“The legends . . .” Tobias said, his voice tight.
“Forget the fire,” Liam spat out. “Our concern is Elena.”
And my immediate concern was trying to get his clothes off.
What?
“Put me down!” I said in a panic.
He started to protest, but I pushed at his arm holding my legs, and he dropped his hold, lowering my feet to the ground.
I took several steps away from him and into the middle of a loose circle of my guards.
“Elena,” Liam said with troubled eyes. “Are you hurt or ill?”
I considered lying, but I was too scared to make it believable. “I think she drugged me.”
“How could she be drugged?” Tobias asked the others.
“Did you drink or eat anything?” Dax asked, his face now an expressionless mask.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Are you sure?” Dax asked. “What about while you were with the children? Did one of them give you something?”
I shook my head again. “No. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
“We were with her the whole time,” Liam said in frustration. “We saw her eat and drink nothing.”
“Whatever happened, happened in this room,” Tobias said. “What did the priestess say?”
“She was talking nonsense about magic,” I said, starting to shiver. Tobias grabbed my cloak off the floor and moved closer, draping it on my shoulders. I took a step away from him, worried I’d react to him again. I was better now, but I was still freaked out. “She was telling me about the carvings on the stone arch.”
“The stone arch is gone,” Finn said.
“The fire altar is gone,” Dax said in an irritated tone.
I spun to face him. “It burnt in the flames.”
“Stone doesn’t burn, Princess.”
“And yet it’s no longer there, is it?” I asked, more frightened than I was letting on. But I suspected they were doing the same.
“So she told you about the carvings,” Liam prodded, his voice tight. “What else?”
“She told me about the five elements of magic. Then she told me that she’d ignited the dormant magic inside me. That I had to reignite all five parts of magic or . . .” My voice trailed off.
Liam looked pissed. “Or what?”
I took a breath to pull myself together. If I told him she said I’d die, Liam and my guards would likely hunt her down and kill her for threatening me. Even after what she’d done, I couldn’t let that happen. “She told me part of the legend about the death of magic. She said the two princes had been my great-many-times-over-uncles. She said magic isn’t dead, but it had been hiding and waiting.” I paused. “She said it had been waiting for the right ruler.”
“Prince Leonardo?” Tobias asked in disgust. “We all know—”
“Tobias,” Liam barked. “Watch your mouth before you commit treason.”
Tobias’s chest expanded in defiance. “He’s not our king yet.”
“But he will be soon enough.”
My chest ached again, and I pressed my hand to it to ease the pain. “Stop. Please. No arguing. And don’t be so sure about Prince Leonardo.”
As soon as I uttered the words, I wished I could rein them back in. It was one thing to speak of my defiance of marriage with Christa and Mrs. Putney, but it was another entirely to speak of my possible treason with the royal guard.
But my men took my statement an entirely different way. “She’s right,” Dax said. “We only know the stories. We don’t know the man, not that anyone asked our opinion.”
Finn took a step toward me, reaching out his hand. “Are you feeling better?”
I took a step back, bumping into Matthew’s broad chest, and my yearning was back, even stronger than before. I darted to the side, avoiding touching any of them.
What was wrong with me?
Hurt filled Finn’s eyes. “Are you frightened of me, Princess?”
I shook my head as I wrapped my arms over my chest. “No. It’s just that I’m not feeling well.”
“We’ll get you home. Immediately.” Liam turned to Dax. “Go to the livery stable and rent a carriage. I don’t want her walking back to the castle. And while you’re there, have word sent to the castle to have the healer ready to look her over when we return. I want her examined the moment she’s back in her room.”
“Liam,” I protested. “I can walk.” The cold air might help the burning sensation that was sweeping through my body again.
His fiery eyes turned to face me. “My job is to protect you, Your Royal Highness, and I have failed. Do not take this from me too.”
When he looked at me like that, my body responded. Liam had always been the one who carried the most responsibility for my well-being, even before he was given the position of captain of my guard.
Maybe this was preordained, something inside me suggested. Don’t forget about your dreams . . .
If I followed my dreams, I would end up naked in Liam’s arms, his mouth on my hot skin. It was forbidden, yet I wasn’t sure whether to rejoice in the fever the priestess had given me or to fear it.
3
“She seems to be fine,” the healer said as he stood next to my bedside.
My guards, who stood along the back wall of my room, seemed to relax slightly.
I was in my shift but wrapped in my robe as I lay on my bed. The healer had requested my dress be removed, and my mother had announced that my guards would need to leave my room. The robe had been a compromise.
“If she’s fine, then what happened to her?” my mother asked in an anxious tone. She sat next to me on my bed, clutching my hand tightly.
“I suspect a combination of things,” the healer said, reaching into his bag. “She hadn’t eaten all day, and the weather took a turn for the worse. Rumor had it there was a large crowd at the temple today, and then the . . . stress of her upcoming marriage. Any one of those things might have led to a fainting spell, let alone all combined together.”
“I did not have a fainting spell,” I said in disgust. “I’m not a weak, spineless twit.”
“You are a young woman,” my mother sighed in despair. “Would it kill you to pretend to be one?”
