32. Hope is a Lie
WREN
When I look over my shoulder next, both the king and the Hunter have vanished. Fear encases my heart in ice. Where did they go?
Before I can panic, a crash comes from the back of the ballroom. One of the tables that was laden with food is now on its side. Roasted meats, breads, and platters of dainty tarts are now strewn across the floor.
Chaos erupts. People start shouting as a streak of black slips out the back door. The musicians keep playing, even as people yell about ruined clothes and wasted food. Watchers converge on the area. No one is looking at the dais.
“Thank you, Kadyn,” I murmur, heading towards the platform.
I hadn’t been sure how I’d get the twins’ attention, but it turns out I’d been worrying for nothing. The moment I get to the base of the platform, Violet’s eyes land on me.
“Birdie?” she gasps.
Marie’s head swivels over, a beaming smile on her face. Suns. When was the last time I smiled? She opens her mouth, but I shake my head and lift a finger to my lips.
“Come with me,” I whisper urgently. “We don’t have much time.”
Marie nods, but Violet hisses, “The queen said we have to stay put?—”
“I’ll explain later, but just… please. You have to trust me. We don’t have time to waste.” We’re going to use the last of our money to hire a wagon to get us out of Rosebridge tonight, but in order to do that, we have to get out of this gods-damned ball.
Long seconds pass as the girls stare at each other, seeming to communicate silently before Violet nods. “Okay.”
I don’t look around as I take the steps onto the dais and hurry behind the thrones. My sisters follow me to the wall, where a door is cut into the stone. I’m sure the girls’ absence will be noted quickly, but hopefully, by then, we’ll be out of the palace.
I don’t let myself think of the king or the Hunter as I hold my breath and push open the door. The hallway beyond is empty, save for a flickering torch. I exhale, ushering the twins inside before letting the door shut behind me.
An iron bar hangs above the handle, and I yank it down, sliding the makeshift lock into place. It probably won’t hold for long, but hopefully, it will buy us some time.
Marie breathes, “Wren?—”
“Shh,” I whisper. “One second.”
I draw up my skirt, unsheathing my dagger before letting my dress fall to the ground. Holding the blade with my left hand, I grab the torch with my right.
Arms wrap around me from behind, and I stiffen before realizing Marie’s hugging me.
“What are you doing here, Birdie?” she asks, her words muffled in my dress.
Adjusting my grip on the torch so I don’t burn her hair, I twist in her arms and smile at her. “I came for you.”
Marie squeezes me even tighter, but Violet crosses her arms and studies me. She looks so much like our mother that my heart aches.
“Why weren’t you Given?” She purses her lips. “The king’s soldiers were at the house searching for you, and you weren’t there.”
“The priests and priestesses came, too,” Marie adds. “They brought Watchers and Enforcers and interrogated everyone for hours. Father had to go with them for questioning.”
My heart plummets. “What?”
I had no idea they would take him away.
“He was gone for days, Birdie. Mother thought we couldn’t hear her, but she cried every night.” Violet glares at me. “He came back, but it was so frightening.”
“I’m sorry.” I pull away from Marie and look both my sisters in the eyes. “I never meant for that to happen.”
I just wanted to survive.
“So, you ran away,” Violet says, her voice cold. “You abandoned the gods.”
She’s only two minutes older than Marie, but right now, she seems to have years on our youngest sister.
“It’s not like that,” I tell her, desperate to keep moving.
Marie doesn’t seem to notice my need to get us out of here. “Then what’s it like?”
“Everything is a lie.” My gaze swings between the twins. “There’s more to it than that, but there isn’t enough time to talk about it right now. I had to run because the Giving isn’t safe.”
“But you didn’t leave Myreth?” Marie asks quietly.
“I was going to, but I heard you were here.” I look at them pleadingly, the dagger growing slippery in my palm. “I had a bad feeling that something would happen to you.”
Violet’s brows knit together, but Marie nods. “Bad feelings like Nana used to get?”
“Yes. Just like that.”
