I steal a glance at Leonora. She looks like she may pass out. Her mouth is working, but no words come out. The sight of the arrow at my chest is too much for her—and understandably so.
The arrow at my chest is almost too much for me.
It’s Marigold who finally squeaks. Her eyes are wide and focused on something behind me. Before I can turn to see what it is, there’s a cloth over my nose and mouth. The smell reminds me of musty caves and dark tunnels. The world spins in front of my eyes, and little black dots blur my vision and pull me to unconsciousness.
Somewhere distant I hear Leonora scream.
***
It’s evening. There are birds in the trees, and they are singing the last of their daylight songs. Crickets hum from the flower gardens. I’m surrounded by people, and when I look up, I see Archer. I try to push my way to him, but the throng of people is too thick. He’s waiting for something, and when he sees it, his eyes light up.
I strain against the crowd and stand on my tiptoes to see over their heads. It’s useless. I can’t make out anything.
My parents are behind Archer, both of them beaming at him. He smiles, and it’s a radiant thing that takes my breath away. I can now just make out what he’s looking at. Coming alongside the crowd is a woman dressed in pale green. Her gown is flowing and gauzy, and she looks resplendent. Her hair is red, like mine, and tipped in gold…like mine. She turns toward the crowd, smiling.
It’s me.
I blink furiously. What’s going on?
The girl who looks like me, but can’t be me, joins Archer, and he clasps her hands. A man in white and gold joins them, and he says words I barely hear or understand. The crowd roars, and then Archer kisses the girl.
“No!” I scream. Over and over I yell it, but no one hears me.
Then, before my eyes, the girl who looks like me changes. It’s not me—it’s Marigold.
He kisses her again, pulling her close. “I love you, Marigold.”
Those words I hear.
My world fades, and I grab for something to keep my balance. I flail, and a man finally notices me. He reaches out, but his hand passes through mine, and I fall.
I startle awake. It’s now dark.
The wedding is over.
Rough hands pull me from the courtyard floor, shaking me into consciousness.
“Pippa! What is wrong with you?” Lionel demands. His face is red with anger, and he looks terrifying.
“What’s going on?” I blink to clear my eyes and mind.
“You are my wife.” His face scrunches with fury. “You will behave!”
There’s no one around. I shrink from him, but he pulls me back, his hand clenched hard on my arm.
“You haven’t won the tournament,” I protest. “We’re not married!”
He holds his hand like he’s going to hit me, but he pulls back when he hears a scream from the palace.
“The baby!” Leonora shrieks. “They’ve drugged me and killed the baby!”
She falls on the courtyard in front of us. Her clothes are rags, her eyes are vacant, and her face is sickly pale.
I scream, and I keep on screaming.
***
“Pippa, wake up,” Leonora’s soft voice says. “Please wake up.”
My eyes snap open, and I hear the echo of an earsplitting shriek. It’s mine.
I grab Leonora’s face and examine her. In the dim, almost nonexistent light, she looks fine. My heart is racing, and I’m shaking. I’m clammy like I’ve been sweating, and I’m almost certain I’m going to be sick.
“Lay back down,” she says. “The nausea will pass in a moment.”
I can’t remember where I am or why I’m here. I feel like I’ve swallowed sand. “Where are we?”
“A cave somewhere. They took us through the woods, and I lost my landmarks.”
Who are they?
Then it trickles back, first images and then the entire memory.
“They drugged me!” The nausea has indeed passed, and now all I feel is rage.
“Shhh.” Leonora leans forward, motioning in the dark. “They drank themselves into a stupor, but I think one may still be awake.”
I doubt that, considering I was just screaming for all I’m worth, and no one seems disturbed. “Where’s Marigold?”
I find her on the other side of Leonora. She whimpers softly, and she thrashes madly in her sleep. Leonora checks her brow. “She’s quieter in her hallucinations than you.”
I look around.
