Chapter 21
Levernia
Lara
It was a cold day in Levernia, as if the weather could predict what was about to come. I fiddled with the laces of my dress, reminding myself that breathing was important, even though I was in the last place I ought to have been. I was supposed to be in another city — even better, another kingdom. I wasn’t supposed to get caught. I wasn’t supposed to get blackmailed into pretending to be a princess. I wasn’t supposed to go back to the clan. I wasn’t supposed to start developing questionable emotions towards a prince.
The throne room looked just as I remembered. Vast and elegant and yet even on this day of celebration, there was something dreary and cold about it. Something just melancholic enough to suit the weather.
My facial muscles twitched under the mask I was wearing. Lance must have had an appreciation for irony by making the theme of his coronation a masquerade. I stood among the masked faces of the aristocrats, all dressed to perfection, with no details spared on their lavish costumes.
My dress had been made by an old woman in the village, who apparently had to burn the midnight oil for it to be ready in time. At least that was her excuse when she charged us a fortune for it. I couldn’t exactly blame her for being greedy. She was thin and frail, the lines across her face a thousand tales of the hardships she’d had to endure in her life. And then there was the little girl I suspected was her granddaughter, who hid behind her skirts.
The dress was heavy, but perhaps the most beautiful thing I had seen for a very long time. It looked like it had been washed by an ocean storm, a combination of dark blue and slightly tinted green. Little golden stars spiralled up the skirts to my bodice. My mask, draped in shimmer, had a crescent moon at the corner of my left eye. I looked like I belonged there, among all those strangers with their masks.
Trumpets sounded almost proudly and all the chatter quieted as faces turned towards the entrance of the new king of Everness. I felt a pang in my stomach as Lance approached the throne, white fur cloak hanging from his shoulders, no crown on his head... yet. It was as if the word bandit were above my head, floating in big bold letters, and even though I knew there would be no way for Lance to recognise me from there, I was afraid that if I stared just a moment too long, he would catch my eye and call on his guards and our whole plan would be at its end.
We had barely slept in the past three days in preparation for this event. Every last detail had been planned and orchestrated and we could only trust that our sources were correct — that we wouldn’t have to rely on any of our backup plans.
Lance reached the priest, who made a long speech about the responsibility and honour of being king.
He took a staff and the crown was lowered slowly to his head. It looked exactly like the one he had worn before, decorated with so many beautiful jewels that I could not even begin to imagine what it had to be worth. I got lost in my train of thought, thinking about everything else that was happening in the dungeons and empty hallways of the palace, while no one in this room had even half a suspicion, but I was brought back to reality when the crowd cheered and the sound of a choir erupted from the upper levels of the throne room.
I didn’t want to, but I knew I had to smile. I couldn’t risk standing out. The people of Everness always did love a good celebration. They would not think about their dead king. They would not worry about what the new king would do for them, what his reign might change. They didn’t have to.
The only thing on their minds would be the alcohol they would consume in the next few hours. They would only concern themselves with the food they were about to eat, the music they were about to dance to and the lavish attire they would brag with. That was all they ever needed to care about. Little did they know that if all went according to the wishes of Uncle Arthur, it would not be like this for long.
“Let the celebrations begin!” Lance’s voice rang out and the audience cheered once more. He gestured towards the great hall and guards opened the large doors so that the people could enter.
Lance began making his way from the throne, and the crowd parted to let him pass. Unfortunately for me, I found myself exactly where I didn’t want to be, in front of all the people. Lance was going to walk right by me. I tried to step back and see if I could disappear into the crowd but everyone stood so close together to get a glimpse of their new king that it was impossible. The people bowed as he walked past them, chanting, “Long live the King.” By the time he reached me, I was in a deep curtsey, keeping my eyes glued to the floor. Once more I was thankful for the masquerade theme that kept my identity hidden.
The party quickly filled up the great hall, where large tables had been decorated and laden with expensive cutlery, delicacies and cups of wine. I would even admit that I was impressed by the glamour of it all. If there was one thing I would give to Lance, it was that he knew how to throw a party. There was no question about that.
