Chapter 27
“In fact, I should like to give you something...” Blamore said, his smiling face nearly scaring the warm mug out of my hands.
I was standing. I was breathing.
The wish... It’s taken me back in time again.
“Wait here, I’ll return shortly.” Blamore passed his drink off to a servant, and perfectly in sync with my memories, he disappeared from the foyer. My head pounded as the rush of magic refilled my thoughts, nearly making my knees go weak as the servants buzzed around me like they’d done before.
I’m back at the moment when I first entered the palace.
“Oh, I have long awaited this day!” Gerda said excitedly, her sweet face so blissfully unaware of the horrors that I’d just escaped. Just like my last wish, I was pushed back in time, but I appeared to be two whole months earlier than before.
Is this before Cassian was cursed?
My fingers twitched as the match’s warmth lingered in my fingers, but when I looked down at my healthy hands, I could see that the warmth was only coming from the hot mug I was still clutching.
But still, I couldn’t help but feel that the match brought me here for a purpose.
Last time I’d wished to become a better queen, this time I’d wished to stop Blamore’s poison from spreading.
So where was the poison?
The mug’s steam tickled my nose, the distinct scent rousing my memories until I felt my entire stomach turn.
“Blackwood?” I gasped, staring into the murky drink that smelled vaguely of the toxic sap. I inspected it more closely, taking in a small whiff of the drink until I was able to look past the sweet spices and confirm what I feared.
“Is something wrong, Your Highness?” Gerda asked. “Is the drink not to your liking? Prince Blamore prepared it specially for you all by himself.”
“I’m sure he did,” I growled, pressing the drink back into Gerda’s hands. “It’s poisoned. Send it to the royal apothecary at once and tell him to test for paralysis toxins.”
It all made sense now. Even when I stayed away from blackwood fires last time, I still got sick. The poison had been in me long before Averglas burned.
Blamore always planned to let me die.
“What?” the footman gasped, rushing to Gerda’s side along with the other servants. “That can’t be. Surely it’s a mistake.”
“It was Blamore’s mistake, thinking he could cross me,” I said, my voice icier than the kingdom to come. “Where is he? And where’s the king?”
“King?” Gerda blinked, her brows knitting like the memory was there, but too clouded to retrieve. “I... I think you’re referring to Prince Blamore, am I right? Or am I forgetting someone? This old mind plays tricks on me.”
They’re already forgetting him, but the poison hasn’t taken root yet. There’s still time!
After this came the mirror.
I ran down the hall, abandoning the servants as I followed the direction where Blamore had disappeared. My legs felt incredible, the feeling of running one that I would never take for granted. Air pumped smoothly through my lungs, and my heart had no trouble keeping up with me.
“Just tell me if it’s good enough for a princess...” Blamore’s voice caught my ear, and I skidded to a stop in front of a closed door. “You always know when something is perfect.”
Cassian!
“Very well, but then I need to go meet with the head housekeeper,” Cassian said, his voice still clear and strong, without the echo of his cage.
I grabbed the door handle, but it wasn’t budging, likely locked from the inside.
“The servants have been practically ignoring me lately. I’d like to address the issue before I meet your bride to be. ”
“That sounds dreadful,” Blamore said, his voice oozing with fake sympathy. “Let me know what you think of the gift and I’ll go have a word with them myself.”
“No!” I banged on the door, kicking and slamming on it any way I could. “Cassian! Don’t do it!”
“What in the kingdoms?” Cassian’s voice drew nearer, lifting my spirits as I heard his familiar footsteps approach the door. “Who’s there? And why is this door locked? Here let me—Blamore! What are you—?”
“Look in the mirror first!” Blamore barked. “Hurry!”
“Hold on a moment!” Cassian’s distress ate at me, and I desperately searched for anything to help.
A decorative plant sat just outside the door, with a pile of pretty stones arranged on top of the dirt. I grabbed the biggest one I could see, channeling the strength of Douglas as I smacked it into the door handle until it broke clean off.
I kicked the door open, earning a grunt from Blamore as it smacked beautifully into his side. The prince crumpled to the floor, the mirror falling from his hands and shattering to the floor with a sharp crash.
No!
My chest tightened when I looked at the scattered glass, fear tunneling into my brain as I wondered if I had been too late. Was Cassian trapped again?
“Would someone please explain to me what’s going on?” A powerful voice boomed behind me, creeping up on me like a warm shadow that I had to resist the urge to turn around and squeeze. Cassian stood over me, his authoritative frown the most magical thing I had ever seen.
“You’re safe,” I said, my voice shaking as I clutched a hand to my pounding heart. His blue eyes couldn’t have been more confused, but to me, they had never been more familiar. “Thank the heavens I made it in time.”
“In time for what?” Cassian asked. “Who are you?”
“She’s mad!” Blamore groaned, pulling himself up from the floor with a furious glare directed at me. “She’s the princess, but clearly she’s some sort of lunatic!”
“You want to see crazy?” The second he stood up, I threw my rock at him, nailing him straight in the gut with a gasping wheeze that reminded me of the way his poison made me breathe.
“That’s for trying to kill me.” I kicked him back to the floor, causing him to fall next to the shattered mirror.
“And that’s for trying to curse the king. ”
“That’s enough!” Cassian grabbed me by the arm, and I didn’t resist. He pulled me close, our eyes meeting while Blamore whined in the corner.
He looked so much like a king now, powerful, confident, and clearly bothered by the strange princess attacking his brother, but deep down, I could still see my snow king.
