Glass Kingdom

by M. Lynn

  But she could see it now that she knew. The small smiles Stev directed Edmund’s way told all. Estevan Rhodipus was as serious as they came. But not with Edmund.

  “They won’t be able to save you,” Ian said, brushing the errant strands of hair from her neck.

  His touch burned her skin, and she stepped away.

  “I don’t need them to save me.” Her stare could have cut glass. “I can save myself.”

  She took off across the room, ready to demand Edmund tell her everything. Before she reached him, a line of guards burst into the room, their heavy boots thundering across the marble floor as they formed up. The king followed behind them.

  All music ceased. Chatter faded into silence as guests watched the drama unfold.

  The king’s searing gaze made the crowd step back until he fixed it on his eldest son and the man at his side. “Edmund, Ambassador of Bela, you are under arrest for conspiracy against the crown.” He nodded to his guards. “Take him away.”

  “Father…” Stev glanced from Edmund to the king. “You can’t believe Edmund would betray us.”

  “I need not believe anything, Estevan. I have proof. The guards found explosive powder in his home.”

  Helena pushed past a guard to arrive at her brother’s side. “It’s not true.” She stepped toward her father and dropped her voice. “Edmund is more loyal than anyone in your guard. If you take him away from us… I promise you’ll pay.”

  She had to make him see. Edmund would protect them against whatever was coming—even against her father. But he couldn’t do that from a prison cell.

  “Helena,” her father barked. “This is the kingdom’s business, and a princess has no place in it.”

  “No place?” She let her voice carry over the enraptured crowd. “I have let you use me my entire life as the symbol of this kingdom. Unattainable. Hidden. Pure. Something that every man should aspire to look upon. Edmund is no traitor.” She lifted her hands to the ties at the back of her head. “And I am no symbol.”

  It happened in slow motion. Priests she hadn’t even noticed before ran toward her as her father barked orders.

  A few people in the crowd cheered as others gasped.

  All Helena heard was the thumping of her own heart as she met Edmund’s eyes and removed the mask from her face.

  Time stood still as a breeze struck her face, pushing her hair away from her shoulders. Edmund’s magic wrapped her in a confident shroud until someone slammed into her, forcing her to the ground and throwing a cloak over her head.

  Edmund shouted to the king as two guards dragged him from the room. His words cut off with a muffled grunt. Helena couldn’t see what was happening to him.

  Two strong arms slid beneath her, keeping the cloak over her face as he lifted her.

  The music began again as if nothing had happened.

  “She is to be locked in her rooms until we discuss what is to be done,” the king commanded.

  “Yes, father.” Cole. She relaxed, knowing for the moment, she was safe with her brother. He hurried from the room. “Bastard,” he muttered. “Bloody bastard.”

  Helena couldn’t refute his words. Her father had proven, once again, he was not on her side. He wasn’t even on Madra’s side. Only his own.

  Edmund. She curled into Cole as a tear slid down her face. She knew what her father did to traitors. He wouldn’t be sent to the prison at the monastery. Not yet. Not until he told them everything they wanted to know.

  “It’s all going to be okay.” Cole kicked shut the door to the family wing and removed the cloak from her face.

  “How can you say that?” She sniffed. “They have arrested Edmund. I just broke one of the most sacred traditions and father will make me pay for it. Dell…” She shook her head as tears threatened to break free.

  “Dell Tenyson?” Cole asked, setting her on her feet. “You’ve seen him?” He gripped each of her shoulders and bent to look into her eyes. “Where?”

  She tried to step back, but he held her in place. “How do you know Dell?” she demanded.

  “Ian spoke of him. Was he here? Ian led me to believe he was staying home.”

  Not liking the accusatory tone in Cole’s voice, she twisted out of his grasp. “I need to help Edmund.”

  “No, you need to let him pay for his crimes.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Cole… It’s Edmund. He’d never betray us.”