Musicians started playing their stringed instruments and the great hall was filled with a jolly melody. Of course, these were not the musicians that the festivities coordinator had originally hired. They were “most unfortunately” attacked by bandits in the woods and all the uniforms and instruments were stolen. Instead, it was our men who produced the happy music, weapons most conveniently hidden within their instruments. Lucky for them, they didn’t sound too unprofessional.
My eyes scanned the crowd for Cai, who was undercover too. Nobody had asked him to be here. Yet he’d insisted he wanted to help. There could be no question as to how important his men were to him. Guards were stationed around the room, most of whom had been bought off or blackmailed, or were our men undercover. Soon they would change shifts with the guards stationed throughout the palace and should reach the prisons without too much trouble as Rhen would be waiting there for them.
I hadn’t spotted Damon yet, which concerned me. Cai made his way across the floor and, once he reached me, held out his hand, silently asking me to dance. I followed, my eyes going back to Lance every few seconds, but he appeared much too occupied with his own party.
Cai pulled me closer into the formal dancing position and we swayed to the music, both of us constantly scanning the room and me falling over my feet a few times.
“You weren’t lying about not being able to dance, that’s for certain.”
I purposely stepped on his foot. “This isn’t dancing. You nobles have no idea how to actually dance.”
He shrugged off my rude comment. Cai was in charge of getting his men out and my responsibility was finding Cordelia. Rhen could tell us where Jack and the rest of them were, but he hadn’t seen Cordelia around the palace recently, which meant that she could be anywhere, or dead, for all I knew.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” I murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.
“As soon as the song ends, we have to move.”
We hadn’t spoken since our fight, but both of us knew we had bigger things to worry about than our bickering. This was about the mission, not about our feelings, whatever they might have been.
We danced until the song stopped and the next one began, signalling to the guards to change shift. It gave Arthur’s men the opportunity to stand guard on the route to the prison while Lance’s guards kept an eye on the guests at the party.
I started pulling away, ready to do my part, when Cai pulled me close by the waist. “Please be careful,” he whispered softly as I met his pleading eyes. They trailed down to my lips momentarily before shooting back up to meet my gaze and then he let me go. Before slipping out of the ballroom, I cast a glance at Lance, who was seated at the head table at the far end of the room. His eyes were focused on the people, not a hint of concern on his face. But the almost empty cup of wine hinted he wouldn’t be concerned about much tonight.
The skirts of my dress swished as I ran down the mostly empty hallways, a few people talking and guards standing here and there, but no one spared me a second glance. I tried to focus on where exactly I was, remembering against my will the path I had walked to the prison, and then to Lance’s chambers the last time I was here. There was a nauseating feeling in my stomach. But I couldn’t think about that. I had to think about Cordelia.
She wasn’t in the prison. This Rhen could confirm. She had travelled back to the palace with her brother and the palace guards but Rhen hadn’t seen much of her since arriving in Levernia. When he asked Lance about his sister, the prince shrugged it off. But Rhen mentioned seeing her once in the company of a few noblewomen when he looked out of the window into the gardens.
I made my way back to the bedroom where I had stayed the night that I was captured, and Lance blackmailed me into working for him. One turn at a time, the halls became more familiar. I doubted I would find Cordelia in a room, but this at least would be a starting point. Because of the celebration, the guards were stationed far away from the rooms of the palace. I started running faster, lifting up my skirts higher to avoid tripping. I turned another corner before running smack into another body, causing me to stumble backwards.
Cordelia’s eyes widened abruptly. “What . . . how?”
I didn’t allow her to find her words before grabbing her arm and pulling her in the direction of the kitchens. We sprinted down the stairs and slowed down only when passing guests, politely nodding.
I swerved around a corner into the servants’ quarters, as Rhen had directed me very specifically to do. Stopping in a small empty hallway, I caught my breath and took a second to inspect Cordelia, but she didn’t appear to be harmed in any way. “Go through the passages. The others are waiting outside. We’re getting Cai’s guards out,” I told her.
“And you came for me?” She was heaving a little herself, clearly not used to all the running.
“Of course I came back for you.” I smiled. “I can’t get anything done without my lady-in-waiting.”
She returned a warm smile. “It’s happening, isn’t it? The rebellion?”
