Tobias simply shrugged. It was an argument he couldn't win. “I'll miss you, Kitt.”
“I'll miss you too.” Kitt hugged him even tighter. “But I'm sure we'll see each other soon. I have to return to Englund before the baby's born. I'm sure Doon won't want to miss it either.” When their hug ended, Kitt turned to Doon with expectant eyes. “Right?”
“It's just a baby, love. We already know how babies are born. Why do we have to—” Kitt pinched his arm, so Doon amended his answer. “I mean... yes. When Lyneah squeezes it out, we'll be there. Because, uh... we wouldn't miss it for the world.”
Doon's new answer earned him a marginally satisfied nod from Kitt.
“Well, then...” Doon took a hesitant step in the direction of his airship. “We should really shove off if we want to reach Bordeaux before nightfall. Kieran's missing his girl, and Miles is lost without me, so...”
“Goodbye!” Kitt hugged Tobias one last time before returning to Doon's side. “Take care, you two! And give my love to Roderick!”
“But not too much love to Roddy Rick, right?” Doon added in a whisper. “Right?”
As usual, Kitt was rolling her eyes at him. “It's just an expression, Doon. Don't be so paranoid!”
“I'm not being paranoid! For all I know, you might still carry a torch for that man!” Doon paused to grimace. “Maybe even two torches.”
“Nope,” Kitt corrected him. “That torch has long since fizzled.”
“But there was a torch.” Doon was pouting as he followed her onto the airship. “You basically just admitted to me that the torch did exist!”
Ignoring Doon's concerns, Kitt stood beside the ship's rail and waved to her childhood friend.
And she didn't stop waving until Tobias and Lyneah disappeared below the clouds.
Some time later, when they reached Bordeaux, Kieran was the first one off the airship. Ever since he left her, he couldn't wait to return to Ella. In such a short time, she had become the light of his life, his reason to live, and his hope for the future—of course, he couldn't admit such things to her.
When he reached Ella's house, Kieran peeked into the window as he passed it. Ben was out of his bed and sitting at the kitchen table, sandwiched between Ella and Miles. A grin twitched on Kieran's lips as he watched them. He had never seen a more adorable family, and he wondered if he could one day be a part of it.
Nerves gripped his stomach as he tapped on Ella's door. Today was the day. He was going to ask her to be his girlfriend. Kieran never struggled to talk to women, so his nervousness made no sense, especially when Ella answered the door with a smile on her lips. Her smile should have put him at ease, but it actually tied his tongue. He had almost forgotten how beautiful she was.
“Kieran!” As soon as she saw him, Ella grabbed his arm and excitedly pulled him into the house. “I think Ben's getting better! He wasn't coughing as much last night, and he seems to have more energy. I think the medicine might be working!”
“That's really great news.” Kieran smiled at the boy, whose cheeks were stuffed with nighttime pancakes. When he saw Kieran staring at him, Ben waved.
“Oh, speaking of news, I was listening to the radio this morning,” Ella went on. “There's a pastor who lives across the street from me, and he's one of the only men in town who owns a radio. Anyway, I heard about what happened at the capital! Your side succeeded! The capital's back in the hands of the prince and princess, right? Nico's going to be the emperor!”
“Right,” Kieran confirmed. “And we probably shouldn't tell Doon there's a pastor who lives so close to you. He wouldn't be happy to know there was someone else who could've performed that wedding!” For the next few seconds, Kieran watched Ben and Miles. While Ella's back was turned, the boy's grandfather was squirting an excessive amount of syrup onto Ben's pancakes. The boy silently clapped his hands and cheered. Then Kieran briefly laid a hand on his stomach, touching his bandaged wound. He almost told her about his injury, but he decided against it. He didn't want to worry her. “So... Ella...”
“Hmm?”
“On the way back to Bordeaux, I was trying to decide where to go next. Did I want to stay in Columbigo, or did I want to go with Kitt and Doon? Believe it or not, Captain Doon even offered me a spot on his crew. I can't say I'm too thrilled with the idea of being stuck on his airship for the rest of my life, but it was a generous offer, especially from Doon.” Kieran took a deep breath, summoning as much courage as he could muster. Then he reached for her hand. “But... I think I want to stay with you.”
