Chapter 20
Twenty
Prince Everand led Hugo into the ballroom through a set of partially hidden doors that were being used by servants carrying food and dishes to and from the kitchen. The plan was to slip into the crowd with flutes of champagne in hand and pretend they’d been there all along.
It should have worked.
It very nearly did.
But blending in with the crowd of revelers, who were deep in their cups and more than a little sweaty, wasn’t the problem.
Hugo fought to keep the guilty grin off his lips as they hurried past a servant holding a tray of empty champagne flutes. The man’s eyes widened. He gasped but didn’t say a word as Hugo and the prince worked their way into the crush.
The orchestra was playing a jaunty reel, and the clack of heels and thump of boots on the marble was loud, pounding above the chatter of conversation.
“Want to give it a whirl?” Everand inquired, his nose nuzzling Hugo’s ear.
“I’d rather not. Reels and polkas aren’t my strong suit. Do you think the orchestra has another waltz or something else slow in its repertoire for the night?” Hugo admitted. It was better to confess his failings than risk embarrassing the prince in front of all the gathered aristocrats.
“Even if they don’t, I’ll tell them to play our first waltz again. I don’t care. I like holding you in my arms.”
“Does everyone fall for you when you say such sweet things?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never said such things to anyone.”
Hugo bit the inside of his cheek to hold in a sigh. This man was going to make him swoon in the middle of the crowd. How could he talk like this and not be embarrassed one bit? He was shameless. Completely and utterly shameless.
Their conversation stopped as they worked their way into the crowd, with many people happily calling the prince and then noting that Hugo remained at his side. That got the ball attendees gossiping even faster.
“Are you thirsty or hungry?” Everand inquired. “I can send someone to fetch us something. We can carve out a spot by my parents so we can eat in peace.”
“Eat in peace by your parents?” Hugo shot him an incredulous look, and Everand made a show of rolling his eyes.
“Okay, not total peace, but I promise they will at least be polite,” the prince countered, still grinning.
Hugo nodded. “I could eat. It’s been a busy day, and I’ve worked up an appetite.”
Everand bumped his shoulder into Hugo’s. “Yes, we need to keep your strength up.”
Hugo chuckled and followed Everand toward the dais where his parents were sitting.
They hadn’t gotten far when a loud, deep bang echoed through the ballroom, followed by a second and a third.
The heavy thuds came from all around the large space.
People stopped dancing, and even the orchestra cut off the tune they were playing.
“What was that?” Hugo asked, edging closer to the prince. Everywhere, murmurs of conversation increased in volume, and there was a new uneasy edge to it.
“Someone closed the doors. Hurry! Come with me.” Everand caught Hugo’s hand in a tight grip and pulled him through the throng of people to the dais. A cold sweat broke out across his back and clung to his skin.
That shouldn’t have happened. Something was wrong, and they needed to get to the king and queen as quickly as possible. The royal family needed to be protected at all costs.
As Hugo searched for castle guards, a woman in the middle of the ballroom screamed.
Hugo and the prince stopped and twisted in the direction of the rending sound.
For a couple of heartbeats, Hugo could see only panicked people rushing off the dance floor to the sidelines.
Colors swirled and faces contorted in fear.
The sweet scents that had perfumed the night now soured in his nose.
As his line of sight cleared, he spotted a man in an elegant black tuxedo holding a young woman in a pale-lilac dress in front of him.
He pressed a long knife to her slender neck.
A thin line of bright-red blood trickled down her throat.
What was happening? Was this man a guest? Did he have a grievance against the woman?
“Forgive the intrusion, Your Majesty,” the attacker called out, his tone light and even jovial. The people attending the ball fell silent, so that there was just the faint rustle of fabric and muffled whimpers. “King Victor Claymoore of Wulia sends his regards.”
“Damn,” Everand muttered under his breath and tightened his grip on Hugo.
“If the king of Wulia is so eager to send his regards, he could have chosen a more civilized manner than attacking my guests,” King Hubert bellowed. His deep voice thundered through the room and crashed into the high ceiling and walls. “Release that woman!”
“I would, but holding her means I have your full attention, which is what King Victor requires,” the attacker countered.
The king’s face reddened, and his voice trembled in his rage. “Guards! Guards! Seize this man!”