I turned to face her in surprise. “What does that mean?”
Contrition filled her eyes. “Elena, I’m sorry.”
The healer picked up his bag. “I’ll take my leave, but I’m here in case you need me.” He headed for the door, and Dax and Matthew parted to let him exit.
“We should leave as well,” Liam said. “Now that we know that she is safe and unharmed.”
My mother stood. “Wait.”
My guards stood at attention.
“Her father . . . he’s angry with her.” She took several steps toward them, scanning all of them. “I must ask you a difficult question, a treasonous one, but I swear your answers will remain in this room.”
I sat up and swung my legs off the bed. “Mother, what are you doing?”
She was putting my men in danger, and I refused to stand for it.
Liam gave her a stiff nod.
My mother stopped in front of him, leaning back to look up into his face. “Who are you loyal to, Captain? The king or the princess? Because in this instance, it cannot be both.”
“Mother!” I nearly shouted as I rushed toward her and tugged on her arm. “Stop this madness. Do not put them in this position!”
She ignored me, but I heard fear in her voice. “Captain Liam, my mother has said that one day Elena would need you more than any of us realized. I fear today is that day.”
Liam held his clenched fist to his left breast. “We have sworn with our lives to protect the princess, Your Majesty. We will not break our oath.”
“We protect her with our lives,” Dax said solemnly.
The other men echoed his phrase.
“What danger does she face, Your Majesty?” Liam asked.
“He’s worried her insolence will disgrace
us all at her wedding, a wedding she swears she will not be a participant in. He’s threatened to drug her to get her through the ceremony, but he fears she’ll only disgrace us after.”
“What is the danger she faces?” Liam repeated, his face emotionless, but I saw his clenched jaw and his pulse pound on his temple.
“He means to have her beaten.”
I gasped and let go off her arm. “What?”
My mother turned to me. “He’s desperate, Elena. You are willful and disobedient. I’m sure it is my own fault, and he definitely blames me for it, but he’s determined to not only marry you off, but to make sure you’re compliant for your new husband.”
“There are rumors,” Dax said, his voice low.
“Guardsman,” Liam growled. “Know your place.”
My mother walked over to Dax. “I fear they are true.”
“Rumors?” I said. “What rumors?”
“That Prince Leonardo is . . . unkind,” Dax said through gritted teeth.
She turned back to me, desperation in her eyes. “Your father has heard the rumors too, and he fears for your well-being.”
“And he’s going to marry me off anyway?”
“The kingdom is dying, Elena. Our people suffer. This is our only hope.”
I felt sick to my stomach, so I walked over to the shuttered window and threw it open. A gust of icy wind hit my face, sucking my breath away, but it helped soothe my roiling guts.
“So he wishes to have me beaten?” I asked in a defeated voice. While my father had been cold over the last few years, I’d never known him to be overly cruel.
“He thinks it will protect you,” my mother said. “He would rather the defiance be beaten out of you in the name of love rather than in sick pleasure.”
I whipped my head back to face her, ignoring the way my guards now stood at attention. “And is there a guarantee this will stop Prince Leonardo from using me for his cruel intentions?”
My mother’s face paled. “No.”
“Mother,” I whispered.
“I’ve been trying to convince myself that this was for the best, that sacrifice for this kingdom was our duty—your duty. But I can’t, you can’t—”
“She will not be beaten,” Liam said with authority in his voice. “Not today. Not ever. We will stand between any man or woman who would dare to try. We will guard her until our dying breath. We have made the holy vow. If that is treason, so be it.”
My mother walked toward him, her dress trailing gracefully behind her. She lifted a hand to his cheek and looked up at him. “My mother was wise to choose you to lead.”
A flicker of surprise shone in Liam’s eyes.
“Yes, we’ve both been watching you.” Her gaze turned down the line. “All of you. Since she was very young and you taught her how to fight.” She paused. “My mother selected you to train Elena, then insisted you five form her guard.”
“Mother,” I said, walking back toward her, leaving the window open. “Why would Grandmamma care about which guard apprentices trained me?”
“She has the second sight, Elena. She knew you would need them someday.” She marched over to the wardrobe and threw it open. “You must leave tonight. Captain, you and your men will take the princess to my mother’s house.”
“That’s in Pottershedge, Mother,” I protested. “That’s three days’ ride.”
She glanced over at Liam. “Take the horses with the greatest stamina. Make it two days. Elena’s a good rider. She can handle it.”
Liam nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“So I’m running away?” I asked in disgust.
My mother ignored me and grabbed a dress, then eyed it up and down. It was a pale blue silk, one of my favorites. She tossed it on the bed, then pushed past Dax and Matthew and opened the door. “Christa, come in please.”
When Christa saw me, she rushed forward and threw her arms around me. “Thank goodness you’re okay. I’m sorry I left you at the temple, but the guards told me to go.”
“It’s okay, Christa,” I said. “It was better this way.”
“Christa,” my mother said briskly. “I need you to bring me two of your dresses as well as undergarments.”
Christa’s cheeks blushed, and she gave a quick look to the men next to her. “Excuse me, Your Majesty?”
“You heard me correctly. Bring anything you might need to take on a fortnight journey.”
