by Laura Kenyon
Gray did a double-take and asked what in the world she was talking about, but everyone else instantly drowned him out.
“Carter’s giving us the throne?” Penny repeated, shaking from either disbelief or distress. She raced toward the door, followed by Dr. Frolick. “Sorry guys, I have to go. I’m going to be Queen. Fuck!”
She disappeared as Rapunzel took the newspaper and stared at the front page. Everything Ruby said was true. And with Cinderella gone, it was even worse. Suddenly, Angus was in charge of two kingdoms, Tantalise was next in his sights, and who knew what was going to happen with Riverfell’s game of Pass the Crown.
She brought the paper over to Belle and slumped back into her chair. “How can he do this?” she asked. “How can Angus just declare himself ruler of Braddax? At the very least, Belle would take Donner’s place. Wouldn’t she?”
Ethan squeezed her shoulder. “She’s not royal blood. Next in line would be his child, but—”
“But no one knows he’s here,” Belle interrupted. Her eyes were wide and jumpy, indicating that her thoughts were on overload. “Right?”
Rapunzel shook her head. No one knew. Because of Donner’s arrest—and the fact that the birth was almost medically impossible—they’d all agreed to keep it secret until Belle told them what to do.
“Okay, good,” the new mother said, drawing the baby tight against her chest. He instantly stopped crying. “I want to keep it that way.”
Rapunzel slipped a little on her elbow. “What do you mean? Angus only has claim to the throne because he thinks there’s no living heir. If he finds out there is, he—”
“He might come after him,” Ruby said, drawing a curtain of instant silence.
Belle sighed and nuzzled into the infant, who let out a quivery whimper of relief.
Rapunzel took in the tender scene for a moment. Then she looked straight at Ruby and burst out laughing. “Come after him? Angus? And do what? Change his diaper? Come on. Don’t tell me you think Angus is even capable of hurting a baby! He’s a bony old twit. He’s had a taste of the good life with Cindy gone and now he wants more, that’s all. He’s like a fat little kid at a candy buffet. He’s harmless. Ruby, can’t you just give him a lecture or something?”
Ruby shook her head. “I don’t think so. And he’s far from harmless. He’s smart. I don’t know how, exactly, but I think he’s been planning this for years.”
“No way.” Rapunzel grabbed her phone. “We just need to tell Cindy to put a leash on her throne-sitter, that’s all. She’ll straighten him out.”
No one protested as she dialed Grace and rushed through a quick update on Belle. “But that’s not why I’m calling,” she said. “It’s about Cindy. I—”
“Oh, thank goodness!” Grace’s voice was borderline shriekish. “You’ve heard from Cindy?”
“Well, no. That’s the problem. I haven’t heard from her in weeks, but I really need to talk to her right now. It’s an emergency. Would you mind giving me the number for her hotel?”
The line went silent.
Rapunzel sighed. “Look, I know she might be annoyed with me right now but this really is an emergency. And I know you’ve talked to her so—”
“Who told you that?” Grace’s voice fell to a whisper. “Rapunzel, you can’t tell anyone about this, but … we don’t know where they are.”
Rapunzel felt her stomach curdle. “What do you mean?”
“We thought it best not to panic the public, but we haven’t heard from them in weeks. Angus has every foreign leader in Ellada and all his best men working on it, so they’ve got to turn up soon.”
Rapunzel slumped back into her chair as Grace continued talking, making it more and more likely that Ruby was right. But even if Angus had somehow managed to hijack her friends on their vacation, she couldn’t believe he’d hurt them. Then again, she was wrong not two seconds earlier.
“Ethan,” she said, tugging her boyfriend down to her level. “Please tell me you have connections in Ellada. Is there a private investigator union or something? Do you think you can find Cin and Aaron?” Her voice cracked. Saying their names made the gravity of the situation real. “We need to make sure they’re safe.”
Ethan nodded and said he’d put the word out right away.
Then Snow turned the conversation back to Belle’s son. “How are we going to keep him a secret?” she asked.
A few ideas trickled through Rapunzel’s mind, but they were all awful. They could tell the world Belle had died, in which case she and the baby could go into hiding together. But that was quite extreme. They could say Belle had a miscarriage. But then what would they do with the baby? Belle could pretend to still be pregnant,. But again, how could they explain her random, visually five-month-old houseguest?
Rapunzel’s eyes watered as she watched Belle hug her son with both arms and close her eyes. She took a deep breath, shook her head, and then looked at Snow.
“Will you—” She paused to swallow back her tears. “Snow, will you take care of him for me? Until things are safe again?”
Snow stared back in disbelief, but it did make sense. She already had the nursery—and the back story. The world already knew she was in the market to adopt; they’d just assume she’d caught a break somewhere.
“If that’s what you think is best,” she said, placing her hand on Belle’s shoulder, “of course. But are you sure you don’t want him to be somewhere closer? Tantalise is so far from Braddax, and—”
“Not if you use your ring,” Rapunzel piped up, suddenly feeling a spark of hope amid the most depressing exchange she’d ever seen. She hadn’t mentioned it in months, but Belle’s wedding ring—a hideous chunk of metal with a red diamond in the center—was enchanted to create a magical doorway between its wearer and Donner’s own ring. In the past, that had meant Braddax Castle. But they now knew more than two existed. Donner had been giving them out like “magical booty call rings,” as Rapunzel put it, which could work to Belle’s advantage now.
