“What about it?”
I shrug casually. “I just thought it was so cool. Is it still, you know, there? In the tower, I mean?”
She can obviously sense my unease. “Of course it is. I already told you it’s our family heirloom and has been in the palace for centuries.” Her shrewd eyes narrow on my face, and I struggle not to look away. She’ll know I’m lying then. But there’s just something about the way Aurora looks at me that chills my blood. There’s nothing but coldness in her eyes. “Why do you care all of a sudden? You were hardly interested when I showed you.”
I look away despite my best efforts and focus on Gideon, who scores another goal. Everyone around us claps, and I do, too, smiling when he glances my way.
Aurora’s face pops up in front of me, blocking Gideon from view. “Why are you so concerned about the spinning wheel?”
To quickly divert the conversation, I snap back, “Why are you so concerned about Erik?”
A livid blush creeps into her face and all the way down her neck. “He’s my friend!”
“Oh, please. I’m betrothed to you, and I’m not stupid. I know what’s going on with you and Erik. The whole academy is beginning to catch on.”
Her blush deepens, turning her features a dark shade of purple. I wait for her to storm off, like she usually does whenever someone beats her, but she remains rooted to the spot. The color in her face vanishes like it’s being drained.
“Two can play at that game, Christopher,” she snarls at me. “It’s not like you even have any interest in women, so why are you pretending to be vexed? Frankly, it’s laughable.”
“You’re wrong,” I grit out, and for once I mean it. Ever since I first saw Redera, I’ve felt things for her that no woman has ever stirred in me. “You’re clutching at straws here, Aurora.”
“Oh, am I?” She steps closer, lowering her voice so that only I can hear the venom in her words. “You know more than anyone how quickly secrets fall from my lips. Sometimes I’m not even aware I’m doing it. All it takes is a couple of words, and an entire person’s life can be ripped from them. Their future, ruined. Their family, and their lovers, gone. Do you really want to push me, Chris?”
I don’t. In fact, I immediately regret opening my mouth to her. Aurora has destroyed lives through her gossiping. At eighteen, she’s a master of court politics. It was her who spread lies about my father’s death. My mother was led to believe that he went with his captors willingly, and thus by definition committed suicide, but it wasn’t true. I saw my father’s mauled body when it was brought back to the Gilded Palace. No man would willingly choose to die in that way.
Many still believe her lies. I never for a second listened to them.
“Do your worst,” I tell her, stepping aside so I can focus on Gideon, my hands balled into fists underneath my cloak.
—Don’t tempt her more,—Phillip warns, but the words have already escaped.
Aurora laughs beside me, the sound high-pitched and grating. “Anyway, if you are so desperate to see the wheel again,” she says, walking past me, “why don’t you stop by the palace this weekend? I’ll be visiting Mother and Father. Perhaps I can give you another tour of the tower to refresh your memory.”
I watch her strut off to join the others by the drink stand. Bile rises into the back of my throat, and I look back at the pitch, completely shaking with indignation. I cannot believe I must wed such a vile person. The mere thought of spending my life with her, sharing a kingdom with her, makes me sick.
I stand back from the railing and sit on one of the benches. Phillip hops off my shoulder and onto the seat beside me. He watches me shrug my bag off my shoulder and fumble for some parchment. I take out my magically inked quill and start to scribble a message:
I roll the parchment up and turn to Phillip.—Will you take this to Redera Hemlock?—
Phillip hops around on the bench like a little owlet.—Oh, yes, oh yes! I’m always eager to visit a Darkblood. I can hardly contain my excitement!—
I smirk at his sarcastic tone. Sometimes he acts more like a moody nanny than a familiar.—Just please drop it off? Or give it to her familiar?—
—Very well. But I expect extra mice tonight for tea.—
Phillip grabs the note with his talons before taking off. I watch him go, admittedly eager to spend time with her. I wonder if I can convince Gideon to come with us? A smile pulls at my lips as I imagine the three of us together. Maybe he’ll start to see that he doesn’t need to be afraid of Redera. He doesn’t need to hate himself for wanting her.