But no guards rushed out. There was banging on the various doors around the room as the palace guards attempted to enter the ballroom, but all the entrances were barred.
Hugo’s heart leaped into his throat as he scanned the ballroom to find steely-eyed men in suits holding daggers and swords.
There were even a few positioned up on the second-floor overlook.
They’d shoved aside the orchestra and had small crossbows trained on them.
Everand released Hugo’s hand, and it felt like Hugo’s heart stopped. Hugo latched on to the prince’s sleeve as he took a step forward. “What are you doing?” he hissed.
“Something. I don’t know. I can’t let them hurt that woman or my parents.”
It was the answer he’d expected to hear from Everand. He was not the type to let others act for him.
“Do you have a weapon?”
“I’ll figure something out.”
Hugo took that to mean, “No, I’m not armed, but I’m a stubborn, noble moron.”
With a growl, Hugo jerked Everand deeper into the crowd. “Give me a moment. It won’t be perfect.” He kept pulling the prince until they were close to one of the columns.
Everand dipped his head down, pressing his face close to Hugo’s so he could whisper. “What are you doing?”
Hugo ignored his question and focused on the swirl of magic rising from within him.
He threw out his free hand with a twist of his wrist, and a spiral of glass formed into the shape of a dagger.
As it formed, he made the handle extra thick and sturdy.
The only problem was that his craft didn’t allow him to create a sharp edge.
Just an extra pointy tip. The knife wasn’t too bad for stabbing but horrible for slashing.
“Really?” Everand gasped.
“Just a second.” Hugo peered about to make sure no one was paying attention to them before tapping the edge of the glass blade into the marble column.
The sound of breaking glass cut through the room, but several glasses had shattered in the chaos.
No one seemed to pay much attention to it as the king and attacker continued to argue.
The edge of the blade was jagged and sharp. With a few more magical touches to seal up some fractures, Hugo handed it over to Everand and began making one of his own.
“Please remember, it’s glass. It can’t stand up to direct blows from a sword,” Hugo admonished.
“You got a plan to go with this lunacy?” Everand teased as he tested the heft of the knife.
“It appears they have only a dozen men with them. We need to get a single door open to allow the palace guards to storm the ballroom to turn this in our favor. You take the door closest to your parents. I’ll take the one to the right. Both are protected from the archers on the upper floor.”
“Good plan. Don’t get hurt, or I will be very unhappy,” Everand commanded. That felt like a very large understatement. He stole a forceful kiss and darted away.
Hugo’s heart hammered and his lungs squeezed, refusing to draw in a full breath.
What the devil was he even thinking? Taking on armed soldiers from Wulia with nothing more than a glass knife?
No matter how terrified he was, deep down he knew he couldn’t remain on the sidelines.
Everand needed him. The king and queen needed him. Branem needed him.
There wasn’t enough time to get control of the trembling that started in his hands.
He could only hurry forward, weaving his way through the terrified people, who watched the man in the center holding the innocent young woman.
Hugo had his eyes set on the two men guarding the door two dozen feet away from him when glass shattered.
An angry grunt jerked Hugo’s head around to see Everand fighting off two men in suits.
His glass knife was gone, and he was struggling to keep from getting stabbed with an actual knife.
“No!” Hugo shouted. He changed direction and charged straight for Everand. While he clutched the glass sword in right hand, he flung out his left. Five glass spikes shot out, flying between Everand and the guards. Four of them smashed into the wall, but the fifth stabbed a man in the shoulder.
The combatants jumped apart and turned their sights on Hugo. He attempted to throw more glass spikes, but they were ready for him now, blocking each as soon as it streaked through the air.
“Grab them!”
Hands caught Hugo from behind, and a meaty fist slammed into his jaw, rattling his brain and making the entire world flicker. Hugo clung to consciousness, but he couldn’t hold on to the glass knife. It fell from his fingertips and shattered on the marble floor.
“Fight back! We outnumber them!” Everand shouted, his voice almost cracking. “Use your magic!”
There was a low rumble from the guests, as if the prince’s words had made an obvious point click in their brains.
The ringleader chuckled. “Of course. Try it. But if I see even a glimmer of something magical, my archers let loose with their bolts, and the first person to die will be Queen Lilianna. But by all means, test me.”
