***
The room was painted in red silk, and the four long tables running the length of the room were covered in rose petals. Vases in alcoves held long-stemmed crimson roses. Down the center of the room, as long as the oak tables, was a red carpet leading up to two thrones. I sat on what had been my father’s. Ladies, escorted by their fathers or brothers, were brought to greet me one by one. Corbin smirked from nearby, and I heard him rating each arrival. Nissa watched him from three steps down from my throne. Her pained gaze fixated on him, and I felt her heart break. I shook my head. He was never good enough for her. How wrong I had been about Nissa. She’d proven to be loyal, for the most part, and determined. I liked her take-no-prisoners attitude.
Watching the nineteenth girl out of the twenty approach, I sighed with relief. It was almost over. She had long, wavy blonde hair and the same polite smile as the other eighteen.
“Nissa,” I said.
She whipped her head around, then hurried to my side. “Winter.” She leaned in. “Is everything okay?”
“Did you bring the book I asked for, to my chambers?”
“I did.”
“Good.” I pondered for a moment. “Have you heard anything from Adius?”
She shook her head.
The lady watched us, waiting. I pressed my lips together. “Are there any worth having?”
Her lips curved. “One.” She turned toward the blonde girl. “You may approach Her Majesty.”
The girl’s brother spoke. “May I introduce Lady Anna.” He nudged his sister, and she jolted. She quickly curtseyed and looked up at me.
I smiled and nodded. They left, and I blew out a tense breath. “Bring the final girl.”
Nissa grinned. “I think you’ll like this one.”
A woman walked the length of the carpet. Her skin was a sun-kissed brown. Her honey-golden eyes glistened as she met us. Her long dark hair was braided, hanging down her back. She was escorted by a tall athletic man who appeared to be old enough to be her father. She stopped in front of me and beamed a wide smile. It was a refreshing difference from the small tight smiles from the others. In their defense, they had been taught modesty was best and to not to be too bold. They’d have been perfect for my mother, but not me.
“Your Majesty,” the man said silkily, bowing, then standing upright. “I would like to introduce to you my daughter, Lady Mai.”
My cheeks balled. Her smile was infectious. She glanced from me to Nissa and shot her a mischievous look. “It’s good to meet you, Lady Mai.”
“The pleasure is mine,” she said back, her voice rich.
“Why do you want to be one of my ladies?”
She glanced at her father, who cleared his throat. “Mai would like to learn more about Magaelor and believes, rightly so,” he said with a smile as infectious as his daughter’s, “the royal court is the best place to learn about the goings-on in the kingdoms, and learn skills she can use in the future.”
My eyebrows raised. “Many of the ladies who attend the Ruby Circle are wishing to find a suitable husband.”
She hesitated, looking at Nissa, then back at me. “I’m not looking for a marriage as of now.”
Her father didn’t fight it, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Good.”
Nissa turned, mouthing she’s perfect, and I couldn’t help but agree. “Thank you, Lady Mai, and…”
“Lord Jackson,” Nissa said.
“You own the land past Ironwall,” I said, referring to the rural province where the prison stood. I remembered being told about him. He started off only owning a small pocket of land but had built it into something enviable. His father had not been a friend of my father’s. He was too kind.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you for coming,” I said and stood. “I must retire, but please, enjoy the rest of the festivities.”
Nissa thanked them and sent them away before she returned to me. “You’re leaving so soon?”
“Yes, I have a headache,” I said quickly. “I’ll be going to my chambers. I’m sure you and Florence can manage here. You can announce Mai as being one of my ladies.”
“You’ll need to choose more than one.”
“The lady with the red hair and freckles, I liked her,” I said, remembering her as the only other memorable girl in the lineup. “Announce her too.”
“Lady Penelope.”
“Yes.”
“This will be the shortest Ruby Circle in history.” She laughed, keeping her voice low so others didn’t hear us. She was always good at being discreet.
“I’m sorry about Corbin.”
