by Dawn Brower
Cale and Donia were a good distance ahead of them since Elodie couldn’t move fast. That gave her the perfect moment to ask Daire about the rattle and what it meant to him. He’d been rather quiet ever since he’d found it. She had to know what was so important about it. “So,” Elodie began. “What’s bothering you?” She didn’t want to come right out and ask about the rattle because she hoped he’d offer her the details on his own. She’d ask for details if he didn’t.
“I’m glad to be home,” he said quietly.
“Are you?” she asked. “You don’t seem to be.”
He remained silent for several heartbeats. His anguish and confusion floated over to her from their bond. She wanted him to talk to her. They’d shared a forced intimacy because of their extended stay in Malediction. She understood him in ways she might never have if not for that experience.
“Yes,” he replied. “This is what we wanted. Zelnon is safer for you, and we can relax.”
Elodie laughed at that assessment. “It’s safer, yes, but no we can’t relax.” The battle might have been won, but the war was still brewing. Fiona retained control, and until Elodie took it from her, they would not be safe. So, no, relaxing wouldn’t happen until then. “Tell me what’s really bothering you. I can still tell what you’re feeling.”
“No, you can’t,” he replied. “Not really, or you’d never have been surprised by how I feel about you.”
“That’s different,” she said. “It was subtle and underneath the surface. The anguish pouring off of you is too strong for me to ignore. What is up with the rattle?” She didn’t want to think about him loving her. It was too much then, and it scared her now. After she dealt with Fiona, she’d examine why.
He shrugged. “Some secrets should stay in the dark. Dig too deep, and you might not like what you find.”
That was not the answer she’d been hoping he’d give her. She wanted him to tell her why the baby rattle was important to him. There was much more going on then he’d explained, and he seemed to be really good at secrets. How long had he loved her and kept that to himself? Shouldn’t love be shared and reveled in? And, yes, she realized how hypocritical that line of thought was. She hadn’t wanted to tell Cale she loved him, and now she was too afraid to admit she might really love Daire.
“Perhaps sharing those secrets will lift the burden you’re carrying.” The pain in her leg was starting to grow with each step she took. She might not be able to walk all the way back, even with Daire’s help. “You know you can trust me.”
He didn’t answer, just looped his arm around her waist to help keep her steady. Her prince must have realized her pain had increased. Their bond went two ways, and he probably felt her struggling to keep moving. He’d humor her need to walk on her own for as long as he could because he respected her wishes. She’d much rather enter the castle on her own two feet than be carried in. That wasn’t the message she wanted to send to her people. She would if she had to, but she’d rather avoid it if she could.
Daire took a deep breath then started speaking. “There’s no one I trust more than you.” He turned briefly to meet her gaze. “I do love you. I know you don’t want to hear that right now, but I need to say it at least once. I’m not ready to talk about what happened with Donia or what it might mean for me and my family. Please give me time to work it out in my head first.”
She nodded. “Whatever you need.”
Cale and Donia stopped in front of them. They seemed to be waiting for them to catch up. When Elodie and Daire reached them, they were staring at the castle. Time passed by quickly, and she hadn’t realized how close they were to her home. “What is it?”
Cale gestured toward the castle. “There seems to be a party of some sort. Do you think the ball…”
“No,” Donia said. “If you’re asking if it’s the same night you left, it doesn’t work like that. You were in Zelnon a month or more. Time is similar, but moves a little faster in Malediction. I’d say you’ve been gone around a week, two at most here.”
So it was close to her eighteenth birthday. Were they celebrating it without her? “How do you know that?”
“I’ve been in Malediction since I was a baby,” she replied. “There’s not much I don’t know about the cursed word, or did you forget that?”
She had for a brief moment. Elodie would have to take Donia’s word for it until she found out for sure how long they’d been gone. “Well, let’s head inside and see what the revelry is all about.”
They continued on to the castle in silence. She didn’t push Daire for more answers, and instead gave him the space he needed. When he was ready, she didn’t doubt he’d explain it all to her. For now, her curiosity would have to wait to be appeased.
