A Flash In The Densest Shadow: From Forest To Flames #2

by K. Lyn Hill

  The sound of the door opening distracted the person holding her hand.

  A deep voice resonated in the silence. “I need to dress her wound, Your Highness. You should let her get some rest.” She had felt the blood dripping down her side earlier and knew she pushed herself too far, but she had needed to calm down the villagers. It was now her duty.

  The lips that had been at her fingers shifted to press against her forehead. She lifted her head slightly, leaning in to apply more pressure. The loss of contact had her leaning back down as a hand caressed the side of her face.

  “I’ll be back later.” His voice was most certainly not Siel’s. Her illusion shattered and yet the sweet touches and kisses Damien bestowed upon her slowly repaired a broken part of her soul. His hand tightened one last time as if he was afraid to let her go and then his fingers slowly grazed over hers in release.

  As soon as she heard the door close, another deep voice sounded from her side. “Alone we are at last, Princess imposter.” Before she could react to the malice in his tone, she felt a cloth cover her mouth and every one of her senses drained away and dulled.

  ∞∞∞

  The clinking of heels on the coated cement floor shifted something in her mind. Something that woke up from its deep, dark, sleep. Everything came rushing back to her as she slightly cracked open her eyes. Each and every inch of her body ached as her mind swarmed with flesh eating piranhas that nipped at the only senses she had left. Her face scraped against a scratchy surface as she attempted to lift her pounding head. As she reached out to hold herself steady, her hand landed on something cold and unyielding. Everything in her view was dark and dingy. The blinking of her eyes did nothing to illuminate the darkness. The smell of decay, blood and death plus the feel beneath her hands were the only clues as to where she was.

  The dungeon.

  The wound in her side screamed as she tried to lift her body off the solid surface. Her gaze caught on something by the iron bars and her body skidded to a halt.

  Directly through the bars was the perfect image of herself, like a mirror had been placed in front of her.

  “Who are you?” Aerity croaked out. The misuse of her voice didn’t exactly help. She asked the question even though she knew perfectly well what the answer to it was.

  An evil chuckle rose from the other side of the barricade as a sensuous voice poured through. “Why, I’m you. Can’t you tell?” Taking a step closer in the limited light, she starred at the picture image of herself.

  “Well I didn’t expect to have the pleasure of meeting you but it’s nice to confirm that I’m the prettier one.” Sarcasm was a safety net and Aerity was hanging onto it for dear life.

  Her twins face darkened with her comment. “I’ve heard of your mouth. You’ve created quite the stir pretending to be me.” Her face was the perfect depiction of calm and serene, as if she wasn’t standing in a pile of someone else’s urine under her fancy shoes.

  “I can assure you, I didn’t choose to come here.” Aerity spat

  back.

  “Your right.” A smile played on her blood red lips. “I did.” Confusion hit her like a tsunami. Aerity wanted her to keep talking. To explain what had happened to her. She didn’t disappoint.

  “I was told by my parents, that I was to marry the prince of Ceranthium. You would think I would be happy about it, but I wasn’t. Not by a long shot. I didn’t want to be married to him. His body marred with scars from his brutality. Not to mention he’s a complete emotional carriage wreck. I heard them call him a beast, savage and cruel. A spitting image of his father. Did you know that when the king’s wife died, he slaughtered the entire staff assigned to her care? What girl would ever want to marry into that dysfunctional family?”

  Aerity’s heart began skipping faster in her chest. She knew Siel and his father had their differences but was the king as cruel as the princess said? Was that why Damian turned out the way he did?

  “So, I ran.” The princess added. The haughty air sizzled around her, making Aerity feel dirtier than she had before. How she managed that in a disgusting cell was beyond her comprehension. “I ran and ran, until I hit a little cottage in the middle of the forest. An enchanting woman emerged, and I couldn’t help but be mesmerized. A beautiful woman in the middle of the kingdom? The supposed sanctioned off woods. It sounded so much like an enchantment that I thought this had to be a fairy tale. My happily ever after. Perhaps a fairy godmother?” The Princess scoffed. Aerity’s heart stopped. The woman in the woods is real.

  “Well, this dazzling woman was distracted by the ravaged girl dashing outside of her house and wondered what all the fuss was about.” The princess pierced her with a sharp but thoughtful look. “She stared at my disheveled appearance and wondered what had happened because clearly, a royal in rags? Preposterous, right? So I told her...about how I ran, I was to marry and you know what she asked me?”

  The clinking heels got closer, almost close enough to touch. Not that Aerity could fight against the pain in her side anyway. This capturer was much more thorough than Elias had been when she first got to this world. This time they waited until she was injured and couldn’t fight back. “What would I be willing to do to avoid marrying Damien?” She paused on her story for dramatic effect. “So of course, I told her I would be willing to do anything if it helped me avoid being married to that monster.” Aerity had called him a beast too but she also had been willing to sacrifice for others and marry him regardless of the inconvenience.

  The princess was the real monster, running away from her responsibility.

