Not even a full day had passed when Eli noticed the signal in Wrenbrook’s window. Part of him wasn’t too surprised to see that Rona’s attack on him had been the catalyst for dissension within the castle. Without knowing exactly what it was that caused Cassius, or Avinia, to place the flag on the right of the window above the stained glass of the chapel upside down, he couldn’t tell whether or not Kit had lost her cool and said something regrettable to her mother or if it was Rona’s temper that sparked the flame. Whatever it was, he was needed back at Wrenbrook.
He should’ve never left. He was aware of that, had been since Cassius had insisted he’d be safer elsewhere. But as far as Eli could tell, the soldiers that patrolled the village were not looking for him. In fact, he was fairly certain Vin and the others actually thought they’d succeeded in their mission the night before and knocked him off. The soldiers kicked in doors an
The first wall was the tallest by his measurements. It had to be at least ten feet tall, a good four feet above his head. As the horses continued to approach, and his breath began to even out, he cracked his knuckles and flexed his fingers. The gloves he wore were thick but not necessarily thick enough to guard against any sharp rocks he might grasp. If he could reach the top, he’d be able to fling himself over to the other side where the ground would be slightly higher so the fall would be manageable. But first he had to leap up and grab hold of something solid enough he could pull himself up along the smooth surface of the exterior.He could’ve used Cassius’s height about now.With the horses getting closer, he’d only have one chance to get over the wall before he could potentially be seen, and there was nowhere nearby to hide. Taking a step back, Eli put all of his efforts into jumping up to reach the edge. His fingertips latched on to the to
Cassius was pacing the narrow walkway between Kit’s interior chamber and the antechamber and had been for several hours. So far, there’d been no word as to where Kit might be, and Eli had yet to make it back to the castle, as far as he knew. Unless he’d been intercepted. He prayed he’d scramble through the tunnel any minute because Cassius didn’t know precisely what they needed to do to find Kit; neither did Avinia, who’d done her best to try to locate the princess and now sat slumped on the settee leaning on Isla’s shoulder. Seph, Jate, Danyen, and Reeve were also there, sitting on the floor, while Landon and Drake were out making inquiries. Wherever Kit was, she wasn’t safe. “Maybe we should go over what we do know again,” Seph offered, wringing her hands as she spoke. “We don’t know anything. Only that her mother requested her presence this morning, and she never came back.” Cassius didn’t stop his pacing to answer the question. “Where could she possibly b
Kit lay on top of the blankets on the still-made little cot, fully dressed, with her shoes on, staring at the ceiling. She had no way of knowing what time it was, and with no clock or any other means of figuring it out on her own, she had to rely on shift changes to give her any semblance of the hour until the sun rose and meals might start again, not that those were regular. Shift changes seemed to be every six hours, though. So she knew it was sometime between midnight and six in the morning. The sun should start to rise before the next guard came on duty. Then, perhaps someone would bring her food an hour or so after that, not that she had an appetite. The guard who’d brought her dinner came back to get her untouched plate a few hours later. The Prison Guards were more sympathetic than the members of the Queen’s Guard ever were, though there wasn’t much of a difference between the two. None of them seemed to care much that she was being held here against her will, “for he
Kit had a thousand more questions she wanted to ask, but all of them slipped her mind as his mouth enveloped hers. Warm and soft, gentle at first, but increasing in pressure as she parted her lips for him, Kit was reminded of how much she had missed him, and how their last conversation had not been as amicable as the discussion they were having now. His tongue twined its way around hers as one hand slipped down her side, taking hold of the fabric of her gown and gathering it higher up her thigh, and his other hand encircled her neck. Both of her palms were pressed against the front of what she could only imagine was a borrowed uniform—one of the questions she’d meant to ask which she no longer had time for. As he leaned in closer to her, Kit spread her knees around his hips and scooted to the edge of the bed, making her finest attempt to meld her body into his. There was no way of seeing into the room save the slot sometimes used for meals, and the angle would be suc
Cassius didn’t like to admit it when he was feeling nervous. He was doing his best to keep his emotions in check so as not to alarm the rest of their party, but once they’d stepped out of the second secret passage, the one that left them in the middle of enemy territory, his heart began to thunder in his chest, and beads of perspiration dotted his forehead.“Are you okay?” Isla asked, looking up at him with narrowed eyes.“Fine,” he assured her as the other three advanced down the hallway slightly. Jate and Danyen were dressed like members of the Queen’s Guard, but they could easily be recognized by anyone keen enough to know their faces, which should be at least the better part of the castle residents and staff.Isla didn’t appear to buy Cassius’s response, but there wasn’t much anyone could do to ease his worries now. They’d worked out a plan of sorts, and since most of it had been his idea, he