The twins share a look, silently communicating in the way only they seem to be able to. Nana died when they were young, but surely they remembered how her feelings worked.
“Okay,” Marie says after a long moment. “We believe you. I didn’t get a good feeling about the king, anyways.”
That doesn’t surprise me. Even from afar, the man feels frightening. Shouts of alarm come from the other side of the wall, and my heart slams against my ribs. The twins’ escape has been discovered.
“We need to leave.” There will be time for catching up once we’re safe. Then I’ll tell them the whole story.
I rip off my mask and throw it on the ground. Thank the suns, the girls don’t push back again. They fall in line behind me, and we race down the corridor. Flickering torchlight casts shadows on the walls, adding an ominous tone to our escape.
We turn left, dashing down the stone passageways, when another set of footsteps comes from ahead of us. I hold out a hand, and my sisters barrel to a stop behind me. I tighten my grip on my weapon as a high-pitched bird’s call comes from down the corridor.
“What’s that?” Marie gasps.
The bird’s call is repeated twice more, and my shoulders relax. “That’s my friend, Kadyn.”
I wave for the girls to follow, and we round the bend. Kadyn is waiting for us. He’s bent in half, his hands resting on his thighs as he gasps for air. His feathers are askew, the Mark on his neck glowing a deep green. He must have used the light as a guide to find us.
“Were you followed?” he asks between deep breaths.
I shake my head. “No. You?”
“No.” He straightens and runs a hand through his hair. “The king’s soldiers are coming, though. We need to move.”
A pit lodges in my stomach at the urgency in his voice. He’s right. Every second we spend standing around is another second the king can find us.
I break out into a sprint, my hatred for the activity shoved aside by our perilous situation.
We turn left, then right, then left thrice more. None of us speak, our breaths the only sound other than our footsteps pounding the stones. The flickering light from my torch provides the only illumination, save for the blue and green glows of mine and Kadyn’s Marks.
Twice, the faint echoes of shouts come from behind us. They’re coming for us. The pit in my stomach grows until it feels like a canyon has taken up residence inside me.
The servants’ passage seems to continue forever. It feels like we’ve been running for hours. Midnight must be drawing near, and with it, my birthday. This is not how I expected to spend the minutes before I turned twenty-one.
We run and run until finally, the corridor ends. A spiral stone staircase is in front of us, so narrow that it seems like an afterthought.
“Up or down?” Marie asks, clutching her side as she pants.
Fuck if I know.
“Down,” I decide after a moment.
The ground floor must lead outside, right? That’s where we’re going. Away from the royals, this gods-forsaken palace, and the Hunter.
I lead the way. The stones are worn and slippery, and muttered curses come from behind me as we navigate the steps. A cool breeze drifts up from below, and goosebumps dot my arms.
Cold is good, right? It must mean we’re getting close to getting out.
Hope warms my chest, and I hurry down the steps as quickly as I dare. Maybe this is a good sign. Maybe we’re getting close, and soon, we’ll get out of the palace.
And maybe that would’ve been the case if the gods didn’t hate me. Maybe if I’d been anyone else, we wouldn’t have encountered any more problems. We would’ve boarded a boat and left Myreth for good, off to live a calm, peaceful life.
But the gods do hate me, and my destiny is one of pain and suffering and death. This is made all too clear to me when I step onto the landing at the base of the stairs and look up.
A whimpered curse escapes my lips, and time slows. My stomach plummets.
It turns out that hope, like the life I thought I would lead once I was Given, is nothing but a fucking lie.
Fanned out at the base of the stairs, in a dark, stone corridor similar to the one we just vacated, are a dozen guards. Their swords are drawn, and their faces are set in deep scowls.
Unlike the Watchers stationed in the ballroom earlier, all twelve soldiers wear grey emblems on their chests, marking them as Protectors. Torches are set in sconces on the walls, casting their light around us.
One of the Protectors, a woman who looks like she exercises for hours daily, glances at my dagger and smirks. Suns, why is my chosen weapon so laughably small?
