Princess of Death

by Cortney Pearson

  “And Ana?” Ayat said before departing. “The family has taken an account of the items in this room. Should anything turn out to be missing, you’ll pay dearly.”

  “I’m no thief,” Cali said, affronted.

  “Be that as it may, temptation is ever present, especially for those who find themselves in places they don’t belong.”

  Cali bit her tongue against the lashing of words she’d like to whip at the head of household, and Ayat and the others finally left her in peace.

  Cali walked on sore feet to the bed, hugging the book beneath one arm. She couldn’t complain. At least she wasn’t sleeping on a pallet outside or having to hide in any alleyways or barns as she searched for plants she didn’t even recognize. She wasn’t in a bed with several other young ladies who probably smelled close to how she had before her luxurious bath scented with rose petals and jasmine salts. She was clean, in the king’s palace, and free of the spots and symptoms of the necrosis.

  Cali had the time she needed. Just a few more days. And to top it off, she already had one of the plants Lyric had sent her after.

  Cali pulled open the drawstrings of the pouch the king had handed to her, staring in amazement. The plant released a sickly sweet fragrance reminiscent of vanilla and withered apricots. Its leaves gleamed slightly.

  She couldn’t shake the memory of Soraya’s magic earlier. Cali had never seen anything like it. It was like a sunrise beneath the girl’s skin, like opening the curtains into a darkened room only to be dazzled by brilliant light. And it was there, inside Soraya.

  What would it be like to have that kind of power? What else could the princess do with it besides glitter?

  Chapter 8

  Warmth nestled inside Cali’s bones. The bedding swathed around her, and she burrowed deeper in as sleep began to dissipate. This was her favorite way to wake up. It was like sleeping in a hug. Cali blinked several times, enjoying the stretch of her muscles, the scent of jasmine and sandalwood, and the comfort of her bed—

  No.

  Not her bed.

  A bed in Princess Soraya’s chambers.

  Cali’s eyes shot open as the previous day’s events returned to her in a sudden rush. She glanced frantically at her arms, relieved to find them free of spots, relieved she could breathe with ease, before a knotting wedge of worry pounded behind her sternum.

  Was Darren waking with the same comfort?

  Was he waking at all?

  This was her second day in Lunae Lumen, which meant Darren had been inflicted with the necrosis for roughly three days. She patted the covers, searching for the pouch of glitz foil just as the door opened and a maid carrying a tray entered. She wasn’t one of the girls who’d helped Cali bathe the night before. This maid was younger. Friendlier.

  “Good morning, miss,” she said, settling the tray down long enough to deposit a plate of covered food on the table near a scroll-painted armoire. “If I knew your name, I’d use it. Although today begins your time posing as Princess Soraya, doesn’t it?”

  “It’s Ana.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Ana. I’m Mina. And today, you also meet Bae Kelsey.” Mina tucked her lips between her teeth.

  “You say that like I should be looking forward to it.”

  “It’s romantic, don’t you think? I’d love it if they’d picked me to be you—er, Princess Soraya, I mean. Even if it’s not real, you can just relish the feeling of being a princess for a few days. And bask in his attention, which he’s sure to give fully to you and no one else. The attention of a roguishly handsome pirate…” Mina sighed, sounding envious.

  Cali hadn’t thought of it like that. This was for Darren. For her people. So she could find the plants she needed and get home. But if she wanted time to search, she also needed to at least act interested in this pirate who probably reeked of fish and sea water.

  Was she supposed to reciprocate his interest? Reaching for the paper and writing utensil left for her, she jotted that question down on the list she’d written for Soraya last night after reading up on the royal family.

  Or what if he didn’t show any interest in Cali at all? What was she supposed to do? Were they hoping she would capture inside information from him, like some kind of spy? Again, she scribbled the question down.

  “They’ll be in to dress you soon. Your guests will be arriving within the hour.” Mina left her to bring a second tray into Soraya’s inner chamber.