“Explain yourself, or I’ll be forced to place you in the dungeon. ”
“Go check the drink Blamore gave me,” I said, calm as could be. “It’s been poisoned with a magical plant called blackwood. If you look around your kingdom, you’ll see many young blackwood trees sprouting. Their pollen is what’s causing people to forget you.”
His grip on me loosened, and ever so slowly, I watched my king thaw. “What?”
“That’s...that’s preposterous!” Blamore rose from the floor once more, this time keeping a safe distance from me.
There was no denying the panic wobbling his knees, his eyes wide as he tried to determine how a new princess could possibly know any of this.
“Blackwood? I’ve never heard of such a thing! ”
“The sorceress who lives up on the mountain crafted it for him,” I continued, proud to air out all the dirty laundry he’d left with me in our last lives. “Just like she gave you that mirror. Had I not stopped you sooner, you would have trapped the king inside its reflection.”
The shock on Blamore’s face was more beautiful than the richest oil painting.
No words came to him, just the crunching of broken glass beneath his boots as he staggered back.
Cassian still held on to me, but I could hear his breath catch as the pieces came together more smoothly than the shards of a mirror.
“Blamore?” Cassian said softly. “Why were you trying to force that mirror on me?”
Blamore’s face turned as white as a fresh canvas, his poison stopped at its source. “T-to ask your opinion on it before giving it to the princess.”
“He would have thought that it was far from perfect, I’m afraid,” I clarified for him, turning my eyes back to the bewildered king. “He’s terribly picky like that, especially when you leave fingerprints on the glass.”
Cassian’s touch softened, his lips parting ever so slowly as a sentence offered to step outside and join us, but tripped on its way out. “I-I’m sorry, have we met before?”
The question made my heart patter, his lost eyes searching through me, but restricted by the memories he had now. This was Cassian, but it wasn’t my Cassian. That was okay, though. I would protect my king in any timeline.
“I’m Princess Safara,” I said, offering him the first of many smiles to come. “Your brother’s former betrothed.”
“Former?” Blamore scoffed, brushing the dirt off his shirt, while still half-hunching over from our rocky greeting. “Safara, what has happened to you? A moment ago we were to be wed, and now you’re spouting lies about blackwood trees and Wilma the crazy sorceress—”
“I never said her name was Wilma,” I said sharply, snapping my head around to give him a wicked smile. Blamore’s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and his silence left a tension so thick that we might have suffocated in it soon.
“This...this can’t be,” Cassian said, finally releasing me as he shook his head in disbelief.
“She’s lying!” Blamore finally spat out. “She’s clearly plotting something. Her kingdom is weak, and they’re looking for a way to gain more power!”
“Then go taste the drink you offered me.” I folded my arms. “Gerda should still have it. She said you made it specially for me, after all.”
Blamore clenched his jaw, the pile of evidence stacking up against him finally chaining him to his crimes. Cassian was at a loss for words, his eyes flicking between the shattered mirror and the cornered prince as a soft flurry of snow started to swirl around the room.
“Guards,” Cassian called out in a calm, clear tone. A pair of armed men showed up in an instant, likely having drawn near when they heard the commotion earlier. “Take the prince and lock him up in his room until I’ve investigated this further, if you would.”
“Cassian, you wouldn’t.” Blamore glared at his brother, but Cassian met the challenge with an icy look twice as chilling.
“Apparently you would,” Cassian said. “Something has been amiss for quite a while, and this princess is the first person to make any sense.” He turned to face me, my heart nearly exploding as his icy walls faded away. “And the first person to call me by name in weeks... How did you even know it?”
Everyone really had been forgetting him...
“I’d love to tell you someday,” I said, my eyes following Blamore until the guards had pulled him out the door. “But I’m hoping there will be time for that later. Right now, I’m a visiting princess who just severed her alliance. I’ll need to ensure that I’m not in any danger here.”
“That’s understandable,” Cassian said, waving his hand to calm the snow flurries that had been swirling around the room. “I apologize if my gifts frightened you.”
“Not at all,” I said. “I find them rather incredible, just like your kingdom. You see, I came here today to try and protect Averglas, and you, of course, because I still wish to secure this alliance.”
His brow knit together, his eyes thoughtful and enchanting as he inched a step closer to me. I wondered if he could hear my heart pattering as I looked up at him. Every ounce of me wanted to reach out and touch the king now that I’d regained the ability to feel, but I was still a stranger to him.
Would he ever fall in love with me again?
“Marry me, Your Highness,” I said, unable to restrain myself any further. It was probably the craziest thing a princess could do—waltz into a castle and ask the king to make her his queen, but in my experience, it had a rather high success rate. “Unify our kingdoms with me by your side.”
He didn’t respond at first, but a small smile kept twitching his lips as he slowly realized I was serious.
“Of course we’ll start with a proper courtship,” I continued, my thoughts dancing back to our tablet full of rules.
“We’ll have to sort out the details, make a list of expectations, and ensure you ask my family’s blessing when the time comes.
.. But those can be sorted after we get to the bottom of Blamore’s deception.
All I ask of you now is a chance to prove myself as a useful queen. ”
He stepped forward, closing the distance between us as he studied me like I was the most interesting snowflake that had ever wandered into his view. My heart tugged me closer to him, nearly beating out of my chest as I stopped just shy of embracing the man I still loved throughout any lifetime.
“You’d truly want to spend your life with me?” he asked, his voice soft and wistful. “The cold-hearted snow king?”
I reached for his hand, the touch so painfully familiar that I nearly plunged into his arms. He didn’t shy away from my touch, but I could tell that it perplexed him, and I half-wondered if love could transcend even time.
“You don’t feel cold to me.”