dagger. “Promise me you won’t stab me with this?”
Giving him a wry look, she curtly nodded and he presented the dagger to her, which she snatched from his hand and promptly tucked back into her boot.
“By the way, do you always talk to yourself?” he asked.
She looked at him shrewdly. “I beg your pardon?”
“There
.” He pointed to the pond. “You were standing there arguing with yourself.”
“I was not – oh, damn!” That got an eyebrow raise out of him. She wouldn’t have minded looking at his face a bit longer had she not been preoccupied with finding Via.
The clearing was empty, save for them.
“Where is she?” Natalia asked.
“Where is ‘who’?” Caspar asked, giving her an odd look.
His mouth was turned up again in that half-smile of his. She blinked. Oh stars, she was looking at his mouth again.
“The girl,” Natalia said. “She was standing right behind me when you attacked.”
He stared at her. “I was standing behind you when I attacked.”
“Then you must have seen her.”
“I confess I haven’t the slightest idea who you’re talking about.”
“But,” she said, wrinkling her brows, “that’s impossible.”
Caspar opened his mouth and then closed it. He ran a hand over his hair. She squeezed her fingers shut, taming the sudden urge to run her own fingers through it.
“Well, what does she look like?” he asked.
“Like me. Only paler.”
The corner of his smile twitched. “I think I’d notice if two beautiful women were standing before me.”
Her cheeks burned, and she sucked in a breath so quickly she choked.
“Easy, my Lady,” Caspar murmured, stepping closer. He gently patted her back, brushing a few strands of hair from her face. “You’re making me blush.”
Thank God it was dark, or he would have seen her turn about the shade of a tomato.
“I’m fine,” she said irritably, smacking away his hand. “You swear you didn’t see another girl?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head.
“And you’re not lying to me?”
“To a woman? I don’t bother anymore. They have an uncanny way of knowing when something’s amiss. Believe me, you’ll pay for it later when she catches up with you, no matter how well your intentions.”
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