Chapter 47
Forty-Seven
ALLETTE
Not only is this the second time that I’ve stumbled upon someone inside a cage, but also, this cage looks almost identical to the one from Cadoc Carew’s office. Not that it matters right now, because, not only is my prince in a cage, but also he is glowing like a fallen star, the light in his veins reflecting off the wall at his back.
Thank goodness I stole so much antidote. Something tells me that we’re going to need it.
Now to get him out of here so he can take it.
“Senan?” I step farther into the room, expecting a ward or something else to stop me. The only resistance I meet is the wall of my own fear.
I can be afraid tomorrow, when we’re safe and sound. When all of this is over.
“Senan, can you hear me?”
My prince’s eyelashes flutter open, but only for a moment before falling back to his cheeks.
“Allette—” A fit of coughing catches in his throat, and when he swipes his arm across his lips, blood dribbles down his forearm in a terrifying stream. There’s no telling how much dust the king has forced upon him since his capture. By now, his poor body must be ravaged by poison.
It’s a wonder he still lives.
I cross to the cage on shaking limbs, my aching heart pinching at the state of him. His trousers have been shredded to ribbons, dried blood painting the tanned skin peeking from beneath. “Do you know where the king is keeping the key?” There’s no hope of releasing him without it. Even if I have to sneak into the bastard’s bedroom, I will.
Senan squints up at me, brow furrowed and chapped lips pursed. “Key?”
“To the cage.”
What little spark of life I saw in his eyes dies out, leaving his irises dull and gray. “You shouldn’t be here. He’ll catch you.”
I don’t give a rat’s arse about being caught. “The key, Senan.”
A sigh. “In the desk.”
That feels too good to be true. Surely, the king would’ve been smarter than to leave a key where it could be found so easily. My skirts slap my ankles as I hurry over to the desk, opening the top drawer to find a key resting atop a stack of letters bearing the king’s signature.
The small piece of brass feels like victory in the palm of my hand as I carry it to where Senan slumps on the floor.
He rests his chin on his knee, a lazy sort of smile playing on his lips. “You’re beautiful. I never told you that enough.”
“Stop speaking about yourself in the past tense. You’re going to come out of this just fine.”
“I love your optimism.”
Optimism? This is a fact. I refuse to accept any other outcome.
With a twist of the key, the door unlocks, swinging wide on groaning hinges. We will survive this just as we have survived every other obstacle the stars have thrown at us.
I take a knee next to my glowing prince. Although he smells of sweat and blood, I’ve never known a sweeter perfume. “Put your arm around my shoulders, and I’ll help you stand.”
His arm comes around me, heavier than it should be as he tries to rise on shaking legs. It takes four attempts, but eventually he manages to stand. Getting him out of the skinny door is another matter. Somehow, we make it with only touching the bars once. His sluggish movements slow us down, but we reach the door to the servants’ stairs, and I can taste the sweet air of freedom waiting on the other side. “I have a spare uniform for you to change into. At the bottom of the stairs, you’ll have to walk by yourself. Do you think you can manage?”
He grunts.
“Hold tight. We’re almost there.”
Something behind us clatters.
“Where are you taking my brother?”
The small voice nearly brings me to my knees. Thank the stars it’s only the youngest prince, not Boris. A tray of chocolate cake lays at his feet, and a bowl of strawberries has spilled across the rug.
Senan’s face crushes up, his voice breaking. “Kyff…”
Prince Kyffin withdraws his dagger, the blade quivering as he aims the tip in my direction, his face pale as moonlight. “I’ll not let you steal him.”
“I’m not stealing him. I’m saving him. If he stays here, he’ll die.”
His eyes widen, but the blade does not falter. “That’s not true.”
“It is,” Senan breathes, the pressure of his arm around my shoulders growing harder to bear.
“The king gives him poison to make him sick,” I say, praying this poor, confused little boy believes me.
“You’re lying. You’re both lying. That’s what happens when you glow. You lie. Boris is helping him get better. He promised.”
“Kyffin, please?—”
“Guards!” Kyffin bellows.
The door bursts open, and three men in silver leathers dash into the room, their swords drawn. A man trails in behind them, walking at a measured pace, as if strolling through the gardens.
Black hair. Silver eyes. Menacing smile.
The king has found us. “Where do you think you’re going?” he drawls, folding his arms as if we are a mere inconvenience.
The door to the servants’ stairs is the closest exit, but even if I weren’t shouldering Senan’s weight, I’d have no hope of beating these men to the bottom of the tower.
The king’s hand falls to the littlest prince’s shoulder to give the little boy a tender squeeze. “Well done, Kyffin.”
Silver tears line the poor lad’s lashes, and his lower lip quakes.
The king extends his free hand. “Allette Rittey, I presume?”
As if I’m going to shake hands with that lying, manipulative snake.
“Or should I call you Wynn ?” A smile. “You are a tenacious woman, I’ll give you that. I can see why my brother and Sergeant Bell were so enamored. It really is regrettable, what had to happen to you.” His eyes gleam with satisfaction.
None of this had to happen. He orchestrated it all, wielding his power like he alone is the conductor of fate.
“Let us go, and we won’t be a problem.” It’s a useless plea, but I have to try.
“I wish I could. Unfortunately, because of my brother, we were very nearly at war with our northern neighbors.”
Kyffin’s shoulders curl as he presses himself into the king, his eyes haunted.
“Senan had nothing to do with that. Cadoc Carew kidnapped the princess."
Boris heaves a beleaguered sigh, but there is a wicked gleam in his eyes that he cannot hide. “I am sorry to say that all the evidence points to my poor brother colluding with Carew to rid himself of his new wife. The princess herself made a statement.”
After we saved her? No. That cannot be true. Boris is lying. He must be.
Senan’s body shudders with a chesty cough, the gold in his veins fading to a dull glow. “I’ll…confess to everything…if you just…let her go.”
“You’re asking me to jeopardize my kingdom’s safety by setting a murderer free?” Boris clicks his tongue. “Here I thought you couldn’t be more disappointing.”
Kyff’s head swings toward me. “That lady killed someone?”
“One of my personal guards,” the king says with feigned sympathy. “The two of you make quite the pair, don’t you? When I found out my brother was rutting with some Tuath maid, it wasn’t all that difficult to figure out who you were, traipsing around the caverns in such finery. Although it was quite a shock to find out the murderous maid and the woman my brother foolishly bound himself to in the human realm were one and the same.”
Senan sways, knocking me off balance. In the time it takes me to steady him, the guards have surrounded us, and although they sheathe their weapons, there is no point in fighting.
The battle is over…
Our victory stolen.
“And now, you will both pay for your crimes.” Boris gestures toward the cage. “Put them in there for now, then find out what happened to the guards in the servants’ staircase. Have more posted before we collect any more unexpected visitors.” Our gazes meet and my stomach sinks even lower when the king’s smile returns. “Someone get Sergeant Bell in here. I want him on the first watch.”