Heiress of Embers

by J. A. Armitage

  "Do you feel that?" I asked.

  Milo glanced around him as though this feeling would suddenly materialize out of thin air.

  He shrugged his shoulders. "Feel what?"

  Maybe I could only feel it because I was magic too. Maybe it didn't affect him the same way it had me, but it was there. Its suffocating presence squeezed at me, wrapping itself around me like a blanket of invisible fog.

  "Never mind," I said, taking his hand. "Let's get that spindle."

  "Go in?" he looked at me with a puzzled expression. "It's empty. I can see from here that there is nothing in there. They probably packed up and moved at the first sign of trouble. You can't blame them. I mean, who would be stupid enough to put a spindle in a shop window? Especially in this climate."

  My eyes widened. "Are you being serious? The spindle is right there." I pointed through the shop window even though we were but inches away from it.

  He let go of my hand and moved towards the window, placing his face right up to the glass, the way a child might gaze into a sweet shop.

  "It's empty, Azia. It looks like there's not been anyone here for a while."

  He was staring right at the spindle, and he couldn't see it. I wondered if my father had seen it when he'd come looking for me the other day or if he'd only seen me in an empty shop.

  A thrill of fear shot through me as I took in the repercussions of what I was seeing. If Milo couldn't see it and I could, it meant one thing. That the spindle was there for me. My theory that this had more to do with me than my mother intensified.

  I hesitantly pushed on the shop door, and it opened easily. The shop looked as it had before with wool and woolen items filling the shelves. The buzz of magical energy intensified as I walked through the door.

  "Let's go. Milo said, taking my hand again. This place gives me the creeps."

  Just then, a woman appeared behind the counter. It was the same woman I'd seen before, but this time, she couldn't be more different. Her shawl had transformed into a cape, the hat on her head shaped into two horns. This is how she had appeared in my dreams. Younger, more fearsome. Panic gripped me as she pointed her finger.

  "You," she shrieked. "You did this! This is all your fault."

  A ball of green magic appeared in her hand, swirling hypnotically. She leveled it at Milo and threw, hitting him square in the chest. As it hit him, he turned to stone. Unmoving, unblinking.

  "Milo!" I screamed, but he didn't answer...couldn't answer.

  "What have you done?" I screeched.

  She cackled and pulled on her energy again. Feeling for my own magic, I tried to recreate the same as I'd done out on the moor with Caspian, but it wouldn't come. In the grips of fear, I couldn't pull my energy inside, so I did the next best thing. Pulling my sword from my side, I charged her. There was no fear in her eyes, only amusement, but as the sword pushed deep into her belly, her eyes opened wide.

  "Mark my words, I will get you," she hissed and then turned unto purple and green smoke, evaporating in the air. The shop around me fell away until all there was left were empty shelves and cobwebs that looked like they had been there for years.

  "This place needs a good clean is what it needs."

  I turned to find Milo looking as good as new, wiping dust from a shelf. He'd not even noticed he had been petrified. Behind him, the storefront was empty. The spindle was no longer there.

  "Did you see that?" I choked out, but I already knew his answer.

  "See what?"

  His eyes roamed the empty shop, searching for something that he couldn't see.

  I took Milo's hand, thankful that it was warm and real. He hadn't seen the magic, but I sure had. Whoever this woman was, she was connected to my mother's curse, and not only that, she now wanted me.

  "Come on, let's go."

  Milo studied me through curious eyes. "Where?"

  "We are heading back to the castle," I replied, dragging him from the shop. "There's someone I need to see."

  I found Caspian in the drawing room, a bag by his side. He was dressed in a powder blue waistcoat with gold trim and a gold fob watch on a chain leading to his pocket.

  "Are you leaving?" I asked, though it was obvious he was.

  "Yes," he muttered. "I've booked tickets on the Urbis Express from Zhore for this afternoon. You've made it very clear that I'm not wanted, and as your mother is sick, I feel that my time here is done. You have your wish granted, Azia."