  One hour? Not enough time to head down and find these gardens, though Cali had added that question to the list last night, along with places she should know around the castle. If she was to meet pirates with Soraya’s father, should she act as impassive as Soraya had the day before? Soraya didn’t seem the type to dote on her father, or to receive such attention from him in return. Would they recognize her face and realize she wasn’t who she claimed to be?

  What if they found out she wasn’t Soraya after all?

  The stupidity of this ploy was becoming increasingly apparent. Cali hadn’t had much experience pretending to be something she wasn’t.

  That was just it, though. She was a princess, through and through.

  At least she knew how to act the part.

  After eating the warm scones and eggs, she relished the fruit. It was coral pink with a flavor she’d never tasted. Tart and sweet all at once, she enjoyed it immensely.

  The maids hurried in to dress her and primp her hair, twisting it in a braid before twining it around her head while letting ribbons of curls dangle free.

  Her gown was a flowing kaftan of cream with glittering jewels and bright teal flowers embroidered on the bodice. They tied it off with a teal sash interwoven with gilded thread around her waist. The color emphasized the blue of her eyes, and Cali found herself studying her reflection with renewed admiration. She felt different. Confident. Exotic.

  The inner chamber door opened, and Soraya entered.

  “You look lovely,” the princess said. “Do you have questions for me?”

  “Thank you, Princess. I do. On the nightstand, there.” Surrounded by maids as she was, Cali couldn’t immediately head in that direction. Thankfully, Soraya didn’t seem bothered by the command. She crossed over and perused the questions.

  “Don’t show interest,” she said after reading. Her voice was sweet, but Cali could tell irritation simmered just below the surface. “I made my opinion of this arrangement as clear as I could without speaking yesterday. I wasn’t impressed then. I won’t be today, not with those two forcing their way into my home and attempting to control my life. Bae Kelsey will have to work to gain your interest, but you owe him nothing.”

  A scowl passed over her face, joined by a fresh hint of worry. Lowering the paper, she stared directly at Cali. “Your next question is really insightful, though. On second thought, you may have to show interest in him, Ana. If we can use this opportunity to find out which guards are his and which are still loyal to me, that would be especially helpful. You may have to do a little flirting, in that case.”

  If it was a result of spying on these pirates or essentially dating one of them, she couldn’t tell, but either way, her heart galloped in her chest.

  Soraya exhaled through a small part in her lips. “That being said, don’t volunteer information about my family or me. Don’t pretend to be me in the sense that you forget who you really are. Don’t—”

  “I can handle this,” Cali said, wanting to put her at ease. “My lady,” she added when Soraya arched her brow. “But can you tell me—”

  Cali didn’t get a chance to ask where the gardens were. They were interrupted by a knock at the door. She tensed at the sound. She’d meant what she said—she could handle this. So why did anxiety have to creep in now?

  “Go,” Soraya whispered. “They can’t know you’re not me.”

  Cali swept to the door and opened it, praying whoever it was couldn’t see her pulse thumping at her throat.

  A guard with caramel skin and black hair inclined his head. “Exc
use the interruption, Princess,” he said. “The Kelseys have arrived. Your presence is requested.”

  Princess. He thought she was Soraya. Maybe this would work after all. Mina, the maid, knew who she was, though. How many were in on this secret?

  Cali tucked the pouch of glitz foil into the pocket of her gown, straightening her shoulders. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll be right down.”

  She marched her way toward the staircase, trying to remember the route Ayat had taken her the day before as best she could. But that had been through servant stairwells and out of sight as much as possible. She was meant to be seen today.

  Despite the unease pricking like a burr in her chest—prominent, itching, and ever present—Cali adored the way the thin skirt of her kaftan flowed as she walked. She would focus on that, she decided. On the saffron incense, the clean aspect the white walls gave everything, the palette of colored cushions adorning benches, and the koi fish swimming in the pond cut into the center of the marble floor of the courtyard below being fed into by a many-layered fountain in the main area at the base of the stairs.