She ran her polished fingernail along the curve of her chin. “He’s playing games with me. He makes sure only to flirt when I can see him.” She rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t feel great, but I know he’s only doing it to make me jealous. He stupidly thinks it’ll win me back.”
“Win you back?”
“I told him I wasn’t interested in courting anymore, after you said you said yes to his proposing to me and he didn’t bother.”
“Well,” I smirked. “Good for you. Oh, the land and coin has been transferred to your name. I had the papers signed days ago. You should be notified any day now of the land ownership moving to you.”
Excitement curved her lips upward, balling her cheeks. “You’ve been too kind. I hope it wasn’t too much hassle persuading the lords to allow it.”
“With Lord Abor at my service and the others you have gathered secrets about, it wasn’t difficult at all. Of course, my sway can only go so far.” My eyes narrowed as I looked around the room. “I’m not the only one with a hold over them.”
Vahaga. But after tonight, he wouldn’t be able to hold anything over anyone again.
TWENTY-SIX
Blaise stepped out from the shadows of the dark passageway. He looked even more handsome in the clothes of a tradesperson. I pulled the hood of my traveling cloak over my head and gave him a defiant look. “You shouldn’t have come.”
“I wouldn’t miss this.”
I clicked my tongue. I knew why he was really coming. He was worried about me. “I can do it alone. I don’t need someone to hold my hand.”
“We’re partners now, love. I’m not looking after you. I’m joining you.”
I matched his step as we wound through the secret tunnels connecting under the castle and behind its walls. Rats scurried past our feet, and one touched my bare ankle. My skin crawled when I spotted a spider climbing down from a dull web. I turned my oil lamp from the walls, willing the crawlies and rats to hide in blackness so I could pretend they weren’t there, and shined the light onto Blaise. “I need to be the one to kill him.”
“I know.” He smirked, dimpling his cheek. The sharp edges of his face looked even more angular under the orange light. A cool wind circled us as light spilled around jagged rocks. “We’re here.”
I blew out a tense breath as he pushed back the stone door and revealed the moonlit grounds. The briny air indicated we were near the port just beyond the castle.
I turned toward Blaise. His eyes were striking under the pale-white gleam, bringing out the silver from the smoky gray. A gust of wind tousled his jet-black hair. He looked carefree without his crown. As did I. He gazed up at the pinpricked stars shimmering against a canvass of inky black. “It’s a great night to commit murder.”
My eyes widened. “Jeez. Can you try not to enjoy this so much?”
“Vahaga deserves a far worse fate than death at the end of your blade,” he said slowly, his voice lowering. “He tried to have you killed. For that, I will enjoy every second of this.”
“You’re sure he’s in the forest?”
“My men confirmed it.”
I arched an eyebrow. “You can trust them completely?”
His expression darkened. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. Who knows you’re here?”
“Only Morgana,” I said. “Nissa thinks I’m in my chambers with a headache. Luckily, no one will
know how I could have got out. The guards have been instructed not to disturb me. The tunnel connecting to my room needs to remain a secret. Imagine if people knew there was a direct way into my room.”
“Someone really should close those tunnels.” He winked at me as he pulled the hood of his navy-blue cloak over his head, flattening his dark curls.
I glanced at the castle and the flickering lights in her windows. One of those belonged to Morgana, who was safe in her room. I had made sure to have three guards watching her and a maid in her room, so she’d have an alibi for tonight. I couldn’t have anyone think she was behind Vahaga’s death. She’d be suspected immediately because of Marissa. Unbeknownst to them, Morgana had been possessed by the necromancer. He’d pushed through then moved to collect my poor lady’s soul. I couldn’t let the lords or anyone know. They might have found out their own queen had been compromised too.
I inhaled sharply, and the salty air stabbed my lungs. “Let’s get out of here before we’re seen.”
