by Jody Hedlund
If so, Adelaide would likely put both of King Ethelwulf’s sons to death and eliminate their threat to the throne. And if she spared their lives, they’d find themselves her prisoners, locked away in a tower, secluded from the outside world.
I shook my head. I couldn’t set into motion plans that would ultimately result in Rex’s downfall and possible death. I loved him too much to even consider it.
Several dozen men wearing the standard of Mercia surrounded our camp within the hour. I came out of the cave with my hands up in surrender. Rex’s faithful knight stood close by.
“I am Princess Emmeline,” I said loudly, hoping my voice carried. “Except for one soldier who remained behind for my protection, I’m alone. King Ethelwulf and his son are gone.”
Adelaide’s forces stayed hidden, and no one made a sound.
Did they suppose I was attempting to lure them out so the king’s men might attack?
“Emmeline,” came a woman’s voice. “It is I, Maribel, and my husband, Edmund, Lord Chambers.”
I searched the rocks for Maribel but didn’t see her.
“I give you my word,” I called. “I am alone. The king and his men abandoned me an hour ago.”
Several moments later, a knight stepped out from behind a tall crag. He walked cautiously, his weapons drawn as though expecting an attack. Of course, Adelaide’s men wouldn’t believe me. Why should they?
“I am Lord Chambers,” he said, halting and peering beyond me into the cave.
A harpy eagle swirled in lazy circles high above our camp, and I felt certain it was the same one we’d seen when we’d been riding away from Inglewood Forest.
“Your Highness,” Edmund said with a slight bow. “May I look around?”
“Certainly.” I stood aside and waved to the cave behind me.
He approached slowly, ducked inside, walked to the labyrinth entrance, and peered down before finally coming back out. “The princess is speaking the truth. She is alone except for a guard and a dying man,” he called. “The king and his men have indeed abandoned their efforts.”
As Edmund spoke, Maribel rushed forward, worry turning her eyes a wintery blue. “You’re injured!” She focused in on my neck where the king’s blade had left its mark.
“It’s nothing.” At least compared to everything else we’d experienced down in the labyrinth.
I insisted Maribel tend to Alaric first. Although she gave him a tonic to ease his pain, she shook her head sadly, confirming what we’d already known—that he would die.
Afterward, Maribel led me to a shaded spot outside, made me sit down, and set to work pulling out an assortment of supplies to doctor my wound. As she cleaned the cut and applied salve, I answered Edmund’s questions, relaying all that had happened since leaving Adelaide’s camp and arriving in the Highlands. By the time I finished, both were staring at me with wide eyes.
Edmund tilted his head toward the chest that sat just inside the mouth of the cave. “Then the treasure is useless? It will kill anyone who touches it?”
“It would appear so,” I said.
Maribel gently dabbed my wound. “I should like to concoct a cleanser, a bath of sorts where we could soak the gold to rid it of the poison.”
“Is such a thing possible?” I asked.
“We must try. Think of all the good we could do for the people with just this one chest of gold.”
“Would Adelaide use it for the people?” I doubted King Ethelwulf would have done so even if he’d had several chests of the gold. His greed had consumed him so that in the end his love of the treasure had superseded his love of his son.
“Adelaide seeks nothing for herself,” Maribel said. “You have heard the stories of her generosity, have you not?”
My father had brought back tales of Adelaide, stories of how she’d saved an entire village by drawing from her own purse of gold for them, of how she’d ruled her tenants with the same generosity, and how she’d continued to pay the ironworkers in her father’s smelter by selling off her family’s possessions.
“Her reputation precedes her,” I replied, “not only as a wise queen but a caring one.”
“Then you will allow us to take the chest of gold?” Edmund asked. “Even if Adelaide does not win the throne, she will want to aid the people in any way she can.”
Adelaide deserved to win the throne. The truth was too strong to deny any longer. Though Rex was a good man and might be able to help restore the land, his father’s evil legacy would always haunt him. And of course, if Magnus became king, the evil legacy would continue.
