Tower of Tempest: A Steamy Fantasy Romance (Stolen Crowns Book 3)

Chapter 35

“Don’t scream,” a voice whispered into my ear.

I struggled against my assailant, who’d pulled me into a little alcove in the hedge, vines hanging over it and hiding us.

“She must’ve escaped into the castle,” a guard yelled. “I don’t see her anywhere.”

“We have to find her,” Erasmus yelled back. “Search the castle inside and out. No one leaves or enters until she’s found.”

“What is wrong with you?” another voice said. “Why would you just grab her like that? Of course she’s going to scream.”

“What was I supposed to do? Call her name and alert everyone to our presence?”

Leoni and Driscoll. My shoulders sagged, and I stopped fighting.

“See?” Driscoll said triumphantly.

Leoni stepped in front of me, and I peeled Driscoll’s hand from my mouth, seeing his and Leoni’s outline in the dim light.

The vines rustled with intensity, and we all froze, backing against the hedge, leaves and twigs scraping against the fabric of my wool dress. A shadow stretched in, and an icy fear gripped me.

Then, Saestra appeared through the vines. I let out a whimper. I’d been caught. It was over for me.

She pressed a finger to her lips, then stepped back out and called, “She’s not here. I’ll keep looking through the rest of the maze!”

Her small, thin figure reappeared through the vines, and I shook my head slowly. “Why are you helping me?”

“Because all my life I’ve been training for a role I don’t want, then by some miracle you appeared, and I could finally be free without having to disappoint my uncle. But if you’re arrested and charged with Aunt Bronwen’s murder, then that all goes up in smoke. Besides, I don’t think you killed her.”

My mouth dropped open. “You don’t want to be queen?”

“No.” She twisted a lock of hair around her finger. “You can have the crown. I like to be behind the scenes. Not front and center.”

That made sense. I’d only met Saestra last night, but she seemed so uncomfortable in this role, in this environment.

“If you know I didn’t kill the queen, why don’t you just provide me with your testimony?” I asked as Driscoll and Leoni stayed silent, watching our exchange.

Her eyes welled with tears. “I was by the doors, trying to get inside the castle with everyone else. Too many saw me there, knew I didn’t have a view of you and the queen. I can’t give a testimony when I didn’t see what happened.” She grabbed my hand. “But I don’t believe you to be a killer. You’d have no reason to murder the queen.”

I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Did she just say murder the queen?” Driscoll asked. “What in the Seven Spirits is happening?”

Saestra’s gaze snapped to my companions, and I made quick introductions.

The image of the dead queen flashed in my mind. My mother. She was gone. We were having tea, we were laughing, talking about suitors—and now I’d never see her again. I’d barely gotten a chance to know her. My heart split in two.

“Find her,” Erasmus roared again, and the doors to the castle slammed, the sound echoing through the courtyard.

“What happened?” Leoni echoed Driscoll’s question.

I let out a sob, and the whole story spilled out of me, Leoni’s and Driscoll’s frowns growing deeper the more I told them. Saestra stayed silent, tears spilling down her cheeks, shoulders shaking, but I didn’t miss the way she stiffened when I got to the part about my mother using dark magic.

“Spirits fucking below,” Driscoll said when I finally finished. “She made a deal to get a crown in exchange for her firstborn child?” Leoni elbowed Driscoll, and he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I can’t believe it,” Saestra said quietly.

“I’m so sorry,” Leoni said. “I can’t imagine how hard this has to be for you.”

Wings pumped above us, and we all froze until the sound had subsided.

I swallowed. “And my father doesn’t believe I’m his daughter. If he finds me, he’ll arrest me.” Or worse.

“It’s true,” Saestra said. “He doesn’t trust you, and now that the queen is dead, I fear for the worst.”

“Maybe now isn’t the best time to tell her our news,” Driscoll said out the side of his mouth.

I straightened. “What news?”

Leoni rolled her eyes. “Well, now we have to tell her, genius.”

“I am a genius.” Driscoll puffed out his chest. “Thank you for recognizing that.”

Spirits below. We needed Loch. He was so good at keeping the peace between them. If he were here he’d tell a joke or compliment Driscoll’s intelligence while somehow also complimenting Leoni, then both of them would forget they were even arguing. I missed him. I missed his smiles and his teasing. I wished I could just give him a hug.

Wait a minute. I looked around the space where we hid, then noticed Loch’s sword, now sheathed at Driscoll’s side. The pit of dread in me grew deeper. “Where is Loch? Why do you have his sword?”

“Loch?” Saestra asked. “As in Prince Lochlan of the water court?”

I massaged my temples. This was getting to be too much.

“It’s a long story,” I said, impatient. “But he, Driscoll, and Leoni rescued me from my tower and have been my companions since.”

Leoni took a deep breath and Driscoll nodded at her. “He’s missing,” she said in one quick breath. “He left to go to the ball and said he couldn’t bring a weapon, so Driscoll agreed to keep his sword for him until he returned.”

My stomach sank. “Missing? But I just saw him last night.”

“You saw him?” Driscoll took hold of my arms. “So he did make it to the ball? He talked to you?”