They reached the bridge to the castle and crossed over it. The guards stationed at the entrance stopped them from going farther. “Who are you, and why are you requesting entrance?” one of them asked.
Daire helped Elodie step forward. “How dare you deny me entrance. Move and let us pass, now.” She must be completely unrecognizable. Her hair was caked with mud, her trews—not proper attire for a princess—were torn to shreds and covered with her blood. Elodie couldn’t blame them for dismissing her, but she couldn’t let such disregard stand.
“Our apologies, Your Highness,” they groveled in unison. “We didn’t realize it was you. The queen will be so happy to see you’re safe.” They stepped aside to let them enter.
It was definitely not the same party that they had left. This one had a more somber tone to it as if they all grieved. What had happened?
“Princess Elodie,” someone shouted. “She’s here. She’s not dead!”
Was this a funeral? Had Fiona declared her dead instead of missing so she could take the throne for herself? She shouldn’t be surprised—Fiona was cold-hearted. Cale pushed them back so they didn’t rush her. She was glad for her knight’s protective instincts. The dragon was in his eyes as he turned to meet her gaze. He barely kept control of his temper.
Cale pushed open the doors to the throne room. The furnishings were the same—elaborate velvet brocade of the richest blue velvet and accented with gold filigree. The room’s focal point sat at the back—the thrones. Both had high backs that hugged the wall and were ensconced in blue velvet and gold to match the decorating scheme. Fiona sat in her father’s throne as if she owned it—that was soon to change. That place of honor belonged to Elodie, and her future husband.
Fiona’s golden hair was piled high on her head in an elaborate chignon with curls spilling over her heart-shaped face. Her green eyes were cold and hard. Elodie focused on the flag filling the wall above the thrones and almost gasped as something became clear to her. The same rich color scheme as the decorations in the throne room graced Zelnon’s banner along with a roaring white tiger—a simpler version of Kalypso, but instead of silver stripes it had black. Had Kalypso been a sign she should have seen sooner?
“Elodie dear it’s good to see you alive,” Fiona greeted her.
“Is it?” Elodie lifted a brow. “Seems like you’re ready to push me out. Did you even look for me?”
“Of course,” Fiona replied almost nonchalantly. “After almost a fortnight, we had to accept that you were gone.”
“But I’m not,” Elodie answered. “Seems like it should take more than a fortnight to declare me dead.”
She’d never hated anyone more than she did Fiona at that moment. The queen seemed almost gleeful, as if she knew something that Elodie didn’t. Well, the joke was on her. Fiona was about to spend some time in the castle’s dungeon.
“We had every reason to believe that you were gone for good. But none of that matters.” Fiona waved her hand dismissively. “You’re here now and we can have the coronation as planned, but I’m more excited about who you’ve brought home with you. Welcome home, dear niece, we thought we lost you forever.” She gestured toward the dragon hunter queen. “Come closer so I can look at you.” Donia didn’t move. Fiona retur
ned her attention to Daire. “Do tell, where did you find your twin sister?”
Daire flinched at her side. That had been his secret. How did Fiona recognize Donia, and why hadn’t Daire? That had been why the rattle unnerved him. He knew what it meant, but hadn’t been ready to accept it. Donia was his twin sister, and Elodie didn’t know what to make of that fact…
16
Princess of the Blood
Daire clenched his jaw tightly as he met his aunt’s gaze. Of course Fiona knew who Donia was. His aunt’s shrewdness had never failed her, and she’d keep abreast of the happenings at Katriel. She’d been second in line for the throne after his mother. Their hierarchy was matriarchal in design. A male could only inherit if there were no female heirs, and up until this moment, there hadn’t been any alive. Cale’s eldest brother was to be made king upon his mother’s death. Donia’s existence changed the rules. If she were to go back to Katriel, then she’d be the heir apparent—the princess of the blood.