I met her gaze. “How did you know?”
“Rhen told me this would happened eventually.”
I didn’t have time to process Cordelia’s words.
“Help me with my dress.”
She untied the laces of my bodice and I dropped the dress onto the floor, leaving me in the shirt and breeches I was wearing underneath. I removed my mask and pulled the pin out of my hair, allowing it to drape over my shoulders. “Go ahead. I’ll catch up.”
She nodded and hurried around the corner.
I let out a sigh of relief. At least Cordelia was safe. Brushing a hand through my hair, I looked around me. Now, I needed to find Cai and then we could get out of this place.
I hurried down the carpeted hallways, the music of the party soft and distant. Cai would be close to the prison by now, which meant I needed to find a way to the lower floors below ground. If I went right at the next corner, I believed it would lead me in the direction of the kitchens.
I passed a parlour room and was about to reach the end of the hallway when a door suddenly opened, and I was yanked inside.
I didn’t have time to scream before Lance closed the library door behind us.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t recognise you?”
Drat, so he had seen me back there, despite my efforts. Hopefully, Cai had managed to get his men out safely. I clenched my hands into fists, trying not to imagine all the ways Lance was going to get back at me. I would be lucky if I saw daylight tomorrow morning. Lance walked to one of the tables and poured himself a cup of wine.
“Come to finish what you started?” he said, and my eyes went to his torso, even though I couldn’t see the stab wound under his shirt.
“Maybe I just like a good party.”
My response made Lance snort, and fear hung over me like a heavy cloak as I anticipated what he would do next.
“Nice costume you had back there.” He lifted his cup towards me before taking a sip. “You certainly aren’t to be underestimated — I’ll give you that, dear sister.”
“I’m not pretending to be your sister anymore. There’s no need to keep up the act, Lance.”
“Oh, am I Lance now? Not Your Majesty?”
“You don’t deserve to be king.”
He took another sip before setting down his cup. “Oh, I know that. But please inform me as to why this is your opinion as well.”
Not the answer I was expecting. He must have been lying again. Must have been trying to distract me from what I actually came for.
“Because look at you .” I pointed to his crown and outfit. “You don’t care about your people. You only care about the luxury and parties the position has to offer.”
“True as that may be, out of the two of us, I’m still the one wearing the crown.”
“How could I forget?” He hadn’t mentioned the necklace and I wondered if he would bring it up. Either he had figured out he’d been left with a fake this entire time or he thought he was wrong about everything and too embarrassed to admit he’d been delusional.
“I thought you’d be smarter than risking your life like this. I mean, did you honestly expect you wouldn’t get caught?”
Lance took a seat, leaning back comfortably in one of the expensive chairs.
“Maybe I’d come back to apologise. To beg you to pardon my idiocy.”
That made him bark out a laugh. “If only that were the case. You and I might have made a good team.”
“I would never be on your side,” I spat out.
He stared at me intently like he knew something I didn’t. An awkward silence fell over the room.
“So, are you going to kill me?” I had a dagger on me that I could use to defend myself and Lance definitely wasn’t sober. But who was to say there weren’t guards outside the door, waiting for me? I looked at the window over his shoulder. There would be guards outside on this side of the palace as well.
“I’ve told you from the start, my intention was never to kill you.”
“Then what do you want with me?” I asked earnestly.
“I wanted your partnership, and I wanted you to steal me a necklace.”
“Which I did. And then I got myself out of there before things got messy.”
Lance tilted his head to the side. “Yes, how unfortunate that you were right, and the necklace is nothing more than a fancy piece of jewellery.” So, he hadn’t figured out it was a fake, or was he just lying again? His eyes dared me to reveal if I was hiding something. “Doesn’t explain why you left so suddenly in the middle of the night. With the prince, no less.”
“You tortured us for information. Did you really think I was going to stick around to see it all play out? I got out to save myself.”
He took another sip of his wine and mumbled, “Load of good that did you.”
I frowned at his response.
“You think I don’t know about your little escape back at Woodsbrook? I know exactly how you got out.” He slowly stood up. “You think I have no idea why you came back today, that it was to save Cai’s men and get your little lady-in-waiting out?”