“Come on, love.” Blaise tangled his fingers with mine, and we escaped into the night, never pausing to look at anyone or anything. We appeared as two lovers, traders maybe, or even pirates. My brown boots reached my knees. I’d pushed the dagger in the side of one, feeling its hilt as I made my way toward the tree line. The forest appeared to go on forever, and in a way, it did. It reached all the way from the docks—around the edges of Magaelor with roads and cities built between large areas of trees—to the mountains separating Magaelor and Niferum.
“I know you’ve made arrangements to return to Niferum,” I said as we reached the fences that warned lunas to stay out of the sacred part of the forest.
He didn’t look at me. Instead, he climbed the fence with a grace I didn’t have. I footed the wood panel but almost toppled when I sat on top.
“I could have flown us.”
“For the final time, it would draw way too much attention. Lunas are not accustomed to seeing wings.”
His wide smile shone his pearly whites as he caught me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “They will be one day, when we unite our kingdoms.”
My heart swelled, but I kept my composure. “If we unite them.”
His whisper tingled my neck. “One day.” He kissed just below my ear, then pulled away.
The feel of his lips lingered on my skin as I followed him under the protection of the shaded canopy. Time-chiseled trees greeted us as we stepped along the uneven ground, navigating around sprawling roots that had forced their way through the mud. Wisps of moss hung between branches, and the smell of wet bark and rain made me smile. The forest breathed life. The needle-covered ground led us to the older part of the forest. Thick evergreen firs grew sparse, replaced with graying tall trees with contorted branches and skeletal leaves. On the ground, the occasional white bone glittered under the moonlight, peeking through low hanging branches.
“We’re close.” My breath rattled as we walked. What once was known as beautiful and immortal, a place to be revered, had darkened. My heart pounded when I heard the babbling of the wide river. Jagged rocks led us into a clearing. There, the high priest’s robes were discarded on the bank.
“Where is he?”
“In the veil,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “We can’t see him, and he can’t see or hear us either. We need to wait for him to come out.”
His mouth twisted as he looked at the white robes. “Will he be naked?”
“Yes,” I said and hid us back under the cover of the trees. “We’ll wait for him to get dressed. He will put down his staff when he does. That’s when he’ll be at his weakest. I need you to fly to his staff—it’s his best weapon—while I go for his throat.”
He smirked. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but smile. “You should break it, before you drop the staff into the river.”
His eyebrows raised a little. “Won’t your ancestors try to stop him?”
I scoffed. “What are they going to do? They’re spirits. He could use their power if he has a channel for it, but he won’t, not if he doesn’t have his staff, which is why it’s so important you take it before he grabs it.”
He ran his fingers up my arm, tracing them lightly against my skin. “So it is a good thing I came.”
“Luckily, I found use for you,” I teased, and he walked his fingers up to my neck. A playful grin curled his lips.
A twig snapped from close behind us, and Blaise’s hand shot to my mouth, covering my yell as he pulled us into a bush. Pricks from thorns dug into my skin, making me curse against his palm. His eyes were wild as he hushed me, slowly removing his hand from my mouth. Pressing a finger against his lips, he slowly turned his head. A voice sounded from outside the large thorny bush.
“Do you think His Highness will be done soon?” a man said, and another chuckled.
“If he hears you call him that, he’ll have you thrown in the dungeons.”
The other man clicked his tongue. “He shouldn’t act like it then. He expects us to bow at his feet as if he is king.”
“The ancestors gave him his position,” he said, followed by a long pause.
The other man whispered, “Do you think they can hear us?”
Neither spoke, but through the gaps in the bush, I could make out their red uniforms. Royal guards. Of course Vahaga had men patrolling this part of the forest, but it was so big, I’d presumed they’d be in a different part. The high priest usually worshiped or spoke to the ancestors alone. I didn’t move an inch, out of fear of another thorn piercing my already-spotting skin, and also because I didn’t want to make a noise. If I were found out there, with a dagger in the middle of the night, stalking Vahaga, he’d have grounds to have me arrested, even if I was queen.