“Am I taking a journey, Your Majesty?” she asked with a squeak.
“No, Christa, you will remain here with me. I only need your things packed in a bag that is light enough to carry on a horse. Can you do this for me? Right away?”
Christa curtsied. “Yes, Your Majesty. Right away, Your Majesty.” Then she took off.
“You want us to take the princess to your mother’s?” Liam asked. “And then what?”
My mother clasped her hands together and paced. “I don’t know yet. It is my hope that my husband will come to his senses, but I fear that may take some time. More time than a fortnight.”
“He will look for her there,” Liam said. “It’s an obvious place to look. We should go somewhere else.”
“You must go to my mother first. She predicted this would come to pass.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
My mother rushed over and took my hands. “She has the sight, Elena. She knew trouble would find you. She chose these men for you. You must seek her guidance now.”
I squeezed back, trying to process everything she was saying. “Okay.”
She pulled me into an embrace, then dropped her hold and turned to Liam. “Do what you need to do to protect her.”
“I will.”
“I’m counting on it. Leave as soon as Christa brings the bag.” She strode to the door and started to leave.
“Mother? You’re not going to tell me goodbye?” To my shame, tears clogged my throat.
My mother’s hand was on the door, her back still to me. “I can’t bear it.” Then she walked out and shut the door, leaving me with my five guards.
They stared at me in silence, and I wiped a tear from my cheek, embarrassed to look weak. “You don’t have to do this,” I said. “I can go to my grandmother’s on my own.”
Anger filled Liam’s eyes. “Don’t you even consider it.”
“You heard my mother. This is treason. I can’t ask this of you.”
“And you haven’t,” he protested. “Your mother has.”
“That’s right—my mother. Not the king. It’s still treason.”
Determination filled his eyes. “I would guard you, orders or not. I vowed to protect you, Elena. It is my life’s purpose until I die.”
“I can’t ask you to ruin your careers for me. To die for me.”
Liam turned to his men. “The queen and the princess are right. This is treason. You’ve all sworn vows to protect the princess, but this is an extraordinary circumstance. If you chose to remain behind, it will not be held against you.”
Dax took a step forward, his hand on his sword. “I would sooner die than see her marry that monster.”
I put my hand on my chest as my anxiety ratcheted. I couldn’t bear the thought of any of them dying, let alone for me. “Dax . . .”
“We were already preparing a plan to keep you safe, Princess,” Tobias said.
I blinked. “What?”
“Tobias,” Liam barked. “Enough. It’s a wonder you’re a guardsman. The position of fishmonger’s wife seems more suitable.” Liam turned to Finn and Matthew.
Finn’s brow lifted as though the inquiry was ridiculous. “She needs me. I go.”
All the men turned to Matthew.
Matthew wore his usual stoic expression, but now it seemed more solemn than usual. “They will hang us if we are caught.”
“They’ll have to catch us alive,” Dax said with a boyish grin. “Otherwise, what will we care if we hang?”
My stomach dropped. How could he joke about this?
“Dax is
right,” Tobias said, but with less merriment. His words seemed full of conviction. “They’ll have to catch us first.”
“We’re the best of the best,” Finn said, giving me a reassuring look. “There will be no catching us.”
“But it’s still treason. It is not to be taken lightly.” I took a step forward. “Matthew, you don’t have to do this.”
His nearly black eyes turned to me. He was the largest of my men, well over a foot taller than me. He looked like a rock, an immovable mountain. Between his size and his demon-like eyes, he was intimidating to anyone he met. His mere presence had always made me feel safe, and that was before he even drew a sword.
Yet I realized as I stood before these men now, that I had never truly been in real danger before. Their service had been perfunctory. This was the first time they would be called to protect me from a real threat, and to do so was treason.
“I cannot ask any of you to do this,” I said, shaking my head. “I will release you all.” All it would take was to use the unbinding words, though the ceremonies for binding and unbinding guards had always been for show. I lifted my hand. “By the gods of Alba, I—”
Liam was before me in a flash. One arm snaked around my back and pulled me to his firm chest, while his other hand covered my mouth.
“Stop. You cannot unbind us so flippantly. Do we mean nothing?” he spat out in disgust.
Anger filled his eyes and his touch was not gentle, yet something deep inside me yearned for him anyway. I molded my body to his, which only made him tense more. His fingers were over my slightly parted lips, and all it would take was a flick of my tongue to taste him. But the feeling was obviously not mutual. His face looked pained.
“You need us,” Dax insisted, oblivious to my inner struggle.
Finn placed his hand on his sword hilt. “Even if you release us from our vow, we will still follow you.”
“We took this vow for life,” Tobias said. “It doesn’t matter who means to harm you, only that you’re in harm’s way. We will protect you, Princess. Vow or no vow.”
Remaining in Liam’s embrace was wreaking havoc on my self-control—not to mention my dignity, since he was obviously disgusted with my reaction. What was wrong with me? Whatever happened in the temple hadn’t eased; if anything, it was stronger than before. How was I going to go on a journey with my five guards when I couldn’t trust my reactions to them?
Heiress of Light: Magic Reborn (Reverse Harem) Page 4