by Jody Hedlund
“Even so,” the earl said, “I like you. I did not believe such a thing possible considering my fierce hatred of your father.”
I finally spared the earl a glance to find his eyes somber and his expression sincere. I had the feeling if we hadn’t been on opposing sides of this war I might have liked him too. However, he was the husband of the greatest threat to my future ascension as king. As such, I ought to plunge my dagger through his heart and be done with him.
But as he and his men had shown honor toward me and the white flag we’d raised, I could do no less than honor him at this moment. “I thank you for your kind treatment of my wife.”
“I can see that you are kind to her as well.”
I wasn’t sure I’d treated her kindly of late. But his affirmation was a dose of encouragement I needed after my recent failure to make her happy.
If the king didn’t find the treasure to hire the Danes, I feared we’d have a difficult siege, and the battle with the queen’s army would drag on. If things didn’t go our way, Langley was the type of warrior who would act swiftly and decisively to bring about a victory.
“I pray that whatever the future holds,” I said, “you will continue to show Emmeline kindness regardless of my fate.”
“Of course. I shall endeavor to keep her safe.”
I nodded my thanks. Then I motioned to my men that it was time to go.
We rode in silence back into Delsworth. Once the city gates clanged shut behind us, I slowed my horse to a trot next to Emmeline.
She’d been quiet since leaving Adelaide’s tent, giving me no indication whether she’d found the key or not. From the slight redness rimming her eyes, I guessed she’d cried during her meeting with her sisters. I could only imagine what the reunion had been like—meeting family for the first time.
From the night I’d spent on her floor, she’d shared enough for me to know she’d had a happy childhood, that Lance and Felicia had been good to her, and that she hadn’t been lonely. Even so, I’d learned that fears overtook her at times—fears likely borne of always hiding and waiting to be discovered.
If only she’d had the chance for a carefree childhood. One without any worries. One with the sisters who obviously loved her. Perhaps, in spite of forcing her to get the key, some good had come out of the occasion because she’d finally been able to meet her sisters.
“I pray your visit with your sisters went well,” I offered, my voice stiffer and more formal than I wanted it to be.
“You needn’t worry any longer.” She tossed her pouch to me.
I caught it easily. Through the leather, I could feel the design of the key, its weight, even the engraving on the bit, so similar and yet so different from the other two.
“I accomplished what you desired.”
What the king desired. But instead of correcting her I pressed on and gentled my tone. “I do hope the reunion was satisfying.”
She bit her bottom lip, which served only to remind me of the kiss I’d taken from her before her meeting with the queen. That kiss had been intended to show everyone Emmeline was mine. Why, then, had the kiss weakened me and made me feel as though Emmeline had ownership of me instead?
“Did you like them?” I tore my mind from thoughts of kissing her again.
“I loved them.” Sudden bright tears shone in her eyes.
I reached for her hand and twined my fingers through hers. I was thankful when she didn’t pull away.
“I regret I resisted meeting them for so long,” she said. “Maybe if I’d left for Norland earlier when my father first suggested it . . .”
If she’d gone, would I have been able to find her? Would I have missed the chance to have her for my wife? Now that I had her, I couldn’t imagine ever wanting anyone else. But clearly, she didn’t feel as deeply about me if she wished she could have left the country before I’d found her.
I needed to work harder to win her, especially since she blamed me for the king’s decision regarding her parents. Could I convince him to spare them, perhaps hold them as prisoners in the tower rather than execute them? I doubted there was anything I could say to change his mind. In fact, I suspected contradicting him would make matters only worse for her parents. And yet, I had to do something, didn’t I?
When we finally entered the castle grounds, I didn’t want to release my hold of her hand and break the tenuous connection we’d formed again. So after helping her from her horse, I swept her into my arms and carried her inside. She didn’t resist and leaned her head against my shoulder as I made my way to her room.
Once there, I reluctantly lowered her. The king would be waiting for my report on every detail regarding our time with the enemy. He’d want to know about their size, the strength of their siege engines, and any plans I’d overheard.
Most of all he’d want the key.
Regardless, I couldn’t make myself turn and walk away yet.
Ruby bounded over to Emmeline, and she bent to scratch the pup’s head. The servants had discreetly disappeared, which only made me want to linger and take advantage of the moment of privacy.
As though sensing my need, Emmeline straightened and faced me, her expression turning serious. Even then, she was more beautiful than both her sisters. I reached out and brushed her long hair off her shoulder and in the process let my fingers graze her neck.
At the contact, she drew in a breath.
My attention fell to the rise of her chest, the elegance of her neck, and the pounding pulse at the hollow of her throat. I brushed the hair off her other shoulder, once more letting my fingers skim her neck.
Her breath hitched again, and she closed her eyes as though the merest of my touches could vanquish her resistance. Could it? The kiss earlier had certainly helped. Dare I try it again?
“Rex.” She spoke my name in a breathy whisper.
With her neck so close and beckoning, I angled in and brushed a kiss there.