“Oh...”
Her reaction made him frown. “That's... not a good idea?”
“No, I like the idea, but I already had plans.” Ella's frown mirrored his. “Miles invited me to go back to Englund with him. Apparently, he has a cottage in Shipping Shandem that he thinks I would like. It sounds like an odd name for a town, especially when it has nothing to do with ships, but I'm willing to give it a chance. To be honest, I never thought I'd leave Bordeaux, and I don't like the idea of leaving this house behind, but Miles seems to think it doesn't have to be a permanent move. And Ben seemed really excited by the idea of flying an airship, so I couldn't say no.” Ella shrugged. “We're already packed and ready to go.”
“So you're leaving on Doon's airship?” Kieran asked.
“That's the plan, yes.”
“Then that's where I'll be.” With his thumb, Kieran gently brushed her knuckles. “I just want to be where you are.”
In the corner of her eye, Ella could see Miles watching them. He even raised his monocle so he could see them more clearly.
“Kieran...” Ella whispered. “He's watching us.”
Kieran chuckled. “So he is.”
“He still thinks you're my boyfriend,” Ella continued in a hushed voice. “Maybe you should... I don't know... kiss me?”
“On one condition...” Kieran leaned closer to Ella's ear. When he spoke again, his voice was so soft that it brought a tingle to her spine. “I want to kiss the girl who's actually my girlfriend.”
Ella gasped. “Wait, so you want me to...?”
Kieran nodded.
“You think we should actually be...?”
He nodded again.
Ella took a deep breath and tried to settle her beating heart. After a brief pause, she finally put his fears to rest and said, “Nothing would make me happier.”
When Kieran brought his lips to hers, Ella sighed happily. She never had a boyfriend before, and if she had her way, Kieran McCray would be her first and last boyfriend. For as long as she lived, she had never known a better man.
A few hours later, Doon was standing on the deck with Kitt when Miles boarded the airship with his family. With a heavy sigh, Francis said, “Miles asked me to return to Englund... and because I can't say no to him, it looks like we'll be going home sooner than later.” His brow furrowed slightly when he saw the little boy in Miles' arms. Since when did his airship become a taxi service? He wanted to complain, but Kitt looked so happy that he decided to keep the thought to himself.
“I don't know...” Kitt began, “I kind of like the idea of returning home after all of this. Although, to be honest, the airship itself feels more like home than anywhere else.”
“I think you're giving the airship too much credit,” Doon said.
“I am?”
“Of course! This ship's just a bundle of masts, propellers, engines and a bed.” As Doon's arm wrapped around her back, he said something that surprised her. “You are my home.”
Kitt sighed contentedly and brought her head to Doon's shoulder. As the airship sailed into the sunset, her smile couldn't have been wider.
Nothing could possibly ruin such a perfect moment.
Except for Bryce, who bellowed a question into the blazing orange sky.
“Does anybody have a cookie?”
Fifty
“Harryyyy!” groaned a dissatisfied Owen. “This ain't fair! I don't want to collect the bodies no more! I want to
push the cart!”
Harry's shoulders hitched as he shoved the cart along the bloodstained cobblestones. “You're stronger'n me, though. The strong one should pick up the bodies.”
“That ain't fair!” Owen repeated his complaint. At the end of the street, a crow perched on the face of a corpse. It cawed and cocked its slick black head. Owen chased it away, then he turned his attention back to his co-worker. “It ain't like you're a small man, Harry! Besides, pushin' the cart can't be easy, can it? Not when you got lotsa bodies stacked up in it!”
Harry pointed at the mostly-empty cart. “But it ain't got lots of bodies stacked in it yet, does it?”
“No... I suppose not.” Owen hauled the crow-picked corpse into his arms and carried it to the cart. After dropping it in, he said, “It's a little more full now, though, ain't it? That was a real strappin' lad!”
“Aye. It was. But we ain't even reached the real problem, yet. Apparently, there's lots of 'em piled up behind the inn,” Harry said. “According to the innkeeper, it's already startin' to stink.”