  A sneer formed on his lips. “Don’t be a fool, Helena. His only loyalty lays with Estevan.”

  Cole had never spoke to her in such a way and she stumbled away from him. He followed her. “Edmund wants to preserve a reign that should be allowed to crumble. But without him, his people have no leadership, no path forward.”

  “What are you saying?” Words clogged in her throat as she struggled for breath.

  “I needed him out of the way.”

  She shook her head, tears breaking free. “No.”

  “He would have ruined everything.”

  “Cole, you don’t know what you’re saying.”

  Remorse shown in his eyes for only a second before it disappeared. His fingers closed around her arm in a bruising grip as he yanked her toward a room at the end of the hall. He pulled a key from around his neck and unlocked the door before shoving her inside.

  With one final glance, he shut the door. The grinding of the lock reverberated through the room.

  Helena turned, taking in her mother’s rooms as the tears she’d been holding back broke free.

  “Helena?” a soft voice said, entering from the sitting room.

  “Mother.” She ran the length of the room before collapsing against the queen, her entire body shaking.

  Her mother’s arms circled around her. “Helena, it’s all going to be okay, I promise you.”

  “How can you say that? Cole… he…” Her brother’s betrayal sliced through her, severing her heart in two. She struggled for breath as sobs stuck in her throat.

  Her mother pushed her away and held her at arm’s length, dipping her head to look her daughter in the eye. “Listen to me, Lenny girl, they will not defeat us. Your father will make sure of it.”

  Helena wiped her face and twisted away. “My father?” She stilled her quivering jaw. “The man who allowed the priests to put me in a cell? That father? The man who arrested Edmund when Edmund was the only…” She sucked in a breath and shook her head, realization crashing into her. “He knew.”

  “Knew what, Helena? Who?”

  “Edmund.” She’d had her suspicions after what Dell said to her but this went much deeper than she’d thought. “His spies.” Had Dell been one of Edmund’s spies? Was that why he’d helped her?

  “Honey, Edmund was only an ambassador from Bela. Why would he have spies in the city?”

  “He was protecting us.” She stumbled back until she hit the wooden frame of the bed. Using a hand to guide herself around the post, she sat on the woven quilt. Everything Edmund had done… Everything Dell had done. While the rest of Madra turned against them, Edmund was on their side, risking his life for a crown he cared nothing for, a kingdom that wasn’t his own.

  Was that what love looked like?

  Helena’s mother approached her. “Why would Edmund protect us?”

  She lifted her gaze. “Because he’s the noblest man among us.”

  Cole. The thought sucked the air from her lungs. She thought she’d been spared the ire he had for Stev and their father. But had he ever loved her at all? Or was he still the orphan boy who arrived at the palace angry at the world?

  And now he wanted to take the crown.

  Helena shot to her feet. “Stev.” The only way to take the crown was to ensure the king and each of his heirs could never again wear it, and to do that…

  Understanding lit in the queen’s eyes. She’d already come to the same conclusion as Helena. No one was safe. Not anymore.

  “Mother, how did they take you from the ball without causing a scene?�
�� she asked.

  The queen sighed. “I grew very tired and retreated to my room to await a maid who promised to bring Kassander up. I told my guards they could return to the ball once we were safe in our wing. No one thought the danger would come from within.”

  From their own family was what she meant, but neither of them said it.

  “Where is Kass?” Helena looked to the door in panic. “Why haven’t they locked him in here with us?”

  “My poor boy.” The queen said nothing else in answer as they sat side by side, unable to give each other the comfort they needed.

  They didn’t know what was happening in the palace or where her father and Estevan were. Helplessness set in, choking the room in desperation.

  “We have to get out of here,” Helena whispered.

  Her mother reached to take her hand. “Cole won’t harm you, Helena. Or Kassander.”

  She said nothing about herself because they both knew the truth. Cole Rhodipus had no love for the king or queen, and he’d do anything to destroy them.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Dell watched Bemus pace the length of the room with the same restlessness he felt. Edmund should have returned hours ago.