We’re in a cave. Wind rustles through leaves not far from us, so we must be near the mouth. I can make out sleeping figures across the cavern. I think the exit is just past them. Do we dare sneak over them? I’m not sure how to take out a full grown man without a weapon. Should we make our way through the tunnels and see if we can find an exit?
It’s dangerous to wander unknown caves. Not only are there wild animals, but there are also toxic gasses and underground rivers.
Sweat still clings to my skin, and I shiver. My head throbs. I rub my temples. “What did they do to me?”
“The cloth was covered with maid-of-the-shadows dust,” Leonora says.
A growl escapes me. “We’re lucky it didn’t kill us.”
Leonora glances at Marigold, and she looks worried. Bits and pieces of my hallucination are coming back to me. I look at Leonora sharply.
“Are you with child?” I ask, and as I say it, I know it’s true.
With those words, her composure crumbles. She gasps and begins to rock back and forth, tears streaming from her eyes. “Percival told me not to go.”
I grasp her by the shoulder, and she turns into me. She shakes in my arms, and her tears soak my dress.
“Leonora, did they drug you?” I remember that part of my hallucination well.
She shakes her head. “I begged them not to. I swore I would be good.”
I’m so relieved. Tears finally spill down my cheeks, and for several moments I allow myself to cry with her.
Then I’m done. Because we’re leaving.
“They only drugged Marigold because she became hysterical when we reached the cave.” Leonora is gaining control of her tears now. She breathes deep to slow her sobs. I’ve never given her enough credit. She’s strong.
“We must wake her up,” I say, looking at Marigold.
“I don’t know how. I tried everything with you. Nothing worked.”
I shake her, I poke her, I try to pull her to her feet—Leonora’s right. Nothing works. All we can do is sit and watch her whimper. I catch stray words here and there. She cries for her brothers and her sisters and her parents. She occasionally screams at dragons, but most often she just sobs.
It’s awful.
Hours later, she finally stills.
“Marigold,” Leonora says, her voice gentle. “Marigold.” She gives her a light shake.
Marigold’s eyes fly open, and she shrieks. Both Leonora and I cover our ears, cringing away from the sound. Marigold gasps when the scream ebbs. Then she’s sick. The poor girl retches while she sobs, and Leonora holds her hair back.
I listen for footsteps, but I hear nothing. It must have been good, whatever kind of alcohol the bandits stole.
“We’re going now,” I whisper as soon as Marigold has finished. There can’t be anything left in her stomach. I pull her up, and she stumbles with me. We’re going to walk right over them and be gone.
I hear a cough and then a mumbled curse toward the mouth of the cave.
Maybe not.
I turn around, dragging Marigold with me. She’s heavier than she looks.
“Where are you going?” Leonora whispers.
In the last few hours, I’ve had time to study this cavern. I glance around the rock walls one last time. “We’re going to follow the tunnels.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Leonora argues. Desperation and worry crease her face.
“Not if you know where you’re going.”
She nods, trusting me, and
we turn into the darkness. Soon, just like I expect, we see the dim glow of maid-of-the-shadows. They don’t seem as pretty once you’ve been drugged with their poison.
It’s not long before Marigold can walk on her own, but she’s trembling like the poison is still coursing through her body.
“Almost there,” I coax, careful to keep her from the flower covered walls.
The pool of water has mostly evaporated. It was much larger when I brought Galinor, but the stars still shine on the little water that’s left.
“How do we get out?” Leonora sounds better now, less anxious. She must have guessed where we’re at.
I study the cavern. I knew it was large, but now that I’m thinking of scaling the walls, it seems gargantuan. There’s a ledge to the far side that looks easy to climb. After that, there’s a series of smaller ledges that follow the wall like stairs. We can use those.
I worry my lip, looking for another step.
There’s no way around it. We’ll have to jump to the next ledge. It’s not too far, but I don’t know if Leonora or Marigold can do it. I don’t think I want Leonora to even try when she’s carrying my future niece or nephew.
“What is it, Pippa?” Leonora asks.