A few minutes and a few corpses later, Harry and Owen turned into the alley where the “real problem” was. A veritable mountain of corpses littered the ground.
“Oi! What the bloody hell 'appened here?” Harry exclaimed. “Looks like mass murder!”
“Aye. And lookit this!” With his foot, Owen prodded one of the corpses. “This one's already got maggots in it.”
“Don't make me look at that! Just start chuckin' 'em in and let's get going.”
“You start chuckin' them in!” Owen snorted. “We're gonna be here awhile, ain't we? There's lots of bodies to move, so get to movin' them!”
Together, Harry and Owen started to lug the colossal pile of bodies into the cart. When their cart was half-full, Harry paused to wipe the sweat from his brow. “Why's it gotta be so bloody hot?” he complained. “The smell's worse when it's hot! And now I got blood on me clothes!” Harry pointed at the large, dark bloodstain that soaked the front of his tattered beige shirt.
“Less complaining, more workin'!” Owen yelled at him. As he reached down to pluck one of the corpses from the ground, he paused. “Ey? What happened to this one's face?”
Harry peered over Owen's shoulder, trying to sneak a peek of the corpse that caught his mate's eye. “Looks like scars to me. Whatever happened to him 'appened a long time ago!”
“Poor bloke.” Owen lifted the body and dropped it in the cart.
“I feel bad for all these blokes, really. So much death. It almost makes you ill.” Harry gripped his stomach and groaned. “This kind of thing only happens in Columbigo, don't it? Kinda makes you regret leavin' home!”
“There's so many back here, I think we're gonna have to make a return trip,” Owen said as he added another body to the cart. “They're gonna smell even worse by the time we get back!”
“Urrrrgh...” Harry choked back the bile that was rising up his throat. “Please don't remind me...”
When the cart was full, Harry pushed it down the alley and turned onto a busier street. They passed a small child with his mother, who hid the boy's eyes as the corpse cart passed.
“That's the reality of life, my boy!” Owen murmured as they passed the mother and son. “You live, you die, you reek, you rot. That's all there is to life!”
“Well, that's an awful bleak way of thinkin'!” Harry said as he struggled to get the cart over a bump in the road. “As long as there's breasts on women, I've got a pretty good reason to live!”
When the cart rattled over the hump, Thomas Harriot opened his eyes. Though he returned to consciousness in excruciating pain, it took him a moment to figure out where he was and what was happening. As the realization dawned on him, his stomach dropped. He was squashed in the middle of a mass of corpses. He could barely see the sunlight shining through the arms, legs and torsos that surrounded him.
The cart hit another bump, pushing him deeper into the sea of bloody bodies. He was weak, but he somehow found the strength to push one of the corpses off of him. When he tried to sit up, another body toppled aside.
When Harry glanced over his shoulder, he gasped. “Owen! Owen... look!” He swatted his friend's arm and pointed at Tom, who was slowly crawling out of the corpse pile. “Do you think he's been reanimated? Is he a zombie, maybe?”
“No, you idiot! He's wasn't dead, obviously!” Owen halted Harry's cart and addressed the wounded man. “Are you alright, sir? Do you need some help?”
“No...” Tom grunted as he stumbled out of the cart. “Leave me be.”
“Are you sure about that?” Owen asked. “You're looking a little... wobbly.”
“Aye,” Harry agreed. “Real wobbly. If you'd like, you can sit back down on the cart and we can take youse somewhere.”
“No!” Harriot adamantly repeated his answer as he staggered forward. No matter how long he lived—whether it was fifty more minutes or fifty more years—he would forever shudder at the thought of being smothered between corpses. “Are you serious? Sit back down on the cart? I'll be happy if I never see your damn cart again!”
“Well, that's not very nice...” Harry murmured. “But I guess I can understand why you might not be in the best of moods.”
“He looks a mess!” Owen exclaimed. “I don't know how he's still livin', to be perfectly honest!”
As Tom shuffled in the direction of the palace, he could still hear the corpse cart drivers bickering behind him.
“Maybe you shoulda checked to see if these was dead!” Harry whined, thrusting his thumb at the stack of corpses.