  Voices could be heard—male ones. Their deep rumble lodged beneath her skin, making her pulse rap out an unsteady rhythm. She was Caliana Brahmvir. She would get the plants she needed. She would save her people.

  Her shoes tapped on the marble floor, and the attention of the three men in the illustrious and opulent entryway of the palace, with its symmetrical, wide keyhole arches and geometric motifs carved along the ceiling, ceased their speaking. Cali recognized King Emir at once, as well as Captain Kelsey. But the third was harder to see from the light streaming in her eyes.

  “Ah, here is my angel now. Soraya, come meet these gentlemen.”

  Soraya. Caliana. Both were princesses. She could do this.

  She kept the smile from her lips, but said, “Good day.”

  Captain Kelsey examined her, his eyes roving from the top of her coiled hair to her embroidered bodice, then down to the toes of her blue slippers peeking from the flowing hem of her gown. Did he remember the real Soraya from yesterday? Would he believe the deception?

  “Princess Soraya,” he said, taking her hand and bowing before her. “How kind of you to extend your home to us.”

  “I haven’t extended it to you,” Cali said, her pulse pounding. “Your residence here remains to be seen.”

  The king laughed, an unsteady, boisterous sound, before tightening his eyes in warning at her. Captain Kelsey straightened, but he didn’t appear to be angry.

  “It’s all right, Emir. The girl knows her mind.” He turned to Cali. “I understand this must be a difficult situation for you. And it is completely within your rights to feel slighted by our presence, under the circumstances. Perhaps you’ll feel differently about things when you meet my son.”

  How naïve he was to think her swayed so easily by a pretty face. Still, Cali couldn’t deny the catch in her breath as the younger man stepped forward.

  He was pretty. Tall, dark-haired, and broad-shouldered, just like his father. His skin held the same glowing tan and ruggedness from days spent in the sun. He wore no suit, only shirtsleeves and a vest with his simple breeches, and his sparsely tattooed arms appeared muscled from hours of demanding work aboard a ship.

  But it was his face that was truly captivating. His eyes twinkled with promises of stars and mischief. His lips were a secret, twisting in the form of a smile. The slightest patch of hair marked the center of his chin. Even his eyebrows were intriguing as they lifted, as if he found their introduction amusing.

  “Princess Soraya. May I introduce my son, Bae Kelsey?”

  “Now is your mind so easily changed, Princess?” Bae asked. His voice was musical, chiming in deep tones of nutmeg and molten chocolate.

  “Because your looks are the only thing you have to offer this kingdom?” she suggested tartly. Cali wanted to hate him, to stomp away this instant, magnetic pull. She already felt like a traitor in her own skin. Darren was dying, and here she was, practically flirting with someone despicably more attractive.

  He grinned. She narrowed her eyes. What would Soraya think of him if she were here?

  He is a pirate, she told herself. A scoundrel.

  “That’s what your father seems to think,” she said. And everyone else, for that matter, considering how Mina acted earlier. Still, the maid wasn’t wrong about him being wickedly handsome. Cali made a mental note to watch herself around him. Most of the time, men who looked this way knew they did. And they used it to their advantage. Though she had to admit even Darren wasn’t this distracting.

  Captain Kelsey laughed, slapping his son on the back. “I’ll leave you younger ones to get better acquainted. Then she’ll be able to answer that question for herself, no doubt. Come, Emir, you wished to discuss the matters of our negotiations in private? I’m ready to accommodate your request.”

  And as if he were the master of the castle, he guided the king away, leaving Cali alone with his son.

  Chapter 9

  Cali’s heart was a traitor in her chest. She would stay calm with this intoxicating, infuriating boy. She would stay calm.

  “Well then, Princess,” Bae said, rubbing a finger against the goatee patch on his chin. Cali eyed the tangerine, speckle-scaled koi swimming in the indoor pond beside his feet. “The time is ours. What shall we do?”