I click my tongue, thinking. “That ledge there. The only way to get across it is to jump.”
“All right.”
I look at her, surprised. “All right?”
She nods, and she looks determined. “If it’s the only way, then we jump.”
Marigold whimpers. She’s crouched on the ground, crying into her knees.
I scan the ceiling. From that ledge, I can boost the girls to the opening. As long as the rock doesn’t crumble under our hands, we’ll be free.
“Come on Marigold, let’s leave this place.” I hold my hand out.
She shakes her head. “I can’t.”
Leonora is about to say something, but I shush her. There are faint yells coming from down the tunnel.
The bandits are awake, and they’re after us.
Chapter Eighteen
“Marigold. We leave now.” I grab her arm. I’m not gentle, but we don’t have time.
She fights me. “I can’t. I can’t.”
Leonora has her other arm, and she’s helping me drag Marigold up. Marigold stops fighting but continues to cry. Great sobs wrack her tall, slender frame. It will be a miracle if we get out of here before the bandits find us.
Leonora is already breathless from Marigold’s weight. “They’re coming,”
“It will take a while to find the right tunnel. We took many turns.” I glance back, then crawl up the first ledge and hold my hands down for Marigold. She takes them, and Leonora boosts her up from behind.
“You have to try!” I yank Marigold up so I have most of her weight.
Her sobs have calmed to hiccups, but tears still stream down her face. She finally gets a foot over the top, and I’m able to yank her the rest of the way. I reach down for Leonora. Thankfully, I don’t have to pull her up. She does the climbing on her own.
Marigold makes it over the stair-step ledges, and we’re nearing the jump. A rock clatters to the ground from behind me, and I glance back. Leonora is pressed against the rock wall, breathing hard.
“Don’t look down.”
Her eyes flicker to mine. “I already did.”
Not taking my own advice, I glance down at the cavern floor.
My vision spins, but I look back up and take slow breaths, trying to focus only on the ledge under my feet.
“You can make it,” I tell her. “Keep your eyes on me.”
We must crawl up and out the ceiling before the men find us. They’ll never guess we could make it out, and they’ll continue searching the tunnels. That will give us time to escape. It’s the only way.
“I’m going to jump.” My voice wavers, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
I back up, take a deep breath, and then leap across. I hop forward a few steps because I put too much energy into my jump. There’s a rock jutting out next to my shoulder, and I grasp it, regaining my balance.
“All right,” I say. “Marigold, you’re next.”
If Leonora goes first, there’s no way Marigold will make the jump. Leonora coaxes Marigold to go. The echoes resulting from the bandit’s search are becoming louder. We must hurry.
“Marigold, now!” I say.
To my surprise, the girl jumps. It’s a clumsy thing, like she’s never leaped before, but it’s enough. I grab her hands and pull her to safety.
They’ve found the last tunnel. I’m sure of it.
“I don’t think I…” Leonora says. “Pippa…I can’t…” She’s trembling, and her eyes are huge.
I can hear distinct voices. We have half a minute, maybe less, before they enter the cavern. We’re taking too long.
“Leonora, we don’t have time. They’re coming. I promise I will catch you. I swear it, but you must jump now.”
She nods, her movements choppy, and prepares herself. The voices enter the cavern.
“Down, both of you!” I fall flat on my stomach. “Make yourselves as flat as possible.”
There’s a chance they won’t see us up here. Why would they look? Who would assume three girls would scale the walls of a cavern?
I hear my heartbeat and feel its frantic rhythm in my neck. Marigold is breathing so loud, I’m afraid they’ll hear it. At least she’s stopped crying. Leonora is paralyzed on the ground, stretched as flat as she can get. This can’t be good for the baby. Her heart must be close to going out from fear.
The bandits curse and argue with each other. Peg screams, and he still sounds drunk.
“Maybe they went out the hole in the ceiling?” one of the men, the one who must have drugged me, says.