“She cannot be my sister,” Daire replied. “Everyone knows that Ryanne died as a babe.” At least that was what he’d been told. There were whispers that she’d vanished and they’d had no body to bury, but he’d always brushed them away as nothing. He’d never known his sister, and that loss had always left a void inside of him. As if a part of him had always been missing—Elodie had come close to filling it. If his princess gave him her love it might have plugged the hole entirely; however, she kept herself at a distance.
Even if Donia turned out to be Ryanne, he couldn’t see how they could ever recreate the twin bond they should have had from the beginning. Too many years separated them to find their way back to being siblings. He could aid in proving her identity. That rattle he’d confiscated earlier would go a long way of proving who she was, and her name should be etched in-between the rubies on the hilt. It had been too dark to examine in the meadow. He’d hoped to have time to do it after they faced his aunt.
“Had she?” Fiona lifted a brow. She turned to Donia and asked, “Are you dead, dear?”
Donia glanced at Daire and then back at Fiona. She shook her head slowly. “No, Your Highness.”
“She’s not someone you owe any fealty to,” Elodie scathed. “Fiona has no right to sit in that throne.”
Daire had forgotten, for a brief moment, why they were all there. Elodie was injured and should be taken up to her room. She needed medical attention. Especially if she had her coronation ceremony tomorrow…. Their wedding was supposed to happen after it. He didn’t want to bring that part up though. She had enough on her mind dealing with Fiona. His own mind reeled from the revelation Donia could be his long-lost twin sister. Tomorrow was soon enough to tell Elodie they didn’t have to go through with the wedding. He wanted her to be happy, and he wouldn’t force her into a marriage she didn’t want. Fiona’s motives for the union were unclear to him, so he wouldn’t give his aunt what she wanted at Elodie’s expense.
Donia lifted her chin. “I owe no one fealty. I’m a queen in my own right.”
“Are you now?” Fiona asked. “That’s interesting. Where are your subjects?”
Daire almost rolled his eyes at his aunt’s renewed interest in Donia. Not that it had waned much, but she had a glint in her eye that hadn’t been there before. She had a scheme brewing, and it couldn’t be good. Nothing his aunt did benefited anyone other than her. “Pretty sure your people won’t accept you back unless it is to execute you for your crimes against their code of honor.”
“Not the point,” Donia said. “I’m still a queen.”
“Fine,” he agreed. “You’re a queen. Go back to Malediction and see how that works out for you.”
“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re an arrogant man child?” Donia stomped her foot almost as if throwing a temper tantrum.
Fiona’s laugh echoed through the hall. “You even fight like brother and sister. How fascinating.”
“I repeat,” Daire said. “She is not my sister.”
“There is one sure way to prove it,” Fiona began. “Tell me, child, do you have any birthmarks.”
Donia didn’t meet her gaze and shuffled her feet. Oh, hell. That could only mean one thing—she did. But was it the right one? All future rulers of Katriel had the birthmark, but it was in different places for each one of them. His mother’s was on her ankle. Daire hadn’t noticed it on Donia, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have it. If she did, he would know what it was, and he’d have found his missing twin. He wasn’t sure what to feel about that possibility. “Do you?” Not waiting for an answer, he demanded, “Show me.”
Elodie placed a hand on his shoulder. “Easy,” she said softly. “You don’t want to scare her. Maybe you should look at that rattle. It meant something and unnerved you.”
He shook his head and turned to Donia. “Well?”
She pulled her hair back from her neck and looked at the ground. At first, he thought she was being demure, but realized quickly Donia would never act that way. The birthmark was on her neck. He stepped closer to look at it. Elodie hobbled beside him, using him for support to stand. A red and white birthmark stretched diagonally on her neck in the shape of a feather. It was larger than the one his mother had, but it was almost an exact replica. There were variations in the birthmarks, and the size was the largest difference. The stretches of white made it stand out more too. He pressed his lips into a thin, line. Every sign pointed to her being his sister. That still didn’t answer how Fiona had guessed that. Before he pulled the rattle out, he’d have Fiona explain herself.
“So?” his aunt asked as she tapped her finger on the arm of the throne. “Is it the Katriel mark?”