I open my mouth to warn the others, but it’s too late. Time resumes its regular pace as Kadyn and the twins careen down the stairs. One by one, they slam into my back until they all stand beside me. Kadyn is on my left, and the twins are on my right.
More soldiers file in behind us, filling up the stairwell. One of them snatches the torch from my grip. A twin whimpers. I wish I could turn to see which of them made that sound so I could comfort them, but I can’t move my eyes away from the swords pointed directly at us.
There’s nowhere to run.
“Please,” I whisper, letting my useless weapon fall to the ground with a clatter. I open my palms beseechingly. “Please let us go.”
Here I am, begging for my life again .
How many more times is this going to happen? How many more times will I be teased by a taste of freedom, only to have it be ripped away?
A low chuckle that has my stomach clenching comes from beyond the soldiers.
“Let you go?” The deep voice sounds like it’s been dipped in oil, and every part of me wants to recoil. But there are soldiers at my back and my front, and I’m trapped. “Why would I do that when I’ve been searching all over my kingdom for you?”
As if they’re following a silent signal, the guards in front of us split into two groups of six. Striding between them, every bit the dangerous man I’ve heard him rumored to be is King Andreas Bloodthorn.
“Wren Lilith Nightingale.” He says my name as though it’s a curse, and for once, I believe it might be true. “I’ve been looking for you.” He fixes his eyes on Kadyn and smirks. “Both of you.”
“Why?” I breathe.
I don’t even realize the question has slipped from my mouth until it’s echoing in the stone corridor. It’s a fair question, though. Why search for us? Why not let us go? Why kill the gods-blessed at all?
All these questions feel connected, but there’s a missing piece. A hidden connection that has yet to be revealed. Something vitally important standing just outside of my reach.
The king laughs, and the vicious sound is like nails scratching on a chalkboard.
“Isn’t it obvious?” His eyes glimmer with malice, and chills run down my spine. “You’re Marked . Blessed. You carry a gift from the gods in your veins.”
This again. I fucking hate this glowing swirl. It feels hotter than before, like flames are licking the inside of my forehead, trying to burn their way out.
The Mark ruined my life, Amelia’s life, and now it’s about to ruin the twins’ lives, too. Gods-blessed? More like cursed and fated to fail.
None of the soldiers have moved, waiting for the king’s signal.
I’ve heard of King Andreas, of course. Everyone knows about the man’s bloodthirsty reputation.
No one ever mentioned how wrong being in the king’s presence feels, though. My skin is crawling, goosebumps have erupted on my flesh, and I’m filled with the urge to flee.
But I can’t because swords are pointing at my sisters. Even if they hadn’t been in danger before, that’s no longer the case.
They could die here, just like all the other Given. Like Amelia. Only this time, it would be because of me.
I meet the king’s gaze, swallowing my fear.
“Take me,” I plead. “Let them go and take me.”
That’s what he wants, right?
A long moment passes, during which the thundering of my heart is the only sound I can hear. Even the soldiers are silent, their eyes fixed on the royal.
Then, a booming laugh erupts from the king. His skin glows, and his eyes… Oh, suns, save me. His eyes are death and darkness and pure, unadulterated evil.
“You foolish little Blessed bitch.” He steps towards me, the air thickening. “What makes you think this is a negotiation?”
Marie sobs, and the sound is a dagger shoved into my gut.
I’m going to die here tonight.
The thought slams into me, and I swallow the moan rising in my throat. Midnight must be minutes away, maybe even seconds, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll never see another birthday, never see another year.
I’ll never do anything again.
“Your Majesty, my sisters didn’t do anything.” Maybe if I take his attention off the girls and focus it on me, I can still save them. “They’re innocent. I dragged them into this.”
I should have left them in the ballroom. Suns, I never should have even come here. Why did I think I could help anyone?
This is all my fault. I’m the reason the twins are in danger, the reason why the king is staring at them like he’s a predator, and they’re the tiny kittens he’s about to devour.
The Hunter was right. I should’ve run away when I still could. My sisters are better off without me. My family is better off without me.