Seph had never been more terrified in her entire life. Her hands were shaking so badly, she’d hardly been able to get the key in the lock to open the door that led to the staircase she needed to take to reach the highest point in the castle, the North Tower. Wearing Eli’s black cloak did little to camouflage her while inside Wrenbrook, so she’d kept it slung over her arm. Several times, she’d heard footsteps in the hallways and had had to duck into alcoves or behind decorations to keep from being seen. Guards and servants were the only ones up this time of night, and while the latter would likely pay her no mind, she had no desire to be seen by the former.She’d had to climb up several other flights of stairs to reach the ones she was on now. The higher she went, the more likely it was that anyone she encountered would be a member of the Queen’s Guard or the military, and not a friendly face at all. It was still dark outside, but there were
Dressed in a military uniform, the man was leaning against the front portion of the battlement on both elbows, near the flagpole Seph needed to access. She had no idea how she might overpower him if he turned and saw her, but despite her less than graceful entrance, he was still facing away from her.Carefully, Seph dropped to the ground, bouncing so as not to land heavily on the stone landing and startle him. There was a slight thunk when she hit, but he still didn’t turn.Seph took careful steps closer to him, pulling the knife she’d brought along with her out of its sheath and holding it at her side. She prayed this man would turn out to be a friend, someone who knew Eli, or who would take the side of the princess. But if it came down to a fight with a trained man holding a sword, she didn’t think there would be much she could do to defend herself.She was within five steps of the man when she realized he was snoring. Seph could hardly belie
Once the men’s footsteps had faded away, Seph risked a peek from behind the barrel. She saw no one to her left, and off to her right, she could see the same soldiers who had been standing there the entire time she was on the roof. No one else seemed to be coming from that direction. Seph needed to move, now.Gliding around the far side of the barrel, away from the tower so that Lig might not see her, if he was still awake, Seph got to her feet and ran to the back side of the battlement. As far as she could see, no one was coming. Up past the staircase door, she saw the soldiers who had been here a few moments ago fading in the distance. With her head down and her hood up, Seph sprinted for the staircase door and paused next to it, listening.If she stepped into the long, winding stairwell while soldiers were coming up, she’d have little place to hide. They’d have to meet eventually, unless she ran back up the stairs. Somehow, she’d need to make
Eventually, Kit stepped back, signaling she was done, and her party faded into the hallway. Eli was right, there was much to be done, and Kit wasn’t even sure where to begin with the task of restoring the realm to its former glory. But there was no doubt her first appointment with the council would be to approve the new law that would allow her to rule before the end of her Choosing, one that would allow her to keep all seven of the men who stood around her now.As if reading her mind, Zora, her great-aunt and a distinguished member of the council stepped forward. “Queen Katrinetta, I would like to present to you a new law, passed by the council earlier this day. All it needs is your signature.”Confused, Kit took the sheet of parchment and began to read. When her eyes reached the bottom of the paper, she looked up. “How did you know...?”“Junno explained everything to us,” Nil said, stepping forward. “And we agree
“We love you, Kit. We’ll always be here for you,” Jate said to her right.“Even when we’re broken,” Danyen added, getting a giggle out of her and the others.“It’s our privilege to be with you,” Drake said in his deep, steady voice.Reeve took her hand. “Your belief in us has shaped us into who we are.”“And given us the confidence to stand with you as you become queen,” Landon said in her ear.“It’s all been well-worth it, Kit, to see you take the throne.” Cassius was still battered, but he looked much better now, with a smile on his face, than he had since Kit had found him in the dungeon.Kit shifted her eyes to Eli, assuming he would also say something. His eyes darted around several times, and she could tell he was attempting to come up with something no one else had said, but they’d all expressed themselves so well, it was a difficult
No longer frightened of the woman who used to terrorize her, Kit raised her arms between her mother’s bringing them down to the sides quickly so as to prevent her mother from ever making contact with her neck. Rona’s arms snapped down and she winced in pain. Her eyes bulged in surprise at her daughter’s strength. Kit took advantage of her mother’s stunned expression long enough to plant her fist in Rona’s right eye. Her mother rocked backward, grabbing at her face as Kit felt Eli’s familiar hand on her shoulder, seeking to calm her. Clearly, the older woman was no physical threat to Kit or anyone else.The bejeweled, golden crown atop Rona’s head wobbled as the queen staggered from the blow. It slid free, tumbling toward the floor. Kit reached out a hand and plucked it from the air. “The goddess have spoken!” she declared, ignoring the fact that it was the force of her own strike that had dislodged the crown. Nearly everyo