“Please tell me you didn’t get rid of yours—or the one Ethan found for you,” Rapunzel said, still concealing the truth about the latter’s discovery in Kimberly Epson’s house. “Would they connect?”
Belle’s expression went from devastation to joy in a matter of seconds. “I don’t see why they wouldn’t,” she said. “And yes, I still have both. At the inn. They … they wouldn’t have melted in the fire, would they?”
Seeing an opportunity to reclaim the spotlight, Ruby declared that only magic could destroy magical charms. So, no. The rings should be intact—albeit hidden beneath mounds of rubble—and would create an undetectable passageway from one to the other.
“Terrific,” Rapunzel said, feeling like a genius, and a savior, and the greatest friend in the whole world. “So all we need to do now is find out exactly what Angus is up to and expose him. That shouldn’t be too hard. He’s not a pureblood or anything.”
“No, he’s not a pureblood,” Ruby repeated. The tone of her voice was not the least bit uplifting. “But he’s a damn slick politician and that can be just as bad. He’s smart and cunning and has access to every magical charm that’s been confiscated under his laws. I’d bet my life that he’s directly behind Donner’s curse returning—and my powers being taken away. And if he’s wielding charms to do this, there’s only one way to stop him.”
Dawn flinched as Ruby looked at her and asked if she knew where to find Elmina Goodman, the reclusive fairy who softened her curse all those years ago.
“Elmina?” Dawn pushed both eyebrows together. “Why?”
Ruby sighed and gripped the edge of Snow’s chair. “Because we need three pureblood fairies. A triad. It’s the only way to get enough power to counteract a charm.”
“Well, I haven’t talked to Elmina in years.” Dawn gazed out the window and then nodded assuredly. “But yes, I think I could find her.”
“Good. If she’s one, and Donner’s mother is two…” Ruby trailed off. “Well, since my powers ar
e gone we just need to find one more.”
Rapunzel couldn’t believe her ears. Was that really their only hope?
“Are you kidding?” she said. “We just need to find one? A pureblood fairy?” She let out a pop of laughter and shook her head. “Up until last night, the world only thought there were two in existence—your royal diva-ship and an eighteenth century hermit! It would be easier for you to just go and ask Angus for your powers back, Ruby! I mean, what do you suggest? An ad in the Mirror? A billboard? Attention world: We need to find a fourth pureblood because our elderly Prime Minister might really be a criminal mastermind in disguise! How the heck do you suppose we do that?”
At this, Ethan unhooked his arms from around Rapunzel and stood up.
“I know where to find one,” he said, his face filled with both shame and purpose. “Her name’s Grethel. And she’ll help if Rapunzel asks her to.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
DAWN
The sun was still rising when Dawn left the hospital, her head reeling from all that had happened.
Hunter would want to know why she didn’t wake him when she left. Or, if he was awake, why the guard had found her wandering through the woods.
But she would say he fell asleep immediately after dinner … that she’d tried to convince him to stay up but he was just too groggy … and that she’d gone for a walk because it was better than watching infomercials alone. He might be skeptical for a moment, but how could anyone focus on something so petty when the entire realm was in peril?
She’d have to break it to him slowly: Donner’s arrest and curse; the fire at the Phoenix; the Charmés’ possible kidnapping; Belle’s premature, sixteen-pound baby; Angus Kane’s claim on the Braddax throne and Ruby’s suspicion that he was trying to take over the world. And that wasn’t even everything.
He’d need time to process all of it. And she’d need him to help her cope.
For the first time in years, Dawn was actually hoping he’d be awake when she walked in. She wanted to bowl him over with news. She wanted to hug him, sink into him, and kiss him all over rather than just lie there and wait for him to be done.
“Babe?” she whispered, nudging the bedroom door. The light was dim, but on. This was promising.
When his answer came, however, it was anything but friendly. And when her eyes focused on the room, the hairs on her arm stood on end.
The bed was still made. The dressers were tidy. There were no signs of struggle or danger. But smack in the center of the rug, Hunter sat on the floor with his head bowed over a little green box. Her keepsake box.
No. The little voice kept repeating inside her head, but she’d suddenly forgotten how to speak. No, not now. Why now?
When Hunter finally broke the silence, his voice was a ghost of itself. “I was going to bring some clothes to the hospital,” he said, focused on the box and the crystal flower lying by its side. “This was in your drawer.”
Dawn tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry as old leather. “Hunter, I can explain.”
“I already know.”
The words cut her off at the knees.
“I’ve known for a while. But I blamed myself.”
Dawn knew she didn’t have the right to speak, but her mouth opened anyway. Then he shot her a look so scathing her lips clamped shut on their own.
“I thought there was still time to get you back. To explain what I’d been trying to do.”
“And you did!” Dawn was trying to sound hopeful, but her voice was tearing itself to shreds. “I know what you said about Selladóre was true. I went there yesterday. I had no idea how—”
“But this wasn’t just some random man you came across at a vulnerable time, was it? This was your first love.”