More than talked. I nodded.

Driscoll’s eyes lit up. “How was it? What did you wear? I pictured you in a black dress that would match your feathers and really bring out the green in your eyes?—”

Leoni cut him a look.

He planted a hand on his hip. “Can I please live vicariously through her? It’s not like I’m getting invited to any balls or getting swept off my feet by some strong handsome man with big muscles and a deep voice.”

“When was the last time you saw Prince Lochlan?” Leoni asked. “We need to find him. I can’t lose Gabby’s brother! The prince of the water court.” She let out a groan and her head thunked against the hedge wall.

Saestra’s gaze bounced between the three of us as she took all this information in.

“I saw him.” I kept my voice light. “And we danced, and then we went to the balcony, and he...” I trailed off. Put his mouth between my legs and made me feel things I’d never felt in my entire life.

“You went on the balcony... and?” Leoni prompted, setting her hands on her wide waist.

“And we argued,” I said, squeezing my eyes shut.

“Argued?” Driscoll snorted. “Prince Lochlan argued with you?”

“That can’t be right,” Leoni agreed.

I clenched my molars together. “Well, it is. He wanted me to leave and come with you three to the shadow court to find Gran, but I said no. I told him to go to my room and we’d talk about it later.” I groaned, scrubbing a hand down my face. “And now he’s missing.”

Saestra was looking at all of us with confusion written across her face. “This is a lot to take in,” she said with a shaky voice.

“I’m sorry,” I said to her. “It’s a lot for me to take in, and I’m all caught up on current events.”

I would fix this. I would make this right. For Loch.

Leoni’s gaze darted upward to the ceiling of the little hedge alcove. “We have a theory.”

I didn’t like the ominous tone of her voice. I tucked a strand behind my ear. “Okay...”

“We think he might’ve been arrested and is up in the cages.”

Saestra gasped at the same time as I did.

“Why would my father arrest him?” Maybe he hadn’t. Maybe it had been his guards. Loch had been wearing a mask, so perhaps they hadn’t recognized him? If what Leoni said was true, that would mean he’d been there all night. In the cold, wind rattling the bars. The prince of the water court. Blood and skies, this was bad. And I couldn’t go to my father and explain. He’d never listen to me. Would likely arrest me on sight. Maybe Saestra could?

As if she knew what I was thinking, she shook her head. “The king loved his wife more than anything in the world. He won’t be in his right mind, not for anyone, including me, to come to him.”

Guilt riddled me. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t snuck out like that, tricked him into getting drunk...” I covered my face with my hands. “And after he opened up about everything. He told me about how he became the playboy prince, about his role in mediating between his family and how hard that was on him.”

I hated myself in that moment.

Leoni’s eyes widened. “I’m glad he opened up to you. He doesn’t talk to anyone about his problems. His sister often worried he bottled it up so much that one day he’d explode from all his feelings.” She put a hand on my arm. “Don’t feel bad. You did something few have been able to do: you got him to talk to you.”

That took me aback. I hadn’t known Loch was that closed off.

Leoni studied me with awe. “I can’t believe you’re an actual princess. The princess of the sky court.”

“Yes, let’s talk about that.” Driscoll pressed his hands together. “Can I see your wardrobe?”

“Prince Lochlan is missing, and you want to see her clothes?” Leoni asked.

Despite all the awful things that had happened, I smiled. I’d missed this. Far more than I’d realized. I threw my arms around the both of them. “Thank you for coming,” I said. “We are going to get Loch.”

They shared a look, some conversation happening between them that I didn’t understand.

Driscoll smirked. “Loch, huh? Not Prince Lochlan?”

“The prince,” I quickly corrected, cursing myself, but by the sly glances they passed each other, I knew they were suspicious, and I was not ready to reveal what had happened between me and Loch. Especially not in front of Saestra.

“Okay, how are we going to break Loch out of the sky prisons?” Driscoll asked.

Leoni squeezed her eyes shut like the idea physically pained her. She would be committing a crime, and I knew it went against everything she stood for as guard of Apolis.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said to her.

She took a deep breath. “It’s my duty. Guards are sworn to protect their king, queen, and all heirs at any cost, above all else.” She held up her head. “That’s what I’m doing.”

“Okay, then.” I swallowed, thinking through our options. “You have your earth magic,” I said finally. “Leoni has water magic, and I have...” Well, I had magic that wasn’t reliable. “I have sky magic,” I finished weakly. “Surely we can band together and get him, then get the bloody skies out of here.”

I said it like it was simple, but in reality, it would incredibly complicated.

In my week here, I’d learned a bit about the guards’ schedules and how the prisons were guarded, but I certainly didn’t have enough information to make a foolproof plan. The longer we waited, the more danger we were in.

My father would have everyone looking for me.

“If only there was someone on the inside whom you could trust,” Leoni murmured.

We all slowly turned on Saestra, whose eyes widened as big as saucers. She swallowed, hands wringing together in front of her.

“How badly do you not want to be queen?” Driscoll asked.

She chewed at the inside of her cheek, then gave a sharp nod. “I think I have an idea.”