  I hated the next words I would speak, but I spoke them anyway. "Please stay. I need your help."

  He tutted and waved his hand as though I no longer mattered. "I see. Now that you need me, you want me to stay. I'm nobody's pawn, not even yours, princess."

  My stomach churned. He was right, and I could hardly deny it, but I needed him. He was the only connection I had to a magic world, a world in which the evil woman from the wool shop had tried to hurt me. I sat next to him on the sofa.

  "I met a woman today..."

  "How delightful," he growled.

  "She was a witch," I replied, ignoring his sarcasm. "I think she was the same witch that put my mother in a curse, and I think she was the same witch that did it the first time. I think it was Derillen."

  He sat toward me, his lips bared. "If it was Derillen, you wouldn't be here to tell the tale."

  I matched his pose, leaning in toward him. I wasn't about to be threatened by him. "I saw her, and I did survive. She was tall and thin with a cap of horns."

  I saw a momentary flicker of fear in his eyes. "It's not possible. She is dead."

  "Why would she have an interest in me?"

  He stood and picked up his bag. "I've said too much. None of this is my business. I tried helping your father eighteen years ago, and I've tried helping him now, but I can plainly see that my use here extends only to being a fount of knowledge to you. I've already told you to speak to your parents, now good day, I have an airship to catch."

  He made to walk, but the door to the drawing room opened before he could reach it. My father walked in. When he saw Caspian, his expression turned into one of surprise.

  "Where are you heading, my friend?"

  Caspian turned and indicated me. "Your daughter has made it perfectly clear that I am unwanted here. I'm heading back to The Forge. At least there, people have manners... Well, some of them have."

  My father cast a warning glance over Caspian's shoulder, directed at me. He then turned his attention back to his friend. "Caspian, you are more than welcome to stay here in the castle, despite what my daughter thinks. I wouldn't hear of you leaving us."

  Caspian held up his hand. "Your offer is kind, but I see no reason to stay. I've already told you, I cannot break the curse on Briar Rose, and as marriage to your daughter is no longer on the table, my time here is done. Farewell."

  "Nonsense." My father clapped him on the shoulder and led him back to the sofa. "Who said anything about marriage being off the table? I know that Briar Rose was having the staff here look after you, but I believe they will continue to do so in her...absence. We planned for you to marry Azia, and you will." He paused for a minute, his finger up to his lips, deep in thought. "The wedding will happen three weeks from today. I'll get my staff to prepare. I'll tell Briar Rose. If there is anything she will wake up for, it is our daughter's wedding."

  A surge of nausea took my breath away. "But Father..."

  "But Father nothing," he began, his tone changing to one of anger. "You've disobeyed me more than once this week. I know you went to Zhore, despite me forbidding it, and I know you went with that Milo chap. I've got enough on my plate without having to worry about a wayward daughter. Your mother wanted you to marry Caspian, and so do I. I never wanted to force you into marriage, Azia, but with your wilful ways, you've forced my hand. The wedding will go ahead. I suggest you spend the next three weeks getting to know Caspian because you'll soon be living with him."

  "But..."

  "Don't," he warned, leveling a finger at me. "I am the king,
and the last time I checked, you are my daughter. You will do as I say."

  I lowered my head in submission. "Yes, sir."

  "Good."

  My stomach churned, but anger at my father shouldn't stop me from telling him what I saw. My mother's life was at stake.

  "I saw a woman today," I said. "She had a spindle. I saw her use magic. She turned Milo to stone, but when I stabbed her with my sword, the spell on Milo was broken."

  The anger in my father fell away and was replaced with concern. "What did she look like?"

  "Alec," Caspian cautioned.

  I took a deep breath as I recalled the woman and how she looked now. "She was tall with horns and angular cheekbones."

  My father turned on the spot, running his hands through his hair. "No."

  "Your daughter could have been imagining it, Your Highness," Caspian said, narrowing his eyes at me.