  Defensiveness drowned her, surprising her at the same time. Damian may have been a brute and a fool but he also had moments of kindness and softness. They were few and far between, but they were there. As much as she considered him a beast, she knew he wasn’t wicked to the core. Not like the person staring at her on the other side of her jail cell.

  The person who looked exactly like her.

  The idea of Damien being harmed in any way made her want to spit at the princess through the bars. If she so much as touched a hair on Damien’s head, Aerity would skin her alive. He wasn’t her favorite person, but she knew Siel cared about him and whoever Siel loved she would defend with all she had in her.

  The princess seemed unaware of the murder in her heart because she kept talking. “So, I did exactly what she said and now we are here. It was all surprisingly easy. I had originally planned on returning in time for the wedding but then I found the woman in the woods and she told me about you. It was the perfect solution. Switch places with you and I would be free.”

  Aerity wanted to ask who the woman really was but there were more important questions at hand. “So then why am I in a jail cell?” She growled. “Damien and I still would have gotten married if you had never come back. Why come back now?”

  The princess’s jaw visible clenched. “Yes, well apparently there were other plans made for me that she forgot to mention in our first meeting. She tends to leave a few details out when she recruits people for her dirty work.” There was something in her voice that Aerity couldn’t place her finger on. It was a mix between bitterness and helplessness. But she had to be reading that all wrong. The princess looked anything but helpless. “I will tell you one thing though, that woman does not leave one rock unturned. Everything she had planned came about just the way she had wanted it to.”

  “And what is that?” Aerity found herself asking.

  The princess found her eyes and smirked. “Did you know that the man who attacked you at the wedding was really aiming for Damien? Not that Damien would ever let you know it but the man confessed. He was ready to murder the crown prince so that you and Siel could have your happily ever after. The forbidden love of the century.”

  What? So they caught the man? How could Damien not have told her that? Because he never tells you anything. God, she was such an idiot. What a fool she was to think all would change simply because she jumped in front of his attacker. Not that
she had been trying to prove anything but still, was it ever going to be enough?

  “Where is he now?”

  “Oh, he was killed. Couldn’t have them visiting the dungeon to interrogate him since we had plans of throwing you in here. He was a necessary sacrifice.”

  “A sacrifice?” Aerity growled. The princess simply viewed people as objects that could be used and tossed away. She felt her upper lip curl.

  The princess ignored her, cooing. Then she scowled. “I guess it worked out anyway though because now your too injured to fight back but personally, I think it’s all rather vomit worthy, but it does make a good story. Too bad it was entirely predictable.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Well, just think about it. Damien is the hardened ruler that already has a reputation for cruelty. Add that to the fact he thought his bride ran away from him on his wedding day, leaving him with bruised pride and a battered ego. His brother is the court whore who simply can’t help himself and voila! Damien becomes the beast keeping the beautiful princess from her happiness.”

  “There is no way everything that happened was planned. That’s not possible.”

  The princess snorted, her voice hardening. “You would be very surprised what kind of things are possible that we never thought could be.” Aerity thought she caught a sliver of fear flash through her eyes but again, it must have just been a glare of something else.

  “Okay so hypothetically speaking, if our actions were predicted, what was the purpose of it all? Considering where we are now, why switch us?”

  The princess released a puff of laughter filled with distain. “Apparently, I’m not great at winning the people’s hearts but you certainly are. And you were the perfect catalyst for what we wanted the most.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Anarchy, chaos, mayhem. Whichever word you like the best.”

  Now Aerity was even more confused. Obviously, the rumors that the woman in the woods had a way into her world were true and it appeared as though it was this woman who brought her here. But all so that Aerity could turn the people against Damien? That not only seemed ridiculous but like a complete waste of time. There had to be more of it. A piece that was missing. Did she plan on trying to overthrow the kingdom? Get rid of the current rulership by turning everyone against them? But what about the king? Or Siel? Would she go after them? Hurt them?

  Despite all the questions swarming in her head, there was something else that she bothered her. “So now your back. Mission accomplished. Why not send me back to my world?” Again, why am I in a cell? Aerity thought to herself. She would never leave the people in the kingdom to whatever wicked scheme was afoot, but she was still curious at her present predicament.

  The princess raised an eyebrow and stepped closer. “One doesn’t simply release her mouse once she has played with it. She claws, spikes, and drains it until there is nothing left but a carcass of what was once there and then she chews it up and spits it out. You are just her ‘mouse’.” Aerity watched emptily as her twin’s chest moved up and down in anger. Her last few words were thrown between fingers in air quotes in tune with her panting. Aerity wanted to give her a stress ball so she could calm down. That thought seemed quite ill placed at the moment though. She had no idea why the princess would be so angry. It wasn’t her in the cell.

  Then her words clicked. What a lovely description.

  Almost instantly the princess’s voice calmed to a scary degree making the hair on Aerity’s arms raise. She changed her mind. Calm on the princess was not a good look. In fact, it was one that she hoped to avoid at all future meetings.

  “You served your purpose, but we aren’t done with you yet.”

  A pounding erupted in her head. She couldn’t concentrate on all the metaphors. So, she simply amused herself with the image of the princess trapped in a cage like the beast she was and Aerity almost smiled. Then a pang of pain struck her side again and she remembered the grand predicament she was in.