I let out a long, shaky exhale. How were we going to attack Vahaga if they were waiting for him? Blaise clearly had the same thought. His hardened eyes met mine, his expression cold and daring.
A splash jolted me, and another thorn dug into my hip. I pressed my lips together, sucking them back behind my teeth. Digging my nails into the ground, I gazed through the gaps. The men turned their backs. Vahaga must have been climbing out of the river.
We’d missed our chance.
“Your Excellency,” one of the men said. He was shorter than the other, from what I could make out.
“Did you see anyone else?”
The taller of the two spoke. “No one out here but us, except for a few rabbits.”
Vahaga didn’t look impressed. “We must get back to the queen’s party.” He said my name with the same look as if he’d eaten rotten eggs.
“Excellency, we will accompany you back.”
“Watch the forest,” Vahaga said icily. “There was an intruder last week. One of the other guards said they saw a woman coming in here. I can’t have anyone come in. Not even the—” He stopped himself, I imagine thinking better of it. “No one. This is sacred ground.”
More like he didn’t want anyone to stumble upon Magaelor’s best-kept secret… The spirit realm was a prison, and the elder ancestors were the ones keeping it that way. Vahaga and the priests or priestesses were all frauds.
There were so many secrets kept by those at court, whether it was earth-shattering ones like Vahaga’s, deadly ones like my father’s murder and Morgana’s decision to bring me back from the dead, or less dark ones like Lord Abor’s indiscretions. Everyone had something they didn’t want anyone to know, and as queen, their secrets belonged to me.
I was about to add the biggest secret to the list. Who killed the high priest? If I could make it. Vahaga walked into the trees, and the guards followed him. Once they were gone, I moved to get out. Blaise took the brunt of most of the thorns, shielding me as I climbed out. He healed quickly, and it was only me left with the cuts to show where we’d hidden. I was sure there would be a pixie flying about somewhere, but we didn’t have time.
The river beckoned me, luring me to enter it inst
ead of going after Vahaga. My heart tugged me toward my brother, whom I could see, and ending the high priest’s life. Hearing the water crash over rocks reminded me of when I’d first entered the forest. My heart sank.
Blaise’s hand squeezed mine. “Love?”
Tears watered my eyes as I looked over the river and clearing. “I’d believed for so long in our ancestors and the magic that came from the dead. It was such a big part of my childhood. It shaped who I was, and for it all to be a lie…” I hadn’t fully let it in yet. Anger had propelled me forward, but it was hitting hard, like a hand squeezing around my heart. “I’d wanted to come here for the longest time… The people deserve better, Blaise. They’ve died for their beliefs, and none of it was real.” The cut of betrayal ran deeper than I knew it could. A tear trickled down my cheek. I sniffed and wiped it on the back of my sleeve. “I’m going to kill him for it, then I’m going to end all of this.” I pulled the dagger from my boot and white-knuckled it as I entered the trees, gritting my teeth.
“Calm yourself first, love.”
“Why?” I scoffed. “I’m murderous again. Be happy.”
“Stop,” he commanded, grabbing my shoulder. He spun me to face him, his eyes wide with concern. “Even the best assassins make mistakes when they’re angry. If you let rage guide you, it could cost you your life. You need to be focused.”
“I am!”
“You’re not.” He held me back, and I wanted to punch him for it.
“Let me go. We came out to kill him. Now you’re stopping me.”
“I won’t let you go over there until you at least slow your breathing.” He ran his fingers down to my chest where my heart raced, pounding so much you could see it move my skin. “Your heart is racing.”
I batted his hand away. “He’s going to be too far away soon. He’s already ahead of us.”
“In and out, love.” He looked me dead in the eyes. “Slowly in, slowly out.”
His words only made me angrier. Vahaga would get away, and it would be Blaise’s fault. I could have died because of that man. He had betrayed me and the entire kingdom. The spirit realm was a lie, and after Vahaga fell, I’d finish the elders.
The Fate of Crowns: The Complete Trilogy: A YA Epic Fantasy Boxset Page 73