“Isn’t that a good thing?”
I sucked in a breath, remembering all the times Acacia had siphoned off my emotions in exchange for hiding my natural eye color. “Do you think the magic in my blood, can open the veil? But how? I’m not a fae!”
His lips brushed against mine. “No matter how powerful you are, don’t forget, Acacia is the queen of deceit.”
I shivered. He was right, and yet Acacia’s offer was too tempting to ignore. I needed to free Tia. I couldn’t play cool and wait for Acacia to give us the information, but I couldn’t tell Lorenzo that. So instead, I asked, “What do we do with her?”
“Nothing for now.” Lorenzo’s eyes flashed. “I give her a few more days in iron until she breaks. The queen and Tia mean nothing to her. Eventually, she’ll tell us if only to gain your trust.”
I nodded, even though there was no way I could wait for days.
“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to find them before that. Do you want to come with me?”
I shook my head. “Somebody should check on Mikka.”
Lorenzo kissed me again. “Yes, and you need to rest after yesterday.” He paused, then said, “Don’t talk to Acacia without me.”
I nodded, glad that unlike the fae, I could lie.
After Lorenzo left, I did check on Mikka, who was still weak. I made her lunch and read to her. The sun disappeared behind the horizon, and Lorenzo still wasn’t back. My Tia was somewhere, alone, hurt, and scared. I couldn’t wait for Acacia to break. I needed to get Tia out now.
“Do you know how to pick locks?” I asked after I finished reading the newspaper.
Mikka tilted her head. “Why?”
“After I got thrown into prison last time and my magic didn’t work there, I thought it’d be a nice skill to have.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not planning to free Acacia for some crazy reason, are you?”
“No, I’m not, just show me.”
Her face relaxed at my singing, and guilt coursed through me. I had just used my magic to compel my friend. She’d be furious once she discovered what I had done, and so would Lorenzo, but they’d understand. Eventually.
“Get me a pin,” Mikka said in a relaxed voice.
Once I did, she opened her nightstand in which a dozen locks and a pair of handcuffs were stowed away. At my raised eyebrows, she shrugged. “You never know when one might come in handy.”
Two demonstrations of how to break the lock and countless fails on my part later, I finally managed to do it. I broke the lock, and then the next, and a third one.
“Thank you.” I smiled at Mikka. “It’s time for you to rest now, sleep deeply.”
Her eyes fell shut, and her breathing evened out. I tugged the blanket around her.
“I’m sorry, but I had to do this.”
With that, I headed down the stairs and toward Lorenzo’s office. As soon as I stepped through the door, two blue headlights devoured me. “I was expecting you, Halia, dear,” Acacia crooned, clearly thinking she had the upper hand here.
“You need me to take Arcadia from Madam and Rumpelstiltskin. I’m the key to your mission.” Her mouth opened slightly, the only sign of her shock at my deduction skills.
I pressed on. “You’ll take me to Tia now, or I’ll drop you off at a forgotten place and ensure Madam finds out about your betrayal. I’ll tell her not only that you knew that I was the princess, but also that you were working to take her down.”
Acacia’s face turned green. “How do I know you won’t betray me after I give you Tia?”
I clamped down hard on the excitement that threatened to burst out of my chest. Acacia knew where Tia was. She would take me to my friend.
I lifted my head and stalked over to the fae. To squeeze all the information out of her, I needed to remain cool and collected. “Easy. After you hand over Tia, you’ll tell me the general location of the queen as I undo your bindings. A piece of information for each of your chains.”
She puffed her chest out. “Are you sure you don’t want to get the queen first?”
“I’m the one setting the terms,” I said in my coldest tone. As much as I wanted to get the queen back, I was certain that Fontaine wouldn’t seriously harm her. If she had wanted to execute her, she could’ve done so a long time ago. Tia, however, was another matter. Madam or her daughters would kill Tia without batting an eyelash to get back at me.
“Fine. You’ll need to get me off this chair.”
“Tell me first where you’re taking me.” I made a show of taking out and re-sheathing the iron daggers I had taken from Lorenzo’s room.