  “We have to do something.” Dell slammed his fist into the table. “To find him.”

  Bemus’ feet froze. “Edmund told me if he were to ever go missing… there’s a priest we must find. Koran is loyal to the crown prince and will help us.”

  Dell shot to his feet. “Then what are we waiting for?”

  “Follow me.” Bemus led him down a narrow hallway and stopped in front of a worn rug. He lifted the rug, folding it in half to reveal a door in the floor.

  Dell’s brows drew together. “Edmund has a lot of secrets.”

  Bemus only nodded as he kneeled to pull the door free. It swung up with a loud creak. Below, a large compartment sunk right into the floor.

  “The more I know about Edmund, the more I like him.” Dell gazed over the various weapons hidden in the ambassador’s secret stores.

  “The king doesn’t trust foreigners,” Bemus explained. “He orders routine inspections of all the ambassador’s homes. Edmund has always been careful. Our most recent inspection was only a day ago, but those men weren’t the usual guards. That was one of the ways Edmund knew the rebellion was imminent. He made preparations.”

  “Preparations?”

  “For his arrest. He only hoped it wouldn’t be until after your family made their play.”

  Dell pulled a broadsword free of the weapon’s cache, scanning the gleaming steel blade with appreciation.

  Bemus put a hand on his arm. “No, sir Tenyson. Walk through the streets with that and people will assume you ride to war.”

  “Don’t we?”

  “You don’t get it, do you? If we were wrong, and the attack took place tonight, it may very well be over. Our people won’t have been in place to stop it. There’s a good chance our mission is now one of rescue instead of a battle.”

  Dell set the sword down heavily, his eyes finding a glass jar of black powder. He recognized it instantly. “What was Edmund doing with this?”

  Bemus lifted the jar, preventing Dell from taking it. “A last resort.” He found a bag nearby and stuffed it in before handing Dell a long thin sword. “Mercenaries carry these when they aren’t marching to battle. No one will look twice at it.

  Dell took the sword, balancing it on his hand. “Fine.” He reached for a sword belt and tightened it around his waist before sliding the sword into a scabbard.

  Bemus slipped knives into various parts of his clothing before retrieving a long staff.

  At Dell’s questioning look, he explained. “No one will think me anything but an old man.”

  Wasn’t he just an old man? As quickly as the thought came, it dissipated. Edmund had a purpose in everything he did. Bemus must have been more than he seemed.

  They strode from the house to enter the small three-stall stables. One of the horses was missing—most likely at the palace where Edmund had left him.

  After saddling both roans, they took off through the streets, never losing sight of the monastery sitting atop a great hill in the distance.

  The gates of the monastery stood open, but no priests streamed through it. Dell had been to the place only once before when his stepmother sent him to trade for wine. He hadn’t enjoyed his visit then, but now an eerie silence settled over the place.

  Dell and Bemus inched forward. Dell jerked his head to the large building housing the famed prison. Torches standing along the entry lit it up against the night sky. “Think Edmund is there?”

  Bemus nudged his horse toward the prison doors that looked like they’d been blown off their hinges. A black burn stretched up the side of the building.

  Dell’s eyes flicked to Bemus’ saddlebag where the explosive powder rested, knowing exactly what could cause such destruction.

  They slid from their horses to enter the building slowly, acrid air hitting them the moment they stepped inside.

  Empty cells stretched down the darkened hall, their metal doors standing open.

  “Do you think each floor is the same?” Dell asked.

  Bemus only gave him a sideways glance in answer before turning on his heel and leaving the way they’d come.

  Outside, Dell sucked in fresh air as if he’d never breathe it again before taking the reins of his horse in hand. He followed Bemus down a worn path toward the center of the monastery compound. A full moon cast the entire place in a silver glow, illuminating their way.

  As soon as they rounded the side of the main building, both men froze. The square at the heart of the monastery had been turned into a graveyard. White-robed priests lay sprawled across the cobblestones amid pools of their own blood.