She arched back, giving me more access. It was an invitation I couldn’t refuse—didn’t want to refuse. I pressed a kiss higher beneath her chin, relishing the softness and sweetness of her skin.
“Rex,” she whispered. “Please, will you not ask your father to spare both my parents?”
At that moment, I wanted to give her the world and everything in it. If I’d wondered whether I was in love with her, I had no doubt any longer. I loved her and needed her and wanted her happiness more than anything.
Though I yearned to continue my path up her neck to her lips, I gathered her into my arms, wanting to prove to myself and her that my intentions were honorable, that in response to her request I’d ask for nothing in return.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I shall ask him.”
She nestled against me. “Thank you.”
I rested my chin on her head. “My plea may do no good.”
“I know. But I’m grateful you will consider it.”
She knew enough about the king to realize he was not easily swayed, not even by his sons.
I wanted to believe that if the matter was truly imperative to me, the king would listen and try to understand my perspective. But a dark, hidden part of me feared I wasn’t important enough to him. It was the same part that a short while ago, during the meeting with the rebels, had wondered what the king would do if the enemy decided to make me their prisoner. What would he have sacrificed to get me back? The keys? The treasure? Even his kingdom?
Although I didn’t want to admit the answer, the truth sometimes had a way of creeping out and haunting me—the truth that the keys and treasure and his kingdom were more valuable than his sons, perhaps even more than his beloved wife.
“I see I am interrupting you newlyweds.” The king’s voice came from the doorway.
Emmeline tugged away from me, her lashes dropping against flushed cheeks, making her all the more appealing. As the king crossed into the room, I looped my arm around her and drew her to my side. In the hallway behind him stood several other men, half peeking, probably curio
us to know what the king had interrupted.
“The key?” He got straight to the point, clearly anxious enough to seek me out rather than waiting for me to petition for an audience with him.
I loosened the pouch and tugged out the third ancient key. I studied it only momentarily before releasing Emmeline, striding to the king, and kneeling. I bowed my head and then held out the key as my gift to him. “Your Majesty.”
He snatched it from my outstretched hands and began to examine it. I stayed on my knees a moment longer, waiting for his words of approval, even a brief offer of thanks. But he was too busy scrutinizing the artifact.
Steeling myself, I stood and returned to Emmeline’s side. “Since Emmeline did so well with what we requested, I suggest we give her the release of both parents.”
The king looked up. “Since she did so well, I suggest we keep them both right where they are, as we may have use of them again.”
“No!” Emmeline cried.
I quickly cupped my hand over her mouth before she could say something that would only anger the king and make matters worse. She struggled against me, but at my warning glare, she ceased thrashing.
The king watched our interaction with raised brows before returning his attention to the key.
“Your Majesty,” I continued, “we promised we would release one of her parents—”
“If you are to be a great king, you must learn to take advantage of people’s weaknesses whenever possible.”
My frustration quickly reached the surface, but I had to mask it lest the king conceive it as a weakness. “If you will not do it for Emmeline, I ask that you consider freeing them for me.”
I’d never asked anything of the king before, and I prayed he would realize how rare my request was.
His eyes swung back to me.
“You would do anything for Mother, to make her happy, would you not?”
“Of course.”
“It is the same for me. I only follow your worthy example and wish to make my wife as happy as you have made yours.”
“If you wish to follow my example, then you will not allow your wife to control you.” His gaze was sharp, even piercing, the kind of look he bestowed upon those who displeased him.
I stiffened, wanting to blurt out that Emmeline didn’t control me, that rather my love for her did. But I couldn’t say it, not now, not under these circumstances.
“Ready yourself and your men to leave for the labyrinth within the hour,” the king commanded. “The sooner you can get there and back, the better.”
Before I could manage a bow, Emmeline pulled away from me, her eyes wide with horror. “You’re going to the labyrinth?” I started to nod, but she cut me off. “You can’t possibly go. It’s much too dangerous.”
“I am not afraid of danger, Emmeline. You should know that by now.”
“You don’t understand. The labyrinth is a death trap. You and your men will never make it to the treasure alive.”
“How can you be so sure?” The king watched Emmeline with a calculated look that set off a warning inside me.
“Because the designer was none other than the great historian himself, Saint Bede, who was the personal scribe to King William.”
“And why should that matter?”
“Bede’s historical accounts are full of clues to the deadly snares he placed in the labyrinth.”
“And you know these clues?” the king asked.
The warning clamored louder. Emmeline needed to be silent and say no more, but I was helpless to stop the king’s questioning.
“Yes,” Emmeline replied, pulling herself up proudly. “I have read nearly every one of Bede’s books multiple times, and my father and I plotted the location of his traps within the labyrinth as well as the methods for bypassing them.”
“How can you know so much when the greatest scholars in the kingdom remain ignorant?”
I tugged at Emmeline’s arm, warning her to silence, but she only jerked herself free. “Most, if not all, of Bede’s manuscripts were hidden in the cottage where I grew up. I spent much time analyzing the riddles and clues inside the books.”
“Then your map?” the king persisted “It is accurate?”