Acacia’s throat bobbed up and down, betraying her calm face. “The opera house.”
I raised an eyebrow. Was she jesting?
“It’s been empty ever since the recordings for this competition. They’re doing construction on the west wing.”
Making the east wing the perfect hiding spot. All this time, Tia and the queen had been hidden in plain sight. I wanted to scream. I wanted to slam my fists against the wall. I wanted to shake Acacia. Instead, I walked behind her and prayed that Lorenzo would understand what I was about to do. I located the lock that bound her waist to the chair and broke it, then worked on the chains that secured her hands and legs to the chair. I left the iron shackles that bound her hands together behind her back, but had to remove the cuffs on her feet since they slowed her walk down to snail speed and we needed to hurry.
“Don’t try anything.” Before I turned soft, I grabbed one of my iron daggers and embedded it deep into her shoulder, slamming it through skin and muscle. She shrieked as blood poured out of the wound.
“Why?” she whispered.
“Because I want you to understand one thing. I’m not Halia, dear or child. I am Halia Bright, the protector of Arcadia.” Even as I said it, another phrase wormed its way into my mind, Halia—goddess of harmony. I shook my head. Where had that haughty idea come from? Yet as strange as it was, the phrase also sounded familiar, as if I had heard it somewhere before. Hot blood dribbled onto my arm, jerking me back into reality.
“Move it!” I grabbed Acacia’s arm, telling myself that the better my bluff, the less I would have to hurt her to keep her in line. Fear and anticipation were powerful tools.
With Acacia walking in front of me, it was easy for me to take out the red dust and sprinkle it on the ground as we walked to the gondolas. I prayed Lorenzo would notice it when he returned. Even though I was certain I needed to do this, he was right, Arcadia was the queen of deceit, and I could use all the help I could get, once she was no longer bound in iron.
The darkness hid Acacia’s shackles and the dagger protruding from her shoulder. Fortune was smiling down at me since no patrolmen came our way, and the gondolier accepted my two gold coins without asking any questions.
The ride across the river went by painfully slowly, and with each passing second, Acacia’s healing body pushed the dagger more and more out of her flesh. All I could do was watch and wait for the iron to fall out. It did so just as we reached the other bank. I grabbed it, mesmerized as Acacia’s wound closed in front of my eyes, and shoved her out of the boat. Then, I plunged it in again, this time, in the other shoulder.
She howled. “What is wrong with you? I’m not doing anything.”
“Good. This will ensure you won’t have time to scheme anything.”
She threw me a death glare. I ignored it. We were past any peace offerings. Acacia would throw me to the wolves the first chance she got, and I’d be damned if I let her, leaving Tia and all of Arcadia unprotected.
Once again, I left a path of red dust from the gondola to the opera house.
Since it was long past sunset, the construction workers had finished their work for the day. No one was outside the opera house or inside its lobby.
“Where to?” I asked.
Acacia took me to a smaller staircase that led to the artists’ changing room. It was empty.
“Where is Tia?” I used my anger
to hide the terror clawing inside my chest, screaming that it was too late, that my friend was dead.
“Closet.”
I shoved Acacia to the ground, ensuring the blade was still deeply embedded in her shoulder. Then I pulled out my other dagger and crept toward the costume closet. Keeping as much distance as possible, I threw the door open. Tia was on the ground, black mascara and eyeliner streaks running down her cheeks, a rag gagging her, her hands and feet tied with rope.
“Tia!”
At her name, her eyes flickered open. There was panic in them, but slowly happiness seeped in as she recognized me. I cut through her bindings, careful to not hurt her skin that was already chafed. Finally, I removed her gag.
She fell around my neck. “You found me!”
I hugged her back hard, needing the physical touch to process that she was alive and mostly unharmed.
“What a cute reunion.”
The hairs on my neck stood as I whipped around to find that the dagger was no longer in Acacia’s shoulder and that she somehow had managed to get out of her shackles. In her left hand, she held a black potion. Darn, where had that come from? Lorenzo had searched her. I was certain of it. That’s when I noticed the cupboard behind her. It was open and filled with potions. Her own personal supply.