Watching the battle take place from the hallway had been unsettling for Kit, especially when she saw Eli faltering. For a moment, it had looked as if Vin might be victorious. Her attention had been pulled away when she learned Danyen was injured. Despite Galter’s best efforts to stop her, the princess insisted on going in and tending to him, and she had been there, placing pressure on the wound when Armant arrived. Danyen apologized for not being as handy with a sword as he was a quill, but Kit had only kissed him and assured him he was perfect in her sight.And then she’d seen hesitancy in Cassius and Eli as they considered mercy for Vin, the monster who had hurt and tortured so many. Ending him seemed like the right thing to do for all of the people of Yewforia, though she could never fault her men for weighing the costs of taking a life, even when that life was as worthless as scar face’s.She’d been stunned to see Jecob standing on the dais,
Across the room, Eli heard a shout and a roar of laughter. He could hardly let the situation distract him, but his head flickered in that direction for a moment, and he saw Danyen on the ground, grasping his middle. Drake was there and ended the laughing soldier who’d stabbed Danyen, but the Representative looked seriously wounded. Looking around the room, as he saw Vin trying to take advantage of his distraction, out of the corner of his eye, Eli spotted a member of his own guard who had just finished a man off. “Nen! Go to the infirmary and fetch Armant, as quickly as you can!”Eli hardly had time to see the guardsman nod in understanding before Vin’s persistence paid off, and his sword caught Eli in the left shoulder. It was a glancing blow as Eli dodged to his right, but this wound was deeper than the last and hurt more. It was not enough to slow him, though. Eli came flying back at Vin with a vengeance, thinking of his comments about Kit, how he h
The scene in the throne room was chaotic at best. Looking around, Eli quickly ascertained the situation. While the revolutionaries and several members of the Princess’s Guard had the upper hand, there were still twenty or thirty members of the Queen’s Guard and military doing their best to defend the door to the queen’s chambers.Across the room, Eli caught sight of a familiar set of dark eyes grimacing in his direction, and the Commander narrowed his focus as he stared him down. Scar face didn’t take his eyes off of Eli as he began to work his way through assailants, cutting them down easily as he moved toward his target. As he advanced, the aura of pure evil shifted the room such that darkness seemed to blot out everything around them until only Eli and the man who’d tried to end him remained. One of them would not walk out of this room.His concentration was broken when he heard another recognizable voice shout, “Goedwig! You&rsqu
The door to the castle was nearly nonexistent. Shards of wood hung from the upper posts, a few clung to the doorjambs, but for the most part, what had been an elegant entryway was now reduced to nothing but splinters and flecks of gold paint, thanks to the battering ram Eli had mentioned earlier.Realizing the only weapon she had was the small dagger, Kit scoured the ground for a sword. She saw one lying on the floor just inside of the castle entrance and picked it up, certain the poor fellow reposing nearby would no longer need it. She turned to tell her ladies they should do the same but noted they were already armed. Seph and Isla both had swords, though not as large and cumbersome as the one Kit had just procured, and Avinia had a bow she must’ve been carrying on her saddle, a quiver strung to her back.Armant and the other men who had come along with him stepped forward. “This is where we must leave you. We’ll head to the infirmary and check on t
“Are the two of you at peace now?” Kit asked Eli and Cassius.“I suppose so,” Eli began. “If he wants to go off and get himself killed, there will be one less person to share you with.” He smiled at Cassius, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and the larger man reached around Kit and popped him in the arm.“You’d better not get yourself killed. Any of you.” Kit looked around and saw all seven of the men she’d chosen nearby, five of them already saddled and ready to go, the other two done arguing. While she hadn’t made Drake’s appointment official, she would, as soon as she knew the outcome of the battle at hand.Kit’s hip was still aching from where she cut it on the door earlier. Normally, she’d be able to mount Belle by herself, but with her leg torn up, she decided it would be easier to ask for help. Turning to Eli, she asked, “Will you give me a boost?”&ldq
Avinia had quite an entourage with her, including several wagons’ worth of food and water, clean clothes, a few weapons, and Armant with medical supplies. She’d enlisted some castle servants to drive the wagons, and as soon as they reached the remaining prisoners, they also helped the physician as he began to assess wounds and care for the sick and injured. Bea, his nurse who was also a faithful member of the revolt, was there to help as well.Kit wasn’t sure who to go to first. Both of her cousins, along with their husbands, dropped down from their horses, and Kit could see Avinia’s eyes searching for her through the crowd. But she also wanted to run to Drake and Danyen, who were bringing up the end of the line, along with Gavin, Asher, and a few of the other remaining Representatives.The men would have to wait. Avinia rushed over, embracing Kit quickly before she backed up. “You smell terrible.”“Thank you. I just sli