Damnation: A Cinderella Retelling (Tales of Cinder Book 3)

by M. J. Haag

  “Remove the shoe and allow Lord Firth to inspect your foot without stocking.”

  “Sire,” Maeve said, looking every inch the outraged mother. “Such a thing is highly improper.”

  “No more than choosing a bride solely based on her ability to wear a shoe. Don’t you agree?” the Prince asked smoothly.

  Maeve inclined her head, and I felt a burst of triumph as Lord Firth removed her shoe and stocking to find a good portion of her heel missing.

  “I fell from our horse before the ball and hurt myself,” Cecilia said quietly.

  “Then you cannot be the one for surely you could not run in the shoe.”

  “But I can.” She grabbed the shoe from Lord Firth and stuck her foot into it. “Watch.”

  She stood and, lifting her skirts, took her first running step. She made it three more before she began limping, and several more after that before the shoe became so slick with blood that it fell from her foot.

  “Sit,” Garreth commanded.

  Ashen, Cecilia sat beside Porcia. I risked a glance at Maeve as Lord Firth removed the shoe and wiped it clean. Nothing showed in her expression, but I didn’t miss the slight restlessness of her finger tapping at the arm of her chair.

  “What of you, Porcia?” the Prince asked, drawing my attention to her. “Do you believe this to be your shoe?”

  If possible, she paled further.

  “Yes, Sire,” she said quietly.

  Lord Firth sighed and knelt by her feet. Her wince when he slid the shoe on was visible to all.

  “It fits,” Lord Firth said when she remained silent.

  “What have you to say about that?” Garreth asked her.

  Before she could answer, the bird swooped into the room again.

  “Check her toe before you go.”

  Maeve’s eyes tracked its progress as it flew out the door once more. Anger boiled just beneath the surface. She was failing, and she knew it. Her gaze shifted, and her eyes met mine. She visibly relaxed, and a small smile curled her lips.

  Turning away from her, I watched as Lord Firth removed the shoe and Porcia’s stocking. She offered no explanation for her missing small toe.

  “It’s been missing since birth and often gives her trouble,” Maeve said. “I know the proclamation said no maid with disadvantage, but surely it only meant of face and figure, not foot.”

  “Will you persist and watch your daughter further injure herself when I insist she must prove she can run in the shoe?” Garreth asked, a note of annoyance creeping into his voice.

  “No, your majesty,” Maeve said meekly. “But I ask that you allow Eloise an opportunity to try the shoe before you leave.”

  I met Garreth’s questioning gaze as Lord Firth gently removed the shoe from Porcia’s now bleeding foot.

  “Do you claim this shoe to be yours, Eloise?” His voice lacked any of the impatience it held when speaking to my step sisters.

  “I cannot claim it as mine, for it is not.”

  Silence fell. I could feel Greydon’s gaze on me but refused to look at him.

  “What are you saying?” Garreth asked. “You do not wish to try the shoe?”

  “Eloise didn’t mean that, Your Majesty,” Maeve said quickly, rising to stand beside my chair. With her hand resting lightly on my shoulder, she clarified, “She only meant she borrowed the shoe from her sisters. Isn’t that right, Eloise?”

  I looked at my hands and wondered what would happen to the people in the room if I said no. She couldn’t kill Greydon and Garreth, but what of Lord Firth and the guards? She would care nothing for any of them.

  Lifting my foot, I remained silent.

  “There,” Maeve said. “She’s willing.”

  “Allow me,” Greydon said, taking the shoe from Lord Firth.

  Maeve’s fingers twitched on my shoulder as Greydon knelt at my feet and lifted my skirt. He looked up at me, and I averted my gaze to look at Cecilia and Porcia. Porcia trembled in her seat. Cecilia appeared no more composed than her sister.

  The shoe slipped easily onto my foot.

  “It fits,” Greydon said softly.

  My heart stuttered for a moment. Clenching my fists in my lap, I set my foot on the ground and met Greydon’s gaze.

  “I will not wed Prince Greydon,” I said.