Though I’d been hoping my union with Rex would stave off conflict, I could see now that King Ethelwulf’s evil had to be uprooted. Even if I’d grown to care about Rex, I shouldn’t have abandoned my family’s cause.
If I was honest with myself, I’d abandoned the fight for the throne long ago, even before I’d met Rex. For too many years, I’d let fear control me so that all I’d wanted to do was hide in the woods and stay out of the conflict.
But I could do so no more. My father’s words from long ago surfaced to spur me on. God made you for more. This was the time for more.
Adelaide and Maribel had each used their gifts to bring about needed change, but they could go only so far. Now it was my turn to rise up and do my part in bringing about restoration and peace.
It was my turn. The words reverberated through me, bringing an ache to my chest that hurt beyond anything I’d known yet.
Maribel started to slather another ointment over my wound, but I stood quickly, the pain in my heart far worse than the cut in my neck.
She sat back on her heels, her brows rising.
I pressed a hand against my chest to ease the ache, though I suspected nothing ever would take it away.
Edmund waited quietly, patiently. The gentleness in his eyes told me he sensed my pain and just how much I was sacrificing for the cause.
My throat constricted, and I had to swallow hard to force the next words out. “I know how to defeat the king and his sons.”
To do so, I’d have to turn against the man I loved. And that would require the greatest courage of all.
Chapter
25
Rex
With bowed head, I kneeled beside the king’s bed. Next to me, Mother sobbed softly, and I laid a gentle hand upon her back, wishing I could comfort her but knowing no one could.
He has passed. The physician’s words clanged through my mind. Not unexpected, they still brought a swell of inner turmoil.
The king had survived until we’d reached the city of Middleton. There, skilled healers had administered tonics and tinctures to help prolong his life. While he’d lasted the boat ride back to Delsworth, he’d never regained consciousness and had only continued to degenerate over the past several hours since we’d managed to elude the rebel patrols and sneak into the castle through the secret tunnel under cover of darkness.
An hour ago, at dawn, he’d stopped breathing and hadn’t started again. With the head physician’s pronouncement of death, I’d finally given the order to ring the bells and spread the news throughout the city and kingdom regarding the king’s passing.
Now, in the distance, the church bell tolled slow and sad. It wouldn’t be long before everyone knew the king was dead, including the rebels.
How long before Queen Adelaide Constance acted and took advantage of the moment of weakness, this uncertain time where soldiers and townspeople alike would be distracted?
And how long before Magnus made his move?
He’d been with us during the king’s last hours. During that time, several of the king’s faithful bodyguards had pulled him aside and conferred with him. By now, he’d be well aware of our father’s rejection of me as the next king and would likely be planning my demise.
I inhaled a breath of the bitter odor of bloodwort rising from the incense pots around the king’s large, luxurious bed. Though the physicians’ medicinal supplies remained scattered over the bed,
they’d stepped out, as had the servants, to allow us a private time of mourning. Magnus had stayed only for a short while before leaving, and now I feared what he was plotting.
A knock on the chamber door was followed by rapid footsteps. I glanced up to find both Father Patrick and Dante entering. “Long live King Ethelrex,” they said in unison, kneeling in the rushes and bowing their heads.
Once word spread regarding the king’s rejection of me and decree regarding Magnus, how many would stay with me? I had too few men left after losing so many of my most trusted knights to the labyrinth. While I’d gained the respect and support of others in Delsworth over the past year, I still didn’t have the same networks and connections that Magnus did.
Even so, I couldn’t let Magnus take the throne without a fight. I refused to stand back and relegate the people to a ruler like my brother.
“Your Majesty.” Dante rose and bowed once again. “I regret the news I must bring you at so sorrowful a time.”