“You’ll come with me, Halia, and become my voice. Together, we’ll rule Arcadia.”
“Never!”
“If you refuse, I’ll use this murder potion on you, making you kill your friend with your own hands.”
Unbridled alarm seized me, but I didn’t cower.
“Don’t!” Tia screamed, but I didn’t listen. With a leap, I tackled Acacia to the ground. My body released an oomph sound as it crashed on top of hers. She threw the potion, but I dodged it, then plunged my dagger into her stomach, much deeper than the first two times. I grabbed the iron dagger next to her and slashed deeply through her wrists. Acacia wailed. I didn’t care. I had no room for mercy for someone who had wanted me to kill my friend.
“Where is the queen? Take me to her.” I rose, and jerked Acacia upward, who froze halfway. “If you don’t behave—” I raised my blade in warning but never got to finish my statement as hands snaked around my neck and pressed down hard on my windpipe. What the…had Acacia somehow gotten reinforcements?
“Die, you stupid bitch!” Tia’s hate-filled voice and the burning in my throat made hot tears shoot into my eyes.
No, I refused to die like this. Unable to hurt my friend, I didn’t use the dagger but stepped on her foot hard, grinding my boot into her toes. The grip on my neck released, and I brandished my dagger while singing, “Stop it, I’m your friend.”
Tia didn’t listen. She charged, and I jumped aside a second before she would’ve crashed into me.
Acacia laughed. “You really think your powers are a match for mine? Foolish girl!” If she was in good spirits, she was healing fast. I didn’t have the luxury to glance at her, but I could only assume she had already removed the dagger from her stomach. Thankfully, she couldn’t use the iron dagger, but I was certain she would procure another potion in no time. I needed to hurry.
“Turn around. Return into the closet.” I repeated the phrase like a mantra, putting all my conviction into my voice. To my relief, Tia took one step back and then another. When she was inside, I slammed the door shut. “Fall asleep.” I didn’t have time to check if she followed my instruction as something whizzed through the air. I dropped down to my knees just in time.
Blue liquid hit the closet door and ran down in thick rivulets. I whirled on Acacia, assessing the situation. I had one dagger and could get the other one if I made it across the room, but not before Acacia threw another potion. While I felt confident with a dagger at close range, I doubted I could throw it from here and hit her. As if reading my thoughts, Acacia purred, “Give it up! You lost, child.”
She reached inside her pocket, and I raised my blade. I was about to charge her when a figure manifested behind her. Lorenzo. He had found us. With lightning speed, he threw a chain around her throat. She cried out in pain as he wound a long iron chain around her body and slapped cuffs on her wrists.
“Lorenzo.” I rushed toward him.
There was no warmth in his gaze. “You went behind my back.”
“I got Tia,” I said quietly.
“Where is she?”
Guilt coursed through me. “In the closet, sleeping. I made her. Acacia threw a potion at her that made her want to kill me.”
Lorenzo’s eyes flashed with murder. “Your behavior was reckless.”
“I got Tia,” I repeated again, feeling stupid.
“You almost got yourself killed.”
I bit my lip, not sure how to respond since I couldn’t deny it. “The queen is somewhere here as well.”
Lorenzo whirled on Acacia. “Listen up, I didn’t kill you before because you had information about Tia’s whereabout, but now that we have her, nothing stands in my way of finishing you.” As if to underscore his point, he pressed the tip of his dagger against her neck. I shuddered. If fae were able to regenerate, it probably took something like decapitation to finish them off.
“If you don’t take us to the queen, I won’t hesitate to end you,” Lorenzo finished.
Acacia must’ve sensed that he wasn’t playing games because she said, “I’ll need a guarantee that you’ll let me go and won’t chase me down after I tell you where the queen is.”
“Swear to never come near us again, especially Halia. Swear to leave Arcadia.”
Acacia hissed. The promise would make it impossible for her to force me to become her weapon. Lorenzo pressed the blade into her skin, and a droplet of blood ran down her neck.