  Maeve laughed.

  “She jests, Your Majesty.”

  I opened my mouth to damn us all with my further objection when the bird flew into the room again. Surprised, I watched it, wondering if it would accuse me of lies like it had Porcia and Cecilia. However, its words weren’t about me as it circled the room.

  “She comes! She comes!”

  When it returned to the doorway, the guards were gone, and a figure with a familiar dirty cloak stood there.

  “Have I come at a bad time to collect my pig?” Rose asked, glancing around the room.

  “Not at all,” I said quickly. I started to stand, ready for the escape she offered, when Maeve’s hand closed over my shoulder.

  “What pig?” Maeve asked.

  “The pig in the yard. The one I left in Eloise’s care the day her mother met the earth.”

  I saw the moment Maeve’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, and I quickly shook my head at Rose. The old woman didn’t seem to notice, though.

  “Take your pig with my blessing and leave,” Maeve said.

  Rose shook her head as she smiled at Maeve.

  “I couldn’t do that without thanking Eloise for her tender care of such a wretched beast.” Rose’s bright blue gaze swept the room before landing on me. “He said you walked him when you could and never overfed him. More importantly, he said you protected him.” She chuckled lowly, and Maeve released my arm.

  “You are addled, old woman. Pigs do not speak. Remove yourself from my house.”

  Rose continued as if Maeve hadn’t spoken.

  “He asked that I apologize on his behalf for leading you to the bodies of your friends. I believe your grief truly moved him. He seems changed now. Oh, not enough for me to release him of his curse. He will need to do much more than show sympathy for others.”

  “Curse?” Greydon asked, stepping in front of Garreth.

  “Call your guards, Your Majesty,” Maeve said, also backing away from Rose. “The one who seeks to harm you has exposed herself.”

  “Indeed, she has,” Rose said with a laugh.

  “Guards!” Garreth called.

  There was no answering rush of footsteps. Not even a rustle of noise.

  “Caster,” Maeve said harshly. “You will be hanged.”

  Rose laughed and held out her hand to me.

  “Come here, child.”

  “No, Eloise,” Greydon said. “Stay as you are.”

  Weary of all that I’d suffered and desperate for it to end no matter what the outcome, I stood.

  “Eloise, don’t!” Maeve said sharply. “You risk everything.”

  Ignoring her and Greydon, I went to Rose. The old woman’s warm fingers closed around mine, and she smiled. A sense of peace settled over me.

  “I’m sorry it took so long,” she said. “Some evils hide themselves too well, and I had to be sure of the one with which I was dealing. I truly regret anything you may have suffered.”

  I gave a choked laugh that was closer to a sob, and Rose gave me a pitying look.

  “I surmise it was much, then?”

  I opened my mouth, but my words stuck in my throat, robbing me of air.

  “Still held by her curse, I see.”

  Rose looked at Maeve.

  “Release her,” she said.

  “I will not lose what is mine,” Maeve replied with cold anger.

  My gaze flew to her just as a green glow began to consume her bodice with blinding brilliance.

  “Enough,” Rose said sharply.

  The light died, and Maeve’s face turned to one of shock.

  With a wave of Rose’s hand, thin silver chains appeared at Maeve’s feet and slowly wrapped their way up her
torso. Maeve’s eyes narrowed, and twice more, a light sparked from her amulet, only to sputter and die.

  “Fetch her trinket, Eloise,” Rose said. “I would get it myself, but young men with less than six inches of steel are worrisome. They always overcompensate with their zealousness.”

  I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that until I turned and saw both Greydon and Garreth brandishing small blades. Their gazes darted between me, Rose, and Maeve, who was precariously balanced on her feet.

  Maeve glowered at me as I crossed the room and hooked my finger on her chain to pull the amulet from her cleavage.

  Greydon swore.

  Removing the ornament from around her neck, I turned to Rose.

  “It’s not for me to break,” she said.

  I looked down at the amulet that had caused me so much pain then crossed the room to Cecilia and Porcia. Both surrendered their amulets without protest. When I had all three, I set them on the floor, along with the shoe.