My chest pattered an extra beat. Was Emmeline finally doing what she needed to? I’d hated leaving her behind, especially knowing I’d hurt her. But I’d had no choice. I’d had to cause a rift in order to force her to side with her sisters—which was where she should have been all along.
Even though I’d done the right thing, my body burned with my need for her, a need I would always have. Though I’d set her free of any obligation to me, in my heart she’d always be my wife. I’d never want or love another woman ever again.
I thought about her every moment, prayed for her safety, and hoped one day she could forgive me and find happiness.
“Your Majesty,” Dante said, this time his tone containing an urgency that forced me up from the bed. I gave him my full attention and nodded at him to continue. “The usurper’s army is on the move. They are drawing near with their siege engines.”
I stifled my disappointment. I’d been hoping to avoid the frontal attack, and now that it was upon us, I had no will to fight. I wanted to open the city gates and let the rebels in. But the king’s army wouldn’t allow it. They’d battle until they defeated our foe or a new ruler’s flag was raised over Delsworth. Either way, the fighting would be fierce and would take a great toll on the town and the people.
“Any other news?” I asked.
Dante cocked a brow, likely sensing a deeper question—one he had no answers for. At least none that would please me.
“Very well. Gather the bulk of the army and go to the city wall. I shall assemble my guard and meet you there.”
Dante bowed again and strode out, leaving me with Father Patrick. The priest drew me to a far corner from my mother before speaking in a whisper. “Your Majesty, your brother is spreading rumors among the castle servants.”
“They are not rumors. They are the truth. I refused to obey the king in the labyrinth, and he renounced me as his heir.”
The priest studied my face and then offered a gentle smile. “You made a difficult choice, Your Majesty. But I am proud of you for doing what was right no matter the consequences.”
“I will not subject the people or the land to Magnus being king.”
“And I do not think you should.”
“Then you support my claim to the throne?”
“I could not do otherwise.”
I tilted my head to acknowledge and thank him for his loyalty as well as to dismiss him.
Instead of going, he pulled his short stature higher. “Your Majesty, you have my fullest support in everything except in the matter regarding your wife.” His voice rang out in the chamber, no longer clandestine.
I glared at him, daring him to say more.
He cleared his throat and continued just like he always did. “I do not support you setting aside your vows to her.”
“I shall do as I please.” I stalked toward the door.
He rushed after me. “You must honor the commitment you made, even in the worst of circumstances.”
I paused, one hand on the door handle. “I have no doubt her sister will nullify our marriage and find her a better husband, someone noble and good, someone like the Earl of Langley or Lord Chambers.”
“Princess Emmeline will never find a better husband than you, Your Majesty.”
The sincerity in Father Patrick’s voice gave me a moment of hope . . . until all of my faults came rushing back. I’d forced Emmeline into a relationship with me, had given her no choice with our marriage. If I survived the battle against Magnus as well as the battle for the kingdom, I wouldn’t coerce or manipulate her into coming back to me. No, she was free to choose what she wanted, and I’d have to live with the consequences.
Before I could formulate my thoughts into words, rapid footsteps and loud voices rumbled outside the chamber. Was Dante returning with more news?
I swung open the door only to find the king’s closest guards gathered, their weapons drawn, their expressions severe. The two guards I’d left on duty were slumped in the passageway with blood pooling beneath them. Behind them stood Magnus.
He’d waited until Dante departed with the majority of the army before coming after me. I could admit that was a smart move. But he underestimated me if he thought he could conquer me with a handful of soldiers.
In an instant, I had my weapons out. A quick thrust of my dagger into the closest guard sent him staggering back into the hallway. A swipe with my sword at another brought him to his knees. I used my speed, power, and agility to my advantage. If Magnus believed I’d risen to my position as head commander of the elite guard because I was the king’s son, then he was wrong. I’d earned my spot because I’d become the best.
I spun away from the men pouring into the bedchamber, fighting them off and taking them down in quick succession. From the corner of my eye, I saw Magnus stalk across the room. A warning rang in my head, but I was too outnumbered and too busy to stop him unless I threw my knife into his back—which I couldn’t do.