My blood goes cold. I grit my teeth, not daring to even breathe.
“Maybe they went out the hole in the ceiling,” Peg mocks in a whiny, jeering voice. “Yes, maybe they sprouted wings and flew out!”
“They might have climbed…” the brown-haired man offers.
We’re hidden in shadow, tucked as close to the cave wall as possible.
Please, don’t let them see us.
“You’re both morons! They went down a different tunnel! Find them!” Peg bellows. His voice fills the cavern and echoes down the tunnels.
Their footsteps fade, and their voices become distant.
I take a deep breath and push myself off the stone. My cheek is numb from the cold rock, and there are little bits of sand and tiny pebbles stuck to my skin. I brush the grit from my hands and hair.
Next to me, Marigold sits up. Like me, she brushes herself clean. Leonora is still on her stomach, but instead of clenching her eyes shut, like she was when the bandits were in the cavern, she’s staring at the empty space between her ledge and ours.
“You can do it.” I feel the need to be quiet even though the bandits have left.
She slowly sits up. “It looks so much higher from here than it did on the ground.”
“I know. Heights are tricky like that.”
Her hair is a mess. It’s come out of her braid and is all tangled. Her face and hands are smudged with cave dirt, and her sleeve is ripped and hanging off her shoulder. I’ve never seen her look so disheveled.
Percival is going to kill me.
“Will you catch me if I trip?” she asks.
I nod and hold out my hands. “Don’t think about it. Just jump.”
She braces herself, closes her eyes for a moment, takes two quick steps, and then leaps across. I grab her by the shoulders and don’t let go until I’m sure she’s stable.
We’re across.
I point to a part of the open ceiling closest to the wall. The first person will have to climb up the wall, hang from the ledge, and then pull herself up using only her arms. That person will have to be me.
“Here’s where we’re going to climb out.” My hands are sweaty. This is much more terrifying than the jump. For a few moments I will
be dangling over the empty cavern. There will be nothing to break my fall if I should slip—nothing but the tiny puddle of water on the stone floor.
“Pippa, please be careful,” Leonora says.
I find a foot hold in the wall and pull myself up. I stretch my hand out and grab onto the rock ledge above me. I give it a good yank, checking to see if it’s stable enough to hold my weight.
So far so good.
I take in a few sharp breaths, grit my teeth, and quickly reach for the ledge with my other hand.
I’m hanging over the cavern.
Leonora gasps and Marigold squeaks. I swing my legs back to the wall, trying to reach a foothold. With one swift kick against the rock, I have enough momentum to pull myself up. My head and chest are out, but the ledge cuts into my stomach. I look for something, anything, to grab hold of.
My hands are starting to slip, and my legs dangle uselessly below me. There’s a sapling just within reach. I don’t want to trust it, not with its roots only growing in sand over rock, but I can’t hold on any longer.
I grab onto it and send up a silent prayer of thanks when it holds firm. I use the sapling to pull myself up and out and then collapse on the ground. Only now do my legs start trembling.
“Pippa?” Leonora calls, trying to be quiet. “Are you all right?”
“Mmmhmmm,” I answer.
I turn back to the opening, stretch out on my belly, and firmly tuck my toes against a sturdy boulder. I lower my arms and head into the opening. “All you have to do is clasp my hands. I will pull you, and you will use your feet against the wall to press yourself up.”
They stare at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“It’s the only way,” I say. “Hurry up, all my blood is rushing to my head.”
Marigold steps forward. Now that she’s this close, she seems eager to be free from the cave. I clasp her hands and pull as hard as I can. She stumbles against the wall but gives me enough to yank her up.
She’s out.
I turn back for Leonora. She looks up at me with tired eyes. “If something happens—”
I give her a sharp look. “Leonora, stop.”
“Tell Percival I love him.”
“You will be fine.”
She grasps my hands, and I pull. It’s going well, she’s found her footing on the wall and she’s walking herself up.
The Eldentimber Series: Books 1 - 3 Page 15