Neither of us do.
“What are you grinning about?” Gideon demands, stopping in front of me.
His face is flushed and he takes a long swig of his water. A few droplets roll down his neck, and I lick my lips, my throat turning dry.
“I’m going away this weekend. Would you like to come with me?”
He turns his head, side-eyeing me carefully. “Depends on where.”
“Talia,” I reply with a quirk of my lips, “to sneak into the Haunted Tower and see a cursed spinning wheel.”
Christopher said that Aurora invited him to come to Talia this weekend, a response to his clumsy questions about the spinning wheel. This is the perfect opportunity to take a look at what might be the first Key in our quest.
My sister and I, with Redera disguised as Aaliyah, meet Gideon and Christopher in the courtyard at the appointed time. The boys are standing under the tree with their familiars and their bags. Fang barks at us and wags his tail, his lips curling upon in what looks like a snarl. Gideon puts his hand on his familiar’s head.
“He’s smiling,” he tells us. “Don’t worry. He won’t bite.”
—Much,—Broin comments from his perch on my shoulder.
Redera is accompanied by her familiar, which I’m seeing for the first time. Lucifer brought her cat back to life, but now instead of being a black moggy, Namur is a full-fledged tiger. The massive animal strolls along at her side and looks at Fang with disdain. She certainly adds to the exotic look of my sister’s disguise.
“Gideon,” Redera greets. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Well… Chris invited me, and it’s better than staying here,” he shrugs. “I need a change of scenery.”
At the gardener’s shack, Quasimodo and Aladdin are watching us carefully. Chris nods to Quasi, and the gardener nods back.
“Come with me.”
We take our bags and our familiars and follow Christopher into Esmeralda’s Garden. Even though winter is coming and the ground is freezing everywhere else, here in the garden it’s always spring. The warmth is a welcome respite from the cold air in the courtyard.
Quasimodo speaks to me while Aladdin hands out potions to all of us. ::These are translocation potions,:: he tells us. :: One each to get you there and one each to get you home. Your familiars will travel as part of you, so don’t worry. They won’t get lost.::
Aladdin smiles at me and Chris as he gives us our potions. He averts his eyes from Gideon, who stares him down like a jackass. When Aladdin comes to Redera, he looks up at her and his eyes widen in surprise. He instantly goes down on his knees.
“Your Highness,” he says. “Forgive me for looking upon your face.”
“Rise, Aladdin,” she responds. “We’re not in our kingdom, and my face is uncovered here. Anyone can see me here.”
I need to find out more about the place that my sister is supposedly from, especially now that I remember Aladdin is from the same kingdom. He seems actively afraid that someone is going to come and get him for looking at her. It must be another one of those royal rules designed to make them seem like near-deities, even though they’re only people.
I put my hand on Aladdin’s shoulder. “It’s okay. You can look at her, she said.”
He keeps his eyes averted. “The Sultan kills many men for less.”
“Yeah, well, the Sultan isn’t here,” Gideon says. “And we’re not going to tell him.”
/> His tone isn’t gentle, but his words carry a certain kindness, and both Aladdin and I look at him in surprise. Whatever has been changing Gideon, it’s not done yet.
Christopher gives Aladdin a quick embrace, and the young man seems startled to be hugged by a prince, of all people. Christopher hugs Quasi, too, and I reluctantly start to like him a little more.
Fine. He’s nice, okay? And sometimes I like nice.
Just not often.
Redera pulls a veil over her face, one that’s completely opaque and matches the color of her traveling cloak. The opening around her eyes is embroidered at the edges with gold beads, and jewels are strung to rest upon the bridge of her nose, connecting the top to the bottom of the eye slit.
“Ready?” I ask her.
She nods. “Ready.”
On the count of three, we all drink the translocation potions, and the world goes blurry. When I can see again, we’re standing in a cobblestone-paved courtyard and Esmeralda’s Garden is gone. The courtyard is surrounded by elaborately carved marble colonnade, the entablature covered in scenes of flowers and twisting grapevines, reminding us that Talia is known for its wine.