  “Nor are they mine to break,” I said, finally meeting Greydon’s gaze.

  “I believe they’re yours, Prince Greydon. For all that was done to your family before it was done to mine.”

  “Eloise…” The apology in his gaze only hurt me further.

  Turning from him, I went to Rose.

  “No,” Maeve said softly from behind me. “It cannot be.”

  It wasn’t until that moment that I realized what I’d revealed.

  “It is,” Greydon said.

  There was a sound of metal upon stone, and Maeve screamed. I glanced back and saw Greydon had broken her amulet with the fire poker. With defeated expressions, Cecilia and Porcia sat on the couch and watched him destroy theirs as well.

  “Come, child,” Rose said. “We should check on the guards.”

  “Caster, you are not going anywhere,” Greydon said. “By the King’s order—”

  “I’m banished. I know.”

  “Not until the role you’ve played in this is clear.”

  Rose’s gaze flicked to me, and I knew she wanted me to speak on her behalf. But I couldn’t, not with her spell keeping me silent.

  “Release me,” I said.

  She smiled, and a tingle started in my chest, spreading outward. I faced Greydon.

  “Her role has been that of my protector when I could not protect myself.”

  “Protect you from what?”

  I opened my mouth but no words emerged. The slight tightening in my throat warned me not to try too hard. Maeve’s spell still held, despite the broken amulet Greydon now held.

  He frowned at my continued silence.

  “Who arrived first?” he asked. “The woman behind you or your stepmother?”

  “Rose did.”

  “How then can you truly believe that your stepmother acted alone? They are both casters.”

  Rose stepped forward.

  “And how do you propose I prove my innocence when I’m unaware of what you find me guilty of?”

  I glanced at Rose.

  “He thinks you killed his wife and my mother.”

  “And do you think that?” she asked me.

  “No.”

  “I wonder why that is. Is it perhaps that you know who did kill his wife and your mother?”

  “I cannot say.”

  “You do not know?”

  “I did not say that.”

  “Ah.” Her gaze flicked to Maeve. “Is that woman truly your stepmother?”

  “She is. I saw the signed document myself.”

  “Do you care for her?”

  I said nothing.

  “Has she mistreated you?”

  Rose knew well the answer to that, and she smiled at me when I remained mute.

  “There is so much more to this story, Your Majesty,” she said turning to Greydon, “and Eloise is the key. Not I. However, I’ve decided to remain until everything is revealed.”

  “Then, I must insist you accompany us to the castle. My father, King Aftan, will want to speak with you.”

  She inclined her head.

  “I will meet you at the gates.”

  With that, the old woman disappeared. Moments later, guards rushed into the room.

  Maeve, Porcia, and Cecilia were quickly taken outside, and I was jostled aside. I didn’t care. The faster everyone left my home, the faster I could put the past several months behind me. The thought fractured me. How could I possibly move on?

  Arms closed around my waist, and I found myself up in Greydon’s arms before I knew his intent.

  “Put me down.”

  “There is still the matter of the shoe,” he said.

  “The matter is settled for I have given my answer,” I said. “If the kingdom is still in need of a queen, find another gullible maid.”

  I turned away from his pleading gaze as he stepped outside with me.

  “I care not for what the kingdom’s need for a queen might be, but my own,” he said softly.

  He brought me to a horse and helped me into the saddle. When he moved to join me, I planted my bare foot in his chest.

  “Find another.”

  He scowled at me.

  “I made you a promise,” he said.

  “To leave me alone forever?” I said sweetly.

  “To be patient. To give you time. But, I also swore you were mine. Who I am changes nothing about how I feel for you.”

  “It changes everything for me.”

  I dug my heels into the steed, desperate to leave Greydon and put an end to the charade I’d been living.

  Chapter Sixteen

  After racing from the estate’s boundaries and almost falling off the horse because of the resulting violent heaving, I returned to the yard, ignored Greydon’s puzzled frown, and took a position just behind Maeve and her daughters. Maeve smirked knowingly but said nothing about my presence.