  “I’d like to visit the gardens,” she said without thinking.

  He inclined his head toward one of the archways leading to the belly of the palace. “Lead the way.”

  She dithered, glancing along each of the various white arches in turn. There were so many of them. Soraya hadn’t had time to explain directions to anything. How could a princess not know the location to her own gardens?

  She chewed her lip, frantically thinking, eyes bouncing between the columns, the staircase, the fountain, anywhere but at him. “The thing is, they’re hidden.”

  “Are they now?”

  She clasped her hands behind her back. “Are you up for a game, Master Kelsey?”

  “Call me Bae. And aye, I’m open to a game.” Inching closer, he inclined his head. “You should know, though, I don’t like to lose.”

  His comment sparked her competitive side. This time, she did meet his gaze. “Good, because neither do I.”

  His lips twitched. “These gardens of yours,” he said, walking along the koi pond with his thumb tucked into his belt. “Why are they hidden?”

  “My father has never let me see the source of the plants I love so much.” She hoped the words didn’t sound as dishonest as they tasted.

  His head reared up just enough to show his interest. “And you feel breaking his wishes with me is the best course of action?”

  “I’m not very happy with my father at the moment. And besides, you don’t seem the type to follow the rules.”

  He considered this. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  Interesting. Was he saying it was required of him? That it wasn’t his choice, either? “Don’t you want to be?”

  He appraised the extravagance of the room, at its splashes of colored draperies and ornamented pillows, its vases exploding with flowers. “We’d been out to sea long enough,” he said. “I’m ready to settle my land legs for a while.”

  “How long is a while?” she asked. “If your father means for you to marry me and take my kingdom, you won’t be sailing at all, will you?”

  He paused. A tempest swam in his blue eyes. She couldn’t tell if he was upset or impressed. “You are direct, aren’t you, Princess?”

  She folded her arms. “Your father was direct when he interrupted our banquet yesterday. When he interrupted the celebration of my upcoming coronation.”

  His brow folded. So he was upset. “This is one game we need not play. If you don’t want me here, just say so.”

  “Will it make any difference whether I do or not?”

  “Probably not.”

  “I want to play our game,” she said instead. Truthfully, the
more they spoke, the more intrigued she was by what he and his father were really doing here. He didn’t sound as she thought a pirate would, with garbled speech and the opposite of intelligence. Instead, he sounded smart and almost…refined. Not like the men Soraya had described, vagrants who’d led a mutinous crew of criminals.

  What did the Kelseys really want? Cali had told Soraya she’d find out what she could. And she intended to do just that. “I’ll give you a chance,” she said.

  His lips lifted at the corners. “A chance to do what?”

  She tilted her face, taking the opportunity to scan his confident posture and the tattoos along his forearms. Coils of stars crept out from beneath his rolled-up sleeves, making her twinge with curiosity to see where they led. “To convince me there is more to you than this apparent domination you and your father are seeking.”

  He hesitated long enough she worried she’d overstepped. “Very well, then,” he said. “I’ll give you a chance as well.”

  “What do I have to prove to you?”

  Did he know? Had he recognized her fuller lips compared to Soraya’s thinner mouth, or the wider set of Soraya’s eyes where Cali’s were not as distant? They could pass for sisters, certainty, but weren’t the same person.

  “That you’re as unaffected by me as you claim to be.” He winked.

  Undine’s wrath, but this boy was dangerous.

  “Now, what about this game? All games have rules. What are yours?”

  She inhaled, hoping to slow her heart. “The first one to find the garden wins.”

  “That’s an end goal. Not a rule.”

  “All right. We ask the guards for clues. You may ask the guard on duty only one question per room. Whichever of us finds a clue to the location of the garden has to reveal something about him or herself.”

  “Fair enough,” Bae said. “Are you ready to start?”

  A guard in blue and gold crossed into the room, positioning himself near the archway Cali had entered. The spark of challenge wriggled through her, and she charged toward him without another word.