  "I wasn't imagining anything," I persisted. "She turned to smoke when I stabbed her."

  My father stormed out of the door. I followed quickly, Caspian behind me.

  "You," my father barked at one of the guards. "Round up all my men. All the Draconis Army. I want every single man out looking for spindles. Scour the whole kingdom. I will not rest until every last one is in the courtyard and on a bonfire. " He turned to me. "Azia, you can go to your room. I don't want you coming out until I say so."

  He stormed off up the stairs as the guard ran outside to alert the other guards.

  "What's happening?" I asked, fear gripping me. "Is the witch that cursed my mother back?"

  Caspian drew me into a hug that was strong and surprisingly tender for such a jackass. He stroked my hair. "Let's hope for all our sakes she's not, princess, because last time no one could defeat her. No one at all."

  9th January

  I sat on my bed, gazing out of the window, sorrow filling my soul. Exhaustion crippled me, but sleep had only happened in fits and starts, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. The witch, with her heavily contoured face and cheekbones like knives. Why had my magic not worked?

  I patted the sword on the bed next to me, running my fingers over the beautifully shaped metalwork. It, too, was magic, but the magic it possessed wasn't mine. It belonged to the dwarves. It had been them that had turned the witch to smoke, not anything I had done. I was surprised that I was still allowed to keep it. I'd even briefly mentioned it to my father the night before, but he'd not said anything, and so, I'd brought it back to my room and slept with it by my side.

  A small knock on the door took my concentration away, and a quick look at the clock told me it was only a little after four am. I guess I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.

  "Who is it?" I asked quietly.

  "It's me."

  I leapt out of bed, knocking my sword to the floor with a clatter. Opening the door, I pulled Milo inside and brought him into a kiss. I'd hoped he would come to my room last night. If I was going to be honest with myself, that was part of the reason I hadn't slept. I was betrothed to one man, but my heart now belonged to another. My father had ordered me to marry Caspian, and after the wedding, I would be the dutiful daughter and wife and be true to him. I owed it to my parents. They had taken me in as a newborn and made me a princess. The heir to the Draconis throne. They had given me a wonderful childhood and everything I could ever dream about. In exchange, I would do as they wanted. Up until then, though, I was nobody's but my own.

  Milo kissed me back, his lips crushing against mine, matching the urgency. This kiss had to say it all because I would break down if I had to say it in words.

  Milo's arms held me, pulling me into him, our bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces. My hand ran through his hair as I held onto him, fearful of letting go in case this was our last kiss.

  He lay me down on the bed, his body on mine. An unwanted image of when Caspian had done the same thing flittered through my mind. Except he'd been pinning me down with a sword to my throat.

  "I'm engaged," I whispered, blinking back the tears.

  Milo pulled back until I could no longer feel the weight of him on me. I sat up to find him hunched over on the bed.

  "I didn't expect you to say that after pulling me into your room and kissing me like that," he sighed.

  "I don't want to be."

  He looked up and took my hand in his. "I know you don't, but it's probably for the best anyway."

  I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

  "Your father has ordered all his men out to look for spindles," Milo explained.

  I already knew that, but it never occurred to me that Milo would be one of the men to go.

  "You're leaving?" I asked. I had so little time with him until my wedding that I couldn't bear him going away for any of it. I needed him.

  He nodded. "That's what I came up to tell you. I've been assigned to one of the towns, but I won't know which one until I leave. I was going to ask if I can be kept in Zhore so I could still see you, but I guess it's best if they send me somewhere far away if you are marrying Caspian."

  My heart bottomed out. "I don't want you to go." What had I done? Now not only was I going to be marrying the fae, I was also going to lose Milo for the three weeks I had left. "It's not fair."

  Milo shook his head "No, it's not, but life never is fair. We get what we get, and it's how we deal with it that counts. "

  "I planned to spend the next three weeks with you," I explained. "I had it planned out. We were going to go into the woods and practice sword fighting every day and..."—my voice choked up—"I planned lots of kissing."