Maybe everyone is better off without me.
The king doesn’t answer me. He opens his palms, gathering magic in his hands. I’ve never seen magic in real life before, and I never realized it looked so menacing. So dark. So… wrong.
Racing footsteps come from down the corridor, and that tugging in my gut returns.
“You will all die tonight,” the king says, his words a dark promise.
He pulls back his hand, murmuring something inaudible beneath his breath. Sparks fly, and my heart twists. The knowledge of my impending death is a sinking pit in my stomach.
My sisters are weeping, and I turn to them. Their faces glisten with tears, and they’re holding each other.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell them. “So fucking sorry.”
The words aren’t enough. Nothing is fucking enough. How can this be the end?
The king’s murmurs cease, and he lifts his hand. Sparks rise off his outstretched palm, and then he speaks a word in a language I don’t recognize.
The magic twists in the air, a cyclone of death and destruction.
I wish I could say I feel no fear, staring at the man determined to kill me, but I’d be lying. Every part of me shakes, and my stomach churns.
My Mark is engulfing me in flames from the inside out, but what does that matter when I’m about to die?
Those footsteps get louder, the tugging more insistent.
With a final smirk that speaks to my impending death, the king throws his magic. It sails through the air, a crimson sphere speeding towards me.
I cry another apology, hoping the girls forgive me. “I wanted to help.”
I just wanted to save them. Instead, I’ve doomed them.
The time for words is over. The magic spins and my death draws near. The soldiers at my back make it impossible to move.
Regret fills my heart for all the things I never had a chance to do. All the places I’ll never see. All the life I wanted to live.
Death is coming for me, its cold arms outstretched, when hands slam into my side. The force is sudden and takes me by surprise.
I stumble, crashing into the girls.
A yell claws out of my throat, and I turn just in time to see the king’s magic strike Kadyn in the middle of his forehead. It’s a perfect shot, and my friend cries out, the guttural sound filling the hallway.
Blood pours from the wound, painting his face in crimson.
Life seeps from his eyes. Fast. It’s so damn fast that I can barely process what’s happening.
A never-ending second passes, and then he falls over.
Dead.
Oh, suns.
He… This… That was my death. My pain.
And he took it.
Why? Why would Kadyn do that? Why did he push me away?
There’s no time to delve into Kadyn’s sacrifice because the strangest thing happens. A flash of light erupts from his body, washing the corridor in forest green.
My fingers tingle, and my Mark feels like it combusts into flames.
I’m burning, burning, burning. I am fire, and fire is me.
My heart is racing, my lungs have forgotten how to breathe, and something new settles within me. It’s familiar but foreign. New, but it settles within me like an old friend.
Then the light is gone.
My Mark cools, and my brows furrow. Something is different, but I don’t know what it is.
King Andreas’s eyes flash with crimson rage, and he’s vibrating with fury. He growls, “You fucking Blessed, good-for-nothing cunt.”
What did I do?
I try to take a step back, to move away from my friend’s body, but the tip of a sword meets my back. “I… I didn’t?—”
“That Harvest was mine,” the king snarls, gathering more magic in his palms. So much magic. So much death. “And I’m going to make you pay for stealing it. Blessed or not, you cannot take what belongs to me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shake my head, my breath coming in short gasps. His words don’t make any sense.
This is too much.
Kadyn is dead, and the king is upset, but I don’t understand what he thinks I did. He’s the one who killed my friend.
Grief looms on the edge of my mind, but I can’t focus on it yet. The girls need me.
Those footsteps finally cease, and my heart thunders in my chest.
Gabriel skids to a stop behind the guards in the corridor; his sword gripped in his palm. His face is paler than I’ve ever seen it. He’s lost his mask, and his panicked gaze darts between me, the king, and the bloody body at my feet.
“Well, if it isn’t the failed Hunter.” King Andreas raises a brow but doesn’t look away from me. “I’m glad you’re here to see this, Gabriel. She tried to escape me, but she couldn’t. No one escapes my wrath. You’d do well to remember that.”