“Fine,” she gritted out. “I, Acacia Anzu, swear to tell you where the queen was last time I saw her in exchange for you releasing me and not hunting me or sending anyone to hunt me. I swear to never come near you or Halia again.”
“And also Tia and Mikka,” I added.
“As well as Tia and Mikka,” Acacia growled. “I shall leave Arcadia as soon as possible.”
Lorenzo’s blade pressed harder into her throat, and more blood spilled from the cut. “No, you’ll leave immediately. No gathering supplies, no communicating with the Fontaines or Rumpelstiltskin.”
“So be it.”
Lorenzo grabbed Acacia’s hand and squeezed it hard. Sparks shot between their palms as the agreement settled into place. Once the sparks died down, Acacia said, “The queen is in the left wing of the stage. She was locked into a clothes trunk. Now free me.”
Lorenzo’s hands moved quickly, only stopping when he had removed all iron chains. Acacia rushed past me. I stared after her. It was done. We had banished her, but we still had Madam and Rumpelstiltskin to contend with. And we needed to free the queen.
I glanced at the closet, not wanting to leave Tia alone for even a moment. “Can you carry her?”
Thankfully, Lorenzo didn’t again berate me for my recklessness, but simply threw the closet open and heaved a sleeping Tia into his arms.
“How long will Acacia’s potion last?”
“An hour, maybe. Tia will be herself in no time.”
I highly doubted that after she had been captured by the enemy and endured only who knew what, but I didn’t say so. One step at a time. Right now, we would free the queen.
We hurried to the stage’s left wing, and I released a breath when I saw the props, one of them being a huge clothes chest. There was a lock on the chest, and I prepared to break it with the pin trick Mikka had taught me. My hands froze I realized the lock lay discarded on the ground. With trembling fingers, I opened the chest. It was empty. The queen had been moved.
5
9th August
“Tia! You’re back! You’re alive!” Mikka’s voice tore me out of my sleep, and I blinked, then rolled my neck, realizing, I had ended up sleeping again in a chair. Lorenzo’s eyes also opened slowly, and he ran a hand through his silver strands. He was on the
floor, and I felt bad about it until his glare met mine. Damn it, I guessed he was still mad about me sneaking out yesterday.
I rose and stretched my arms. Every muscle in my body ached, and my head pounded, but all I cared about was Tia.
“Are you all right?” I studied my friend, searching for any after-effects of Acacia’s potion.
She brushed a blue strand behind her ear. “Yes. Are you?”
I nodded. “I wasn’t the one who was abducted.”
“No, but I almost killed you.”
“What?” Mikka nearly jumped out of bed. “How much did I miss?” She rubbed her forehead. “I was awake for most of yesterday, and then I suddenly fell asleep…” She glanced at me, then Lorenzo, who nodded.
“Halia decided to use her magic on you to go on a little trip with Acacia.”
Mikka slapped her hand against her forehead, expletives rolling from her tongue. “You made me show you how to pick a lock, and then you put me to sleep!”
“She almost got both herself and Tia killed.” Lorenzo stepped closer, towering over me.
“But she didn’t. She found me.” Tia fell around my neck. “Thank you, and I’m so sorry.”
I smiled at my friend. “It wasn’t your fault. Nobody could’ve withstood Acacia’s potion.”
Tia nodded reluctantly. Shifting on the bed, she asked, “What did I miss?”
“Ahem, quite a bit.” Mikka glanced between Lorenzo and me and then at the door.
“Right, we should give you some privacy.” I shuffled out of the room with Lorenzo. As soon as the door fell shut behind me, he dragged me into his room.
“You were reckless and impulsive. You endangered your friend and the whole mission. You could’ve died!” He held my arms in a steel grip, and I could tell it took all of his willpower not to shake me.
“I’m sorry, but I still think it was the right choice. They already moved the queen. If I hadn’t gone yesterday, they might’ve moved Tia as well. Then we would never have found her.”
Lorenzo groaned. “Yes, you took the initiative, and it worked out because I got there in time. But what if I hadn’t?”
Halia: Daughter of Cinderella Page 31