An instant later, he shouted above the clamor of fighting. “Surrender or I will kill Father Patrick.”
Even as I parried a thrust and ducked away from another blow, I caught a glimpse of Magnus’s knife pressed against Father Patrick’s throat. I’d witnessed Magnus’s cruelty often enough to know my brother never issued an idle threat.
I took several rapid steps, trying to decide how I could hurt Magnus and free Father Patrick simultaneously. My gaze landed upon Mother, who’d risen from the king’s bedside and was watching the conflict with horror rounding her beautiful eyes.
How could I live with myself if I injured Magnus? I couldn’t do it, especially not in front of Mother.
“Do not harm Father Patrick,” I said, lowering my weapons.
Magnus didn’t loosen his hold on my wise teacher. His blade nicked the priest’s fleshy neck. The remaining guards surrounded me and cautiously crept closer.
“Drop your weapons. Now,” Magnus ordered. “Or your priest dies.”
I released my grip on my sword and dagger. They clanked against the floor. It was over. I knew it, and from the gleam in Magnus’s eyes, he knew it too.
He’d known exactly how to control me and make me do whatever he commanded. He’d perfected the use of the different, but no less deadly, weapons of threats, manipulation, and force—just the same as the king. But no longer for me. I could no longer be that kind of man, not even now.
At the sight of Father Patrick’s pale face, I was all the more relieved I’d left Emmeline behind. If she’d been here and within Magnus’s grasp, I most certainly would have killed my brother. As it was, I could submit, at least for the time being. And later, I’d find a way to regain control.
“Chain him,” Magnus called out to his loyal guards. “Then take him out to the inner bailey and flog him.”
“Magnus, no!” Mother held out a trembling hand.
“Be silent, Mother,” Magnus said. “Or you will join him.”
Magnus would never harm our mother, would he? I suspected the threat was aimed more at me than
Mother, another attempt by Magnus to exert his authority and make me comply.
“Everyone knows that nothing good comes from Warwick.” Magnus stated the familiar slur with disdain.
I didn’t resist as the guards finished disarming me and then wrapped a thick chain around my wrists and shackled my ankles. And I didn’t resist when they yanked me toward the exit.
Chapter
26
Emmeline
I’d insisted on going first and leading the way. Though my heartbeat rammed against my chest, all my anxiety had fled the moment I’d unlocked the tunnel door and ducked inside.
Rex would have guessed I didn’t need a key, that I had the skill to break in without it, just as he had. That he’d left me the key was all the more confirmation of what he’d wanted—for me to lead Adelaide’s army into the fortress. It had also likely been his way of telling me he forgave me for betraying him.
I had a role to play in restoring the land, and I couldn’t stop until I helped Adelaide bring about the peace the people needed, even if that meant I had to hurt Rex in the process. Regardless of my decision, my heart hadn’t ceased aching since the moment I’d made up my mind to fulfill my destiny as one of the lost princesses.
Adelaide crawled behind me. Thankfully, she’d easily forgiven me for taking Rex to the labyrinth after she’d given me the last of the ancient keys. In fact, I’d learned she’d handed over the key with the hope the king and his men would go after the treasure. Without all the pieces of the map, Adelaide wouldn’t have been able to navigate the labyrinth anyway.
She’d sent Edmund’s band of knights to intercept the king’s men if they made it out of the labyrinth alive and with the treasure. What she hadn’t expected was that the king would so willingly put his own life at risk by going inside the labyrinth himself. As it was, his greed had led to his downfall.
Although the ancient prophecy proclaimed the treasure would rid the land of evil, none of us had realized the fulfillment would happen so literally. I now knew without a doubt Adelaide was the young ruler who’d set everything into motion. She was strong and wise and good, but she alone hadn’t been enough. She’d needed—and perhaps always would—the gifts of others to truly become a great leader.