  “The king is apparently on his way back from negotiations with my father. He will be pleased that I caught the witch that kidnapped me and impersonated me before my wedding. If you thought Damien was cruel, you haven’t seen anything yet. The king will have you immediately executed. Can’t have your witchcraft devil’s work in our kingdom, now can we? And I’m sure he will have no problem keeping your death a secret from Siel and Damien. After all, he knows all about the trouble a twin can cause from another world.”

  Aerity’s beating heart started to ricochet through her chest. Hatred blurred behind her throat, nails digging against the dirt beneath her as her mirror image casually examined the jail cell. The princess was going to lie, have her put to death after it was her idea to drag her here in the first place. And what did she mean by the king knowing about her world?

  “No one will know I was switched back except for maybe Siel because let’s face it, I can’t play the whore as well as you, but I have ways of convincing him to go along with it.” She tugged the dress down her shoulder suggestively and Aerity’s stomach flipped. Siel would never do that to her. Never. But they did look alike. A voice in her head taunted. No. Siel knew her better that that.

  “So, you’ll marry Damien and ride off into the sunset together? Monster and beast, hand in hand?” Aerity quirked but she couldn’t hide her shaky voice.

  The princess just laughed humorlessly. It sounded so weird coming from a voice so much like hers and yet nothing like it. Hers had never been that dark and menacing before. “Oh no. Then it will be time for phase two.”

  “And that is?”

  “Anarchy, chaos and mayhem, of course.” She began to stand but then stopped, bouncing on the ball of her foot. “Nothing will get done right unless us girls do it ourselves, am I right?” Without waiting for a response, she sighed. “Do enjoy the last few days you have alive. I’ll make sure to keep your boys well preoccupied.”

  Everything in Aerity’s body shook with unbridled rage and her shaky voice promised death. “If you lay one finger on them, I swear to God I will hunt you down and rip you apart piece by bloody piece, even if I have to bleed to death in the process.”

  Cocking her head to the side, the princess gracefully stood up and grinned. “Kind of hard to do that doll when your all locked up. What tangled webs we weave. One I would be happy to help you unravel. What do you think, love? Which one should be the first royal to fall? I must know, do you prefer the gift of a head or fingers as mementos? Personally, I’m one for the toes but not everyone has specific tastes like me.”

  Cold enveloped her limbs, filling her body with ice. Did the princess plan on murdering the whole royal family? “They will know that you aren’t me. They will see right through you and Damien will slaughter you before you even get close.” She forced her voice to sound strong even though so much doubt was swirling around her head. Damien was an avid fighter, but would they know it wasn’t her? Siel would pick it up but Damien? Would he be smart enough not to grasp any attention the Princess threw at him? Would his stubbornness get him killed? She couldn’t bear the thought of either brother stuck in this woman’s claws.

  “So what? You’re going to murder them all? That will be a little suspicious don’t you think?” She was absolutely out of her freaking mind. Was that how they would cause chaos and mayhem?

  Aerity couldn’t let the princess hurt them. Over her dead body.

  “I can’t ruin all the surprises right away. Patience. All will reveal itself in due time. But don’t worry Darling, I’ll treat them so nicely, they won’t even miss you. I might as well have some fun with it while they think I’m you, don’t you think? Maybe sleep with them both and pin them against each other some more. Or perhaps I should just pick some other random man in the castle and watch them all tear each other to pieces without me even needing to lift a finger. The possibilities are endless. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a pretend wedding to plan and a monarchy to destroy.” Two of the guards that Aerity had s
een at the gate but didn’t recognize at the time, came to stand on either side of the Princess. Now it all made sense. They had been infiltrating the castle this whole time. But who was letting them in? Elias? Or was there another traitor in the castle? No one could be trusted.

  Aerity had no idea what the Princess was planning. The only thing she knew was that she had to get out of there and warn them. Quickly. But that didn’t seem likely the minute the princess opened her mouth to speak again. “Give her something to help her rest. We wouldn’t want her dying from infection before the true show begins, now would we?” Both guards gave wicked smiles and nodded like cats who just caught canaries. The door swung open as beefy hands grabbed hold of her weak arms. She felt a slight pinch in her shoulder as her mind grew hazy. The last sound she heard before everything went black was of heel clicks fading away into the darkness.

  Chapter Seven

  Damien

  He became suspicious far sooner than he let on. The moment he returned to her bed the next day and found there wasn’t the same healer as the night before by her side, he paused. “Where is the healer who was here a few days ago?” He asked the new man who conveniently had his back turned to face him.

  “He had a family emergency to attend to. I’ll be taking care of her from now on.” His voice was hard and gruff. The same as someone who smoked tobacco on a regular basis. A healer, smoking? It wasn’t unheard of. Just a little odd for someone in the employ of the King. Not to mention the fact that he had mentioned a family emergency. The King allowed his employees time once a year to visit their families. He couldn’t recall the regular healer ever leaving. In fact, Damien distinctly remembered him being around at the holiday time last year because Siel had broken his arm from being thrown from his horse. The healer had been immediately located.