“Tell me something first, aunt,” Daire said. “What about Donia made you think she was Ryanne?”
“She has the look of my grandmother,” Fiona said flatly. “I admit, it was more a guess than a certainty. I laid my cards, and they played out nicely.”
“That happens a lot for you, doesn’t it?” Elodie lifted a brow. “No one is that lucky.”
“Clearly, you are,” Fiona replied dryly. “You’ve managed to escape every death attempt set for you. How is that?”
Elodie jerked back. Fiona had all but admitted to her hand in what had happened to the princess. Why was his aunt so cruel, and more importantly, what had Elodie done to make her hate the princess so much? How many times had she tried to kill her? It occurred to him she might have had something to do with Ryanne’s disappearance too. She seemed capable of a great many evil deeds. It wouldn’t’ surprise him one iota if she’d sent a helpless babe to Malediction. What he didn’t understand was why.
“You did it, didn’t you,” Daire said with a harsh edge in his tone. “You sent Elodie to Malediction, but first you sent my sister. That’s how you knew. It had nothing to do with the resemblance, though I’m sure that helped. When we all showed up here, you believed we’d found her and brought Ryanne back with us. You sent us all there to die. Do you not have a conscience?”
A huge grin filled Fiona’s face. “My dear boy, you’re far more intelligent than I ever gave you credit for. I admit to it all, but only because none of you are leaving this hall alive. My son will inherit Katriel, and Zelnon is mine. My blood will rule both kingdoms in the end.”
“Your son?” Elodie lifted a brow. “You have no children.”
“That’s where you are wrong,” Fiona replied dismissively. “Katriel’s current heir is my child. Daire’s mother is my identical twin. I’d tricked her fool of a husband into my bed and conceived a child—his eldest brother, Fredrik. She accepted Fredrik as hers, and no one knows the difference. My sister didn’t blame her husband because he failed to tell us apart. No, my stupid twin forgave him, and me. Her only request was to keep the child’s true parentage a secret and for me to marry outside of Katriel. I agreed because it fell in with my plans. Regan never believed he’d inherit. She had plenty of time to conceive a daughter. Honestly, I’m surprised she’d let him, but she probably doesn’t wa
nt the world to know of her husband’s transgressions. She might even love the boy, having raised him.”
Fiona was full of confessions. She thought she had the upper hand and admitted she intended to dispose of them before they could share any of it, but she didn’t realize that Malediction had changed them all. Soldiers swarmed the room; however, that wouldn’t save her. Daire’s anger fueled his magic, and with Elodie still connected to him, it grew in massive strength. Cale had been quiet through the entire exchange. Daire glanced at him and he nodded. Fiona wouldn’t have planned for a dragon. With a swirl of magic Cale went to his dragon form. Some of the soldiers ran at the sight—others ran forward with swords in hand, ready to take down the beast. Cale let out a puff of smoke as warning, yet they kept coming. A small flame shot from each nostril catching the close ones on fire. That was all it took for them to give up and retreat.
“This is ridiculous,” Elodie replied. “Why did they even attempt to defend Fiona?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “We have to take care of my aunt. She looks ready to bolt.”
“Not if I can help it,” Donia replied. She lifted her hand and swung down. A bolt of lightning hit Fiona. It wasn’t like the kind Donia had used in Malediction. It had a different potency Daire would never have guessed. It stunned his aunt so she couldn’t move. The left side of her mouth went slack as she twitched on the gold throne she’d meant to keep as hers. Elodie would have to weed through those that worked in the castle. A lot of the people seemed to be loyal to Fiona. She needed people around her that she could trust, and his sister—he was starting to really believe Donia was his twin—needed to be reunited with their family. She had her own role to play.
Cale shifted back to human form. “I’ll take her to the dungeon myself,” he said and turned to Daire. “You take Elodie to her room. Susanna will be able to help her.”
He nodded and picked Elodie up into his arms. She’d done enough walking. Donia stared at them and frowned. “Come with us,” he said. “I would like to speak with you after I set Elodie on her bed.”