“Maybe you shoulda checked!” his crony countered. “You ain't good for nothin' but drivin' a cart, I swear!”
“Ha! Unlike you, at least I'm good for something!”
With all the strength that was left in his body—which wasn't much—Tom trudged onward. A single thought pervaded his mind: Find Isabella. He didn't care about himself, he only needed to know she was safe. Until she was standing right in front of him, he would hate himself for failing her.
As he shuffled forward, his eye was caught by a newsboy selling papers. The headline read: FAREWELL EVERSIO: PRINCE AND PRINCESS RECLAIM THE PALACE. He didn't know how accurate it was, but it gave him hope.
Tom must have looked like walking death, because an old man stopped him on the street. “Are you alright, sir? Do you need some help?”
“I'm... alright,” Tom croaked the lie. “How far is the palace from here?”
“Oh, it's about seven blocks from here. Is that where you're heading? Are you sure you can make it?” The man's brow pinched as he studied the blood on Harriot's clothes. “I can hire a carriage for you, if you'd like.”
“Thanks, but I won't trouble you.” Tom patted the man's arm and continued forward. His feet dragged across the ground with each step he took. After the first two blocks, Tom regretted that he didn't accept the friendly gentleman's help. Not only would it have been faster, it would have been a lot less painful.
When he finally reached the palace gates, he had expended every last ounce of his strength. Collapsing to his knees, he yelled, “Isabella! Isabella... are you here?”
Two eager guards rushed forward with their swords drawn. When one of their icy blades tapped his neck, Tom's eyelids fluttered.
“Who goes there?” the first man bellowed. “State your business!”
“Sir, I think this is one of Eversio's leaders,” the second soldier said. “I didn't expect that he'd still be alive, but I guess he is.”
“I have to see the princess!” Tom's eyes were so desperate, they made the soldier lower his blade. “Is she alive? Is she alright? Is she here?”
“She should be in the palace,” one of the guards told him, bringing a burst of relief to Tom's chest. “But what would Princess Isabella want with you?”
“Tell her I'm here. Please,” he begged the guard. “Tell her that Thomas Harriot is still alive.”
“No offense, but you don't look like you'll be alive fo
r long!” The guard's insensitive comment earned him a scathing look from his superior. “Err... I'll go speak to the princess. But I can't guarantee she's going to give a damn.”
“You know what? I'd like to add some red streaks to your hair. Or maybe magenta?” Vee and Isabella sat together on the princess' bed, across from a looking glass. As she combed her fingers through Isabella's dark tresses, Vee pointed at the mirror's reflection. “What do you think, Isabella? Do you think you'd look good with a few fiery locks? Maybe here and here?” She gave Isabella's head a playful tap.
Vee was trying her best to cheer up her friend, but Isabella's frown never budged, and her eyes were red and sullen. Even though she and Nico had reclaimed their home, she couldn't find a place in her heart to feel happy about it, not when she was consumed by sorrow. There was only one thing in the world she wanted, but she could never have it. He was gone.
“Hey, you better not tell Nico I'm here!” Vee exclaimed. “I don't think your brother would be too happy to know you count me as one of your friends!”
“Why's that?” Isabella weakly asked.
“Well... you know we have a weird history, right? Not to mention, I was a member of Eversio.” A nervous chuckle slipped out of Vee's throat. “Just... don't tell him I'm around, okay? Not yet.”
“Vee...” Isabella collapsed on her bed with a sigh. “I don't think I've ever been more sad in my life! When I thought my brother was dead, of course I was devastated... but this is different. My heart feels like it's going to burst from my chest!”
“I know, sweetheart. Believe me, I understand.” Vee scooted next to Isabella and lightly touched her hair. “Tom's been my friend for years and years. Losing him is like losing a limb. If you were in love with him, I'm sure it's even worse for you.”
As Vee's words echoed in her head, a fresh wave of tears threatened to spill from Isabella's eyes. Vee was right. Isabella loved him, but she never admitted it to herself until he was dead. Now she would never have a chance to tell him how she felt.
Or so she thought—until the guard pounded on her door.
Prisoner Princess (Belles & Bullets Book 5) Page 30