  The ploddingly slow journey to the castle grated at me on many fronts. Maeve was caught and in chains—the magical links having slithered high enough up her gown to allow her to walk. Her amulet had been stripped from her. I should have been free, but I wasn’t. Wouldn’t that mean Maeve still had power? I opened my mouth to question the nearest guard but choked on my words. How could I be so close to freedom and still be every inch Maeve’s prisoner?

  Glaring, I watched Maeve walk proudly, her head high as if she weren’t plodding along the dirt path after dark like some common woman. Beside her mother, Cecilia limped heavily. Her determination to keep pace was etched in every line of her cold, regal expression. It was Porcia who slowed the party with her staggering walk, causing the guards behind us to call a halt until she caught up with Maeve and Cecilia.

  “Someone take the dark-haired girl upon his horse so we can reach the castle before midnight,” Garreth called.

  A guard rode up and plucked her from the ground.

  “I would like the same courtesy,” Cecilia said. However, when she looked hopefully at the guards around her, no one offered to take her up.

  By the time we reached the castle, a good number of the town’s people were following us, despite the hour. That Lord Firth lead our procession with the damnable shoe on display had much to do with their curiosity. As did the three bound women in our midst.

  Rose waited at the castle gates, as promised, along with two guards, who kept glancing at her.

  “That took much longer than I thought it should,” she said. “Is it wise to keep a king waiting?”

  “Hold your tongue, caster,” Lord Firth said as he handed the cushioned shoe to a guard. “We are the King’s emissary, and not to be rebuked by the likes of you.”

  Rose’s gaze sharpened on the shoe.

  “Why does the King’s emissary need a woman’s shoe? It hardly becomes your coloring or figure.”

  I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips as Lord Firth sputtered and dismounted.

  “Now see here—”

  “No, you need to see. I did not make that shoe for you.” She looked at me and waved
her hand in my direction.

  “They were made for her.”

  The shoe disappeared from the pillow and reappeared on my foot. When I checked the other foot, I found the mate there as well, and my humor faded.

  “I don’t want the shoes,” I said, looking up at her.

  “What an ungrateful thing to say. Come along, the King is waiting, and I want to hear the story in full.”

  She turned and started through the castle gates.

  “Stop her,” Lord Firth ordered.

  The guards who’d stood beside Rose shared a nervous glance.

  “We’ve tried,” one said. “But she keeps disappearing before we can touch her.”

  Rose’s chuckle drifted behind her as she started up the castle stairs.

  “No man may touch me without my permission,” she called.

  I was so engrossed in what was happening that I didn’t notice Greydon at my side until his hands settled on my waist. He helped me from the horse but didn’t immediately release me.

  “The shoes look lovely on you,” he said quietly.

  As I looked up at his handsome, deceptive face, my heart lurched. I’d wanted this man when I’d thought him common and honest like me. He’d broken my trust and my heart by withholding who he was, yet the treacherous organ in my chest still pined for him. If he knew it, would he also seek to use that to his advantage to obtain what he wanted?

  “Release me if you want your testicles to remain as they are,” I said coolly.

  He quickly released me and pivoted so his most prized possession was no longer an easy target.

  “This level of aggression is uncalled for,” he said, his own anger slipping. “I am not your enemy.”

  A harsh pull in my stomach and a sudden sickening had me stepping around him.

  “That has yet to be determined,” I said as I hurried toward Maeve.

  The frustrated growl that followed me did nothing to soften my feelings toward him.

  Inside the castle, Lord Firth and the guard led us directly to the King’s court where numerous people already waited with the exception of Rose. I glanced around the room at those gathered to the right and left of the space, looking for the old woman, but could see her nowhere.

  Greydon stepped up beside me and offered his arm. Ignoring it, I followed behind Maeve and my stepsisters, noting the hush that fell over the court as we proceeded forward, toward the King who sat upon his raised throne at the opposite end of the room. An older woman dressed in a plain gown stood on the lowest of the three steps to the King’s platform.