A cadre of Falcon Knights approach us, their booted feet striking the ground in unison. It’s almost like being greeted by a drum corps.
Christopher steps forward. “I am Prince Christopher of Fantasia,” he says, presenting a folded piece of parchment. “My friends and I were invited to visit this weekend by my betrothed, Princess Aurora.”
One of the knights takes the parchment and unfolds it, and he casts a wary eye over the lot of us.
“Who are your companions?”
“Prince Gideon Kingsley of Fantasia, Princess Aaliyah of the Distant Sands, and Redera Hemlock of Everafter.”
The knight peers at me with cold grey eyes. Finally he nods, the plume on his helm bobbing. “Come this way.”
Gideon smacks Christopher on the back of the head. “Of Everafter? That’s the best you can do?”
“What else do you want me to say?” he hisses back.
“Of Fantasia, you giant dweeb. Princess Redera of Fantasia.”
Christopher looks shocked. “But she’s not…”
“He doesn’t know that.”
“He’s a Falcon Knight,” he counters. “Don’t be so sure. They know every royal of every kingdom.”
“I doubt that,” Gideon says, rolling his eyes. “Anyway…”
He gestures for us girls to walk ahead of them, and I do. If Gideon is a prince of Fantasia, wouldn’t that make him Christopher’s brother? Maybe I misinterpreted the obvious affection in their exchanged glance that day at breakfast.
I’m so confused.
We’re led through a marble corridor with velvet carpeting beneath our feet. The walls are covered with portraits of Talian royalty past and present, and I have to hand it to the artist for his or her skill. It must have been difficult to make all these inbred monstrosities look attractive.
At the end of the corridor, there’s a set of double doors painted white and gold. Two footmen in red velvet livery open the doors and the Falcon Knights escort us through into a throne room.
Queen Rosalie is seated on her throne, a huge golden affair that could be melted down and used to feed the entire population of Wysteria. She’s dressed in a pink gown with a silver metallic collar that stands high above her head, which is no small feat, considering she’s got the highest pompadour I’ve ever seen. I’m pretty sure her crown is wedged into it. Beside her, snoring away in his own throne, is King Stefan. He’s much older than Rosalie. On a smaller dais, off to the side, sits Aurora in her royal splendor.
“Prince Christopher,” Queen Rosalie greets. “What a pleasure to see you. I am so pleased at the close friendship that you and my daughter are forging. It bodes well for your future marriage. Aurora, greet your betrothed.”
Aurora rises from her thronelet and walks gracefully to Christopher, and she curtseys to him. He bows back, then takes her hand and kisses it as he helps her to her feet. Three dozen or so courtiers and royal hangers-on sigh.
Aww. So romantic.
Queen Rosalie turns a cold look toward our other male companion.
“Prince Gideon.”
He bows. “Your Majesty.”
Her eyes take on an avaricious glow as she turns to my sister, sweeping over me completely. I know she sees me, but she doesn’t bother to react.
Well, fuck her, too.
“And do my eyes betray me? Is this Princess Aaliyah of the Distant Sands, come to honor us with her presence?”
To her credit, Redera does a very spot-on impression of a princess curtseying. “I am, Your Majesty. And the honor is mine.”
“And how fares your father, the Sultan?”
“Well, Your Majesty.” Her eyes crinkle at the edges and sparkle over her hidden smile. “Seeking new trading partners.”
I can practically hear the little voice in Rosalie’s head as it screams, ka-ching!
“I would be most interested in receiving a trade delegation from your royal father,” Queen Rosalie says, and her sickly-sweet simper is so much like Aurora’s that I can’t stand it.
“I will let him know.”
The queen bows her head to acknowledge “Aaliyah’s” words, and finally her gaze falls on me.
“And who is this?”
“This is Redera,” Aaliyah says. “My dearest friend and traveling companion.”
I can see her estimation of me bump up by several notches. Apparently I’ve just become valuable to her or something.
“Welcome, Redera,” she smiles.
Somehow I manage to curtsey without looking like a palsied goat. “Your Majesty.”