“I believe mostly so—”
“Then you will travel with the prince to the labyrinth, guide him through it, and protect him from the traps.”
My heart ceased thudding at the same moment Emmeline recoiled. The king wasn’t serious, was he?
“I cannot go—” Emmeline started.
“I will not take her,” I cut her off with the first words of defiance I’d ever uttered to the king.
“You must.” The king’s penetrating eyes narrowed upon me, then Emmeline.
“You would never ask Mother to do anything so dangerous.” I could not halt my objection even though I was moving onto dangerous ground. “How, then, can you expect me to take my bride into so deadly a place?”
“She is needed to gain the treasure.”
Apparently, not only was the king calloused to my feelings in the matter, but he placed little value on Emmeline’s life if he could so easily send her into danger. How could he be so cruel to me after all I’d done for him to prove my loyalty?
“Please, Father. She is my wife. And I—I love her.” The words came out a desperate plea. I was once again counting on the king’s love of my mother and praying he’d understand and empathize with my feelings for Emmeline. I didn’t dare look at Emmeline for fear of her reaction. Perhaps it was too soon for her to know the truth about how I felt, but it was out now, and I wouldn’t take it back.
“Do not speak to me of love.” Instead of understanding, the king’s eyes filled with contempt. “You hardly know the princess.”
“I know her well enough.”
“If we gain the treasure, you will not need her anymore.”
“Not need her?”
“She can easily be put aside for a better alliance.”
“I made vows to her I intend to keep—”
“Enough!” The king’s voice bellowed through the chamber. In the doorway, I could see the men in the hallway scurry away, clearly afraid of the king’s unpredictability when angered.
The king’s features were taut, and his eyes blazed with a fury I’d seldom seen. Fury I’d worked hard to avoid but was now directed at me. I’d crossed a line in not only defying him but also in showing and voicing my emotions. Now that it was crossed, I couldn’t go back.
Neither could I go forward. I’d pushed the king far enough and would only further endanger Emmeline if I persisted.
As though understanding the same, Emmeline’s shaking fingers slid into mine. “Have no fear, Your Majesty. I’ll go with the prince and help him find the treasure.”
Though I loathed the thought of her joining the mission, the determined jut of Emmeline’s chin told me that even if I could somehow manage the impossible task of getting the king to change his mind, I would never change hers.
Chapter
17
Emmeline
We traveled for five days and nights without stopping—first by boat up the Cress River and next by horse into the Iron Hills. After my previous journey with Rex from Inglewood Forest to Delsworth, I should have been prepared for his unrelenting pace. But by the end of the fifth day, I was weary and sore.
I suspected without me, he would have pushed even harder and made fewer and shorter stops. I had my own mount, which aided our speed and endurance. Nevertheless, I could see the furrows in his forehead grow deeper every time he glanced over his shoulder to the south. He didn’t have to say anything for me to guess we were being followed.
I had no doubt the moment Adelaide heard we were on the way to the labyrinth, she’d dispatched her warriors to stop us. I’d reassured her the king wouldn’t be able to get the treasure, that it would be nearly impossible to attain. As a result, she’d entrusted me with the third key. What must she think of me now?
I could only hang my head in sham
e. Maybe she hadn’t seen my marriage to Rex as a betrayal of her cause. But, after learning I was with Rex and his group, she’d see me for the coward I truly was and despise me. Rather than standing strong against King Ethelwulf, I’d given in to the enemy just as I had all along.
At least in sneaking away from the castle and Delsworth with Rex and his knights, I’d discovered a new secret passageway I might be able to use in freeing my parents from the castle after our return—if we returned.
The tunnel wasn’t the same one my parents had used to escape when Maribel and I had been only hours old. But from Lance’s description, I guessed it was similar, running under the moat and opening up into the dense forestland to the west of the castle. Though I’d been terrified each step through the passageway, I’d pushed myself forward, knowing I had to stay strong so I could come back again and lead my parents to freedom.
Ahead, Rex led us in single file up the narrow rocky path. The summer sun had been especially harsh since reaching the Highlands, where even the tallest crags provided little shade. In spite of the cooler air, I was parched and hot and ready to sleep a few hours—somewhere besides the bottom of a boat or on the back of my horse.
The soldiers riding directly in front of me picked up their pace, sending a shower of pebbles down the steep ridge. I nudged my horse onward and prayed Adelaide would forgive me again and understand I’d had no choice but to accompany Rex.
Would Father be able to forgive me for using my knowledge to help the enemy? All the while we’d studied the labyrinth together, he’d believed that someday I’d use the details to help my sisters. Little had he known I’d wield the information against them.
Even if King Ethelwulf hadn’t ordered me to go, I wouldn’t have let the prince navigate the labyrinth without my help. There was a reason it was called the Labyrinth of Death. So many had lost their lives that eventually the labyrinth had been sealed off and forgotten.
The truth was despite my knowledge of the traps, we’d still face many unknowns, including the creatures who guarded the treasure. I didn’t know how many beasts remained or where they’d be, and if we could outsmart or outfight them.