The air thickens with the tang of magic. There will be no evading my fate this time. Nowhere to run.
Death is here to claim me.
Only before the king can lob his attack in my direction, a distant toll reaches my ears. One ring. Two…
They keep going.
A clock tower somewhere far above us is striking midnight. It seems I made it to my twenty-first birthday after all.
I brace myself for the king’s killing blow, but it never comes.
My Mark burns as though imbued with the heat of a thousand suns. Something paints the stones in a brilliant blue sheen, as bright as any star.
A guard curses and several of them stumble back.
Then I look down at my hands. A strangled cry rises in my throat. Blue sparks, the color of a cloudless sky, dance around my fingers.
“Get them!” King Andreas shouts, his already pale face draining of blood. “Quick, stop them before she?—”
I turn my hands towards the king.
All I want is for him and his soldiers to stay away from me and my sisters. I can’t let them suffer Kadyn’s fate.
I have to keep the twins safe .
A guard steps towards Violet with a growl. That’s all it takes.
“Get the fuck away from us!” I scream as the flames erupt within me.
Brilliant blue bursts out of my fingers, filling the corridor. Brighter than any star, it’s blinding.
The ground shakes, and I shout. Shutting my eyes, I throw myself between the guards and my sisters, shielding the girls.
Cries fill the air. Grunts of pain. My sisters whimper. Then, a thundering sound, like trees falling over, fills the air.
After what feels like several lifetimes, but was probably a few seconds, the blue light dims. I ease up my head, opening my eyes.
Suns, have mercy on me.
I don’t…
I don’t understand.
The guards are charred husks on the ground.
The only ones who seem to have survived are the king, who is hiding behind a crimson shield, and Gabriel, who is staring at me with wide eyes. Blue flames lick the ground near the Hunter but don’t touch him.
A blue light is around me…
A shield. My shield?
A growl rumbles through the corridor, and I drag my eyes back to the king. Oh, suns.
I never knew rage had a color until now. The monarch’s eyes are blood-red, and he’s trembling with fury.
His lips draw back in a snarl, and he shakes his head, taking a step back. He lifts a hand, and my eyes snag on the golden ring on his left hand.
I didn’t notice it before, but now that I’ve seen it, it’s the only thing I can focus on.
“You?” I breathe, staring at the piece of jewelry. I’ve seen it once before—on my best friend’s Giving Day. “You killed Amelia?”
What the fuck is going on? It feels like my entire world has been thrown upside down. My head spins, and a dozen emotions course through me.
The blue flames wreathing my hands grow brighter.
The king stares at my magic, then at the shield I somehow erected around me and my sisters, and sneers. His crimson magic slams up against the shield again and again, but it doesn’t make it through.
Fury flashes through the king’s eyes, and he draws his crimson magic towards himself.
“This isn’t over,” he snarls. “I swear to you on all that is holy, you will pay for this.”
His last words echo through the corridor as he disappears in a crimson mist. I stare at the spot he just vacated, my heart galloping in my chest.
There’s no time to process what’s happening, because the Hunter steps towards me.
That’s all it takes for me to feel it. A rope in my stomach, drawing me forward.
It’s like the sensation I felt earlier, but a hundred times stronger.
It’s need and want and a force beyond all reason. I’ve never felt anything like this, and yet, at this moment, I know my entire life is about to change.
“Little bird,” Gabriel breathes.
I lift my eyes to meet his through the shimmering blue shield.
One look. That’s all it takes for my entire world to shift.
My Mark erupts into a bonfire, blue sparks burn and pop all around me, and a knowing fills my soul.
In the same way that I know the two suns shine during the day before giving up their seats to the three moons at night, I know that this man—this Hunter— is more than just a predator.
He’s more than the man who gave me one day’s head start, more than the man who chased me halfway across the kingdom, more than the man who I can’t erase from my mind.
The fire on my forehead, the twisting in my gut, and the look in his eyes all tell me the same thing.
He’s meant to be mine .
The End…