Queen Rosalie turns to her daughter. “Aurora, why don’t you take your friends on a tour of the castle? I think most of them have never been here before.”
“Of course, Mother.” Aurora gestures daintily toward another set of double doors. “This way, please.”
Servants come forward to take the bags we brought, and for a moment, it looks like they’re going to take our familiars, too. The tiger snarls, and the servants back off. Aurora puts Christopher and Gideon between her and Redera’s familiar, and I have to chuckle. Such bravery. Just to prove a point, I put my hand on the Namur’s head, and she bumps against me with a purr.
Aurora takes us on a long tour. This place is huge, and it takes forever to wander through hallway after hallway of marble, velvet, and paintings of ugly dead people. Every room is starting to look the same.
“Can we take a break?” my sister finally asks, no doubt as glazed-over as I am.
If the request had come from me, it would have been greeted with a sneer, but since it was from “Aaliyah”, Aurora responds like a perfect hostess, all grace and charm.
“Of course,” she says. “I’ll have the servants bring refreshments.”
She’s totally putting on a show for the Falcon Knights, who are escorting us everywhere we go. One of them is watching me closely, really staring. It’s starting to make me uncomfortable. While Aurora pauses to hassle some unlucky servant, he leans toward me.
“I beg your pardon, but did you say your name was Rose Hemlock?”
Gideon’s head whips around and he looks at me, hard. I can’t read the look in his eyes, but there’s something ferocious there for a moment. Fang whines and bumps Gideon’s hand with his nose, and my piggy looks away.
“Redera,” I correct the knight. “My name is Redera.”
He straightens. “My apologies, my lady.”
Aurora says, “Come with me. We can have tea in the solarium.”
She leads the way, and I pull a face at Broin.—Oh, I see. Tea in the solarium, dahling. How very posh.—
Redera, who of course heard every word, snickers.
The solarium is a large, glass-enclosed room with more gold, more marble, and more velvet. There are three large settees arranged around a little round table, and we sit, Aurora in the middle, Christopher
and Gideon on another and Redera and me on the third. A servant pushes in a tea cart loaded with a silver service, flowers in a vase, and a metric shit-ton of pastries and honeyed fruit.
Aurora turned to me and, now that the knights have stepped back out of earshot, says, “Dig in. You’ve never had food like this and you’ll probably never have it again.” She turns her cold, narrowed eyes onto Christopher. “My invitation was for you and you alone. I didn’t realize you’d be bringing the whole freak show. I’m surprised Sirena and Alice didn’t come. That’s all we’re missing for a real three-ring circus.”
I expect Christopher to respond, but before he can say anything, Gideon growls, “Do you always have to be such a bitch, Aurora? There’s better uses for that mouth of yours.”
Her gaze is flinty and dangerous, the look on her face twisting with spite. “You have no idea how much of a bitch I can be, Gideon.” She huffs in a most unladylike way. “Prince of Fantasia, my lily-white ass.”
“Who is Rose Hemlock?” I interrupt, tired of squabbling.
Everyone looks at me, surprised.
Aurora rolls her eyes. “Ugh! You’re so stupid. I’d think that as a Darkblood, you’d know this.” She takes a pastry and puts it on a plate. “Rose Hemlock is the Alpha of the Penny Royal pack.”
Redera and I stare at one another. There’s a Hemlock who’s a wolf? That means that someone with our name is a witch hunter, and a mortal enemy. How does this even happen?
“I’ve never heard that name before,” I say finally.
“Ha!” Aurora mocks. “Clearly.”
A male voice calls out, “Aurora! I didn’t know you were home!”
A falcon knight steps into the room and stops short, clearly horrified to find that his princess is not alone. He swallows hard and snaps to attention.
“I mean, Your Highness. Welcome home.”
Gideon rolls his eyes and looks at Christopher, who purses his lips to keep from laughing.
Aurora leaps to her feet. “Won’t you all excuse me?” she says before hurrying over to the knight. She glances up at him and then races out of the room. He follows her.
Once Upon A Devil: A Dark Academy Reverse Harem Bully Romance (Everafter Academy Book 3) Page 14