  “Dell.” Bemus nudged him and pointed toward a column of smoke rising in the distance.

  Dell turned back to his horse. “We won’t find any help here.” He pulled himself up onto his horse as Bemus did the same before the two men thundered back the way they’d come.

  As they reached the bottom of the hill, people came running in their direction, their screams jolting through Dell. He dug his heels in and veered around panicked city-dwellers.

  Where were Edmund’s people? The network he supposedly had throughout Madra.

  It wasn’t until he reached the palace gates he found his answer.

  Half the gate lay in ruins, blown apart by rebels. Amid the fallen stone, royal guards fought rebels. Some of those fighting on the guards’ side wore plain clothes. These were the people Edmund had sewn into the very fabric of Madra.

  Just like Dell, he’d given them a cause.

  Dell jumped from the horse and pulled his sword, wishing Bemus had allowed him to bring the heavier one.

  Bemus clamped a hand on his shoulder. “We can’t win this, remember that.”

  “Of course we can,” Dell yelled over the screams of people nearby.

  “No. Edmund’s mission was never about saving Madra or protecting the Rhodipus’ reign. He only ever wanted to keep the royal family alive.”

  The royal family. Dell gazed past the smoking rubble to the steps leading up into the great entryway. He’d never set foot in the palace before the ball, but now it was the only place he could be.

  Shouting erupted to his right moments before a blast ripped through the air. The force of it sent Dell flying to his knees. All those who’d been fighting only seconds before now scrambled to get out of the way of a second blast.

  The entire world went silent save for the ringing in Dell’s ears. He scrambled to his feet, searching for Bemus. Someone ran toward him. A rebel.

  Dell braced himself for a fight, but the rebel stopped in front of him. His wool tunic had been torn halfway down the middle revealing a knife wound he didn’t seem to notice. He panted, his lips forming words Dell couldn’t hear.

  Someone else shook Dell’s shoulders, and all sound crashed in on him as if piercing through a veil. A sailor
he knew from the docks shouted in his ear. “We have to get into the palace, Dell. Your brothers are already inside with the prince.”

  The prince?

  “Come on, before the fighting starts again.” The sailor, one of his stepmother’s men, pushed him toward the stairs.

  He finally found Bemus, meeting his eyes in silent communication. This was Dell’s way in. He tore his gaze away from the only ally he had in this place to sprint up the rubble-strewn steps, past the rebels who were guarding the entrance.

  Inside, the hall leading to the ballroom was scattered with overturned tables. A servant in Rhodipus livery lay unmoving in the center, his legs bent unnaturally.

  The sailor pushed in front of Dell. “Lord Tenyson’s orders were to secure the lower floors one at a time until we can get to the royal family’s wing. We have teams on this floor already so we need to join the others upstairs.”

  He shouldn’t have been surprised by the depth of planning his brother had accomplished.

  Dell’s mind struggled to grasp everything his own family had done.

  The walls shook with the force of another explosion outside.

  “If they don’t stop that soon, they’re going to blow up half the city.” The sailor shook his head but Dell would’ve sworn there was a grin on his face.

  Dell glanced back the way they’d come where the people of Madra were dying. Images of the slain priests flashed through his mind.

  He’d thought the king was destroying Madra. But then, what was this? It wasn’t right.

  He picked up his pace, following a cluster of rebels up a wide staircase with golden railings. At the top, a royal guard lay gasping for breath as blood gushed through the spaces in his shining armor. Light from a nearby lantern flickered across his face, his eyes widening in fear as he saw the oncoming rebels.

  Dell paused next to him for a moment. He’d been stripped of all weapons. His helmet laid a few feet out of reach.

  “What are you doing?” the sailor asked, his lips pulling down into a frown as he looked down on the dying man without sympathy.

  “He’s going to die.” Dell crouched down. “But he need not suffer.”