Silence fell, and Hugo cursed himself a hundred times over for not having a more impressive magic skill. What good was glass against swords and arrows?
The Wulian soldiers dragged him to the center of the room with Everand, bringing them to the man who still held the young woman. Tears streaked her pale cheeks. Whimpers of fear leaked from her parted lips, and she trembled like a leaf caught in a breeze.
Everand lurched toward Hugo, straining against the pair of men who were holding him. “My treasure! Are you okay?”
Hugo forced a crooked grin. “I’m fine,” he murmured even though his jaw was aching and his head was still throbbing. He could feel a trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth, but there was nothing he could do about it.
“Enough! What is it you want?” King Hubert demanded. His voice sounded as if he were trying to maintain a forced calm. That low rumble of thunder as the storm edged closer.
Mr. Ringleader smiled at the young woman and removed the knife from her throat. “Forgive me, Miss. I won’t be needing you any longer. I have my prize.”
As he finished speaking, he lifted his hard brown eyes to stare at Everand. These bastards had come for the prince. The soldier with the scar on his cheek released the woman and gave her a shove away from him, sending her stumbling and scrambling into the waiting embrace of the crowd.
“King Victor has magnanimously offered to put past aggressions and old wounds behind him…in exchange for one prince. To close the debt Branem owes Wulia, he will take Prince Everand.”
Hugo was aware of both the queen and king shouting in denial, but Hugo couldn’t say a word. There was only rage and fear. He couldn’t let anyone take Everand away from him. Everand wouldn’t survive. King Victor would kill him. The world needed Everand.
A ferocious snarl ripped from Hugo’s throat as he fought the men holding him, kicking and jerking until he broke free.
He lunged forward, gripping Mr. Ringleader’s jacket with his left fist. With his right hand resting on the man’s pounding heart, Hugo summoned enough magic to create a glass needle that pierced his clothes and skin.
Hugo smirked when the man’s wide eyes jerked to his face.
The knife still in his hand was now pressed to Hugo’s throat.
“Stop!”
“Take me with you,” Hugo growled.
“What?” Both Everand and Mr. Ringleader gasped. Clearly, this was not the demand they’d been expecting.
“You’ve come this far. There’s no way I can convince you to give him up.
You must have a plan for getting out of here alive.
I can kill you, but not all of your companions.
You’ll still take him. So, take me with you,” Hugo repeated, not breaking eye contact with Mr. Ringleader. “Wherever he goes, I go too.”
“Who the hell are you?” Ringleader demanded, even as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face.
“I’m…I’m…” Hugo’s mind raced. What was he supposed to say? There was no way this man would believe he was Everand’s bodyguard. A bodyguard would have been armed with something more than glass. A servant wouldn’t be wearing such attire. “I’m his—”
“Fiancé! Hugo is my fiancé, and I won’t let you hurt him!” Everand interjected.
For the first time since Hugo had struck, the man glanced in the prince’s direction for a heartbeat. Something calculating entered his gaze as he returned his eyes to Hugo. “Okay. Fine. You both go. Now release me.”
Hugo frowned, his hand tightening on the man’s tuxedo jacket. “If you try to separate us, I will find you, but I won’t stab you through the heart. I will fill you with glass. Every vein, every organ, every inch of your body will be filled with glass until it crushes you from the inside.”
The calculating look disappeared, and the man swallowed hard.
At least now he was sure their attacker would take him more seriously. If it helped to keep Everand safe, it was worth it. As long as they were together, he could help protect Everand and get him home.
Hugo released Mr. Ringleader and took a step back, lifting his open hands in front of him, showing he was no longer putting up a fight. The second he did, Wulian attackers grabbed him and jerked him away. He stumbled, trying to get his balance, but the world went black.
A gasp broke from his throat, and he drew in a breath to call for Everand when the world came into focus.
Except they weren’t in the palace ballroom any longer.
They were standing in the middle of a camp, a large fire flickering not too far away.
And at least fifty soldiers surrounded them with swords and guns trained on them.
“We’re not in Frostbourne any longer,” Hugo mumbled.
A ragged snort caught his attention, and he stared at a weakly smiling Everand, still held by a pair of guards. “We’re not even in Branem. Welcome to Wulia.”