  "Is that when you are getting married? In three weeks?" The look on his face damn near broke my heart.

  I nodded slowly.

  "Then, it is right that I leave," he said brusquely, standing up from the bed. "You will be safe. Jack is staying here to guard the corridor. He's been told not to let you out of your room. I thought it was because of everything going on, but now, I see it's so you don't sneak out to see me."

  He walked to the door. I ran after him, catching his arm.

  "There is a chance I won't have to marry him," I whispered as he spun to face me. "Remy found a chapter in an old book about a competition for the princess's hand in marriage."

  "I remember. You told me before, but I think it is too late for that. I'd hoped that it would never come to that, and now, I don't think it will. I would have fought for you, Azia. I would have fought with everything that I had, but I'm not sure you want to fight anymore. Maybe The fae will give you everything you need."

  He closed the door behind him, and I broke down. Tears cascaded down my face as I flung myself onto the bed.

  He was wrong. I wanted to fight. I wanted Milo, but how could I go against my father's wishes when the whole kingdom was falling apart?

  Another knock on my door had me stumbling out of bed again. I wiped my tears on the back of my sleeve in a very un-princess-like manner and opened the door. My heart fell as I found Jack there instead of Milo.

  He held out a flower. "Milo asked me to give you this," he growled. "I don't like it, mind you. I don't like it one bit, and it's good that he's gone. I told him it would lead to no good, you being a princess and him being a guard, but would he listen? Youth today!"

  I took the flower from his hand. It was a poppy. No poppies grew around here and certainly not in the winter, but he'd found it anyway. Maybe he'd bought it from one of the expensive flower shops in Zhore. They imported flowers from other kingdoms. This one probably came all the way from Floris, the kingdom famous for its flowers. I thanked Jack and closed the door, my heart in pieces.

  Two hours later, I had another knock on the door. This time the door opened without me answering, and Dahlia bustled in.

  "Are you still in bed?" she asked. "Lazy girl, come on. Let's get you bathed."

  "I don't want to bathe," I huffed, but Dahlia ignored me as she so often did, and from the small bathroom, I heard the taps being turned on.

  "Hear
tbreak doesn't give you an excuse for being dirty young miss," she admonished, coming out of the bathroom with a towel and throwing it at me.

  "Who said anything about me being heartbroken?" I picked up the white towel and sat up.

  "No one, but I'm not blind. I might be old, but these eyes are as good as yours. I've seen you sneaking out with that young guard of yours, and this morning, I saw all the guards being sent off to look for spindles. I also heard on the grapevine that your wedding to that charming Mr. Caspian is being planned."

  "You know about that?"

  "Know about it?" she exclaimed. "I'm the head of the planning committee."

  I sighed, falling back on the bed. "I don't want to marry him, Dahlia. I don't love him. I don't even like the guy. He's a creep."

  "That's as may be," she said, pulling me out of bed so she could straighten the sheets, "But he's very handsome. Very, very handsome. You are a lucky girl."

  I rolled my eyes. "Hmph. He's an idiot, and he's nearly as old as my father."

  "I'd wager he's a lot older than that," she said as she fussed with my pillowcase. "Fae age differently than we human folk do. He doesn't look it, though. He'd pass for being in his early twenties with that fine physique of his... and oh, that hair!"

  Her eyes misted over as she spoke.

  "Dahlia!" I snapped.

  "Sorry. I got carried away with myself. I have to say you are wrong about one thing, though. That man is no idiot. He's a smart cookie. I saw him with a suitcase yesterday. He said he was leaving to head back to The Forge. He said he had a ticket booked on the Urbis Express and everything."

  "Yes, so?"

  She ushered me into the bathroom and turned off the taps.

  "That suitcase. I picked it up to take it back to his room for him, and I'm telling you now, it was as light as a feather."

  "What do you mean?" I asked, though I had a suspicion I already knew.

  "I mean, it was empty. He'd not packed at all. He had no intention of going back to The Forge."