Dawn watched Hunter’s face as it reacted to the words he’d just spoken. His nostrils flared, his pupils dilated, and just when it seemed his teeth would flatten within his jaw from the pressure, he knocked the box away.
Love notes and crystal petals and polished rocks scattered across the floor. The turquoise pendant landed at her feet. When she looked up again, Hunter was on his knees, actually trying to undo his outburst by piecing her secrets back together. Her heartbreaking, traitorous secrets.
She could hardly reconcile this man with the person she’d watched take over the world for the past decade. Now, he was just a boy with a billion dollar portfolio, trying to figure out why the girl he loved never seemed to love him back. She had an overwhelming urge to take him into her arms and explain everything away.
“I made a mistake,” she blathered, rushing forward until he warned her back. “I went to end it tonight. I love you, Hunter. I love what we have. I love our family. I—”
“Our family?” He shook his head. His face was shiny, ruddy, and wet from the tears. “Dawn, how do I even know Morning and Day are mine?”
She froze, mortified.
“We had them—what?—ten months after your curse broke? How do I know they weren’t already forming before you fell asleep?”
The world was slipping out from under her. She took an unsteady seat at the edge of the bed. He had every right to question, but … how could she be so stupid?
“Do you know why I made that deal with Perdemi-Divan?” Dawn shook her head. “Because after a decade of failing you—of failing to get your home back for you—Angus finally came up with a deal that would make him give it up.”
“Angus?” She tried to swallow the panic. “Angus is involved in this?”
“Of course he’s involved in it. He has full authority over Selladóre. He called me that night—” Hunter paused and bore down on the words—“the night he was here. He wasn’t going to just give the island to me. He wanted a two percent stake in each company … so long as we merged.”
Dawn’s palm stuck to the skin stretching across her collarbone. She didn’t need to calculate, but she did anyway. Together, Davin and Angus had a controlling share. “So you won’t actually own Selladóre? The company will?”
“Yes. And I own the company. Or forty-eight percent of it. I thought that was a no-brainer. Because it was for you. Even though it kills me to split everything I built with the bastard who tried to steal my wife … I thought it was worth it to make you happy.”
“But the deal isn’t official yet, right?”
Hunter sucked on the inside of his cheeks. She sounded like a fickle, ungrateful child. And what kind of woman talked business at a time like this?
“Angus brought the contract half an hour ago. He spent all night convincing Parliament to give up Selladóre, but they eventually caved. Judging from the morning paper, that’s not all he was doing, but I can’t even think about that now. The deal will be announced this afternoon.”
This was all her fault. Angus hadn’t overlooked Regian at all. Suddenly, Dawn wished she was the type of woman to faint in moments of catastrophe. She would have plunged into the darkness and never come back again.
“Hunter, please listen to me.” She slid off the bed and crawled in his direction. The pain in his eyes told her to stop before she came too close. “I was wrong. Everything I thought I knew was wrong. I never knew you tried to save Selladóre. I blamed you for its destruction, and for my parents, and for your mother. I made everything that came before you look perfect even though it never really was. And I realize that now. It’s like I saw you for the first time when you opened up on the balcony. Please don’t leave me now.”
Her voice faded out. She didn’t have any more words.
“You had eleven years to see me, Dawn. I’m sorry everything wasn’t a fairy tale to begin with, but I’ve been here. Maybe I didn’t tell you everything I was doing, and that was my mistake. But if you’d ever looked past your bitterness, you might have figured it out.”
He was right. Davin had said the same thing just hours ago. She’d been a spoiled princess, all wrapped up in herself. She’d been obsessed with the loss of some rose-tinted childhood fantasy. She’d made a villain out of h
er greatest advocate over all these years. Davin abandoned her for a decade, but Hunter had been here every day, taking all of her abuse, trying to get her to love him.
“I’m going for a walk,” he said. “You’re always raving about how therapeutic they are, so it’s worth a shot.”
“Will you be back?”
His frown spoke a million words. “I’m not going to leave you, Dawn. I’m not going to disgrace you or punish you or tell a single person about what you did. But you’ve hurt me … in a way I never thought possible. I want to forgive you, but I’m going to need time.”
“How much time?”
He shook his head. His perfect blond mane was an unkempt mess. “I don’t know. Everything I believed in has come crashing down and I’m not sure what to make of it. Just, be patient with me. Please?”
Was he seriously asking her? After everything she did?
A month ago, all she wanted was for him to disappear. But now, Dawn realized, she would sprint along a cliff if he told her it would help. Now, his absence would be consuming.
“Take however long you need,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
* * *
After he left, Dawn wandered around the castle for hours.
She scrubbed the bathrooms until her nose went numb from the bleach.
She checked on Day and Morning twice before remembering—each time anew—that she’d shipped them away so she could try to erase her betrayal.
She pieced together her keepsake box and tossed everything from Davin in the trash.
She stared, zombie-like, through three episodes of a show about ancient prophecies and the eventual end of the world.
Then she found the seven boxes of leftover pills and thought, if there was ever a time to get a nice, long sleep, it was now.