My eyes widened and I took a step back. “How . . . how did you . . . ?”
He tilted his head again, grinning. “You think I don’t know that at some point my best guard decided to betray me and take your side, and is now aiding you and your clan of bandits on your little mission in the palace?”
My throat had gone completely dry.
“You think I don’t know about your little friend Rhen and how he has been helping you?”
I started walking backwards to the door, but Lance made no advance towards me.
“I will have to make an example of him, so that people know what happens when you betray your new king.”
My hand found the door handle. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m letting all of you rogues walk free today. I know Cai and his men are outside and that you’re going to meet them there and go back to whatever miserable dark hole you crept out of. But as we speak, Rhen has been arrested for treason and is sentenced to death tomorrow afternoon.”
I shook my head, feeling my hands shake and knowing that for the first time in a long time, I had absolutely no idea what to do. No power to fight. I could kill him right here, right now, but it wouldn’t stop the execution — it would only make me a murderer and make escaping Everness so much more difficult.
“You’re a monster,” I breathed, slowly opening the door behind me.
“I’m doing what’s necessary to protect my family. You — better than anyone — should be able to understand that.”
I didn’t understand. This had nothing to do with family and everything to do with Lance’s horrible nature.
“I’m going to let you all walk free,” he said, “because killing the heir of Norrandale is only going to make things more complicated for me right now. And because Arthur isn’t even man enough to face me. If he wants a fight then I can promise you I’ll bring a fight. But he will never get my throne.”
Not wanting to hear another word from his mouth, I ran out. Wiping tears from my eyes, I slipped around hallway corners.
I couldn’t get out fast enough. Couldn’t get the picture of Rhen dying out of my head. And all because of me. All because he helped my family and me. My vision blurred and my eyes filled with tears.
I stumbled on until I saw Cai running down one of the hallways. Like he was looking for something. Like he was looking for me. He had come back to look for me.
“What happened?” Cai wrapped his arms around my sobbing self and I knew there was no use in holding back now.
“He’s going to kill him,” I murmured. “He’s going to kill him.”
Cai’s arms tightened around me. “Shhhh.” He pressed his lips against my head, holding me tight against him. The weight was comforting. “I’m here. It’s okay. I’m here.”
I shook my head almost violently, letting out silent sobs. “No, he’s going to kill Rhen. He’s going to kill Rhen because of me.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.” And he just held me for a moment. “We have to go. I’m sorry, but if we don’t leave now...”
If we didn’t leave right then, we might never leave. Lance wasn’t exactly a man of his word. My hands shook. The only way I was going to make it back to camp was if I didn’t think about it. Cai led me through the empty hallways until we were finally outside. Our group was hiding in the brush just beyond the stables. There were no guests in sight, to our luck.
“You will ride with me,” Cai said as we walked to his mare. I didn’t see any point in arguing. Perhaps he knew that if I didn’t cling to someone or something, I wasn’t going to make it back home.
“What’s wrong?” Ray asked as we mounted.
Cai only replied, “Not now.” Our party rode steadily away. Cordelia and Cai’s men were finally safe. All as it should be. Except the only thing I could think about was Rhen sitting somewhere in a dark cell, cursing the day he met me.
I held on to Cai as the horse proceeded to canter. The sky above was still tinted with grey, but rain refused to fall and wipe away the blood I felt I carried on my hands. Blood of the man who’d saved my life. The ride back to camp felt long and dreary. I should have been relieved that the people we went to save were here with us now and completely unharmed. It could have been so much worse. But Rhen’s fate haunted me.
“I never thanked you.” Cai broke the silence between us as we fell behind the rest of the group.
“For what?”
“For not leaving me behind in that cell at Woodsbrook Manor.”
“Cai—” I started.
“I know you say you have your reasons. And true as that may be, who knows what would have happened if you hadn’t come back for me. So thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I suppose.”
We arrived back at camp, tired and hungry. I dismounted and watched for a moment as Cai led his mare back to the paddock. Then I turned around and stormed off to my uncle’s cabin. Ray was nowhere in sight.
The wooden door slammed open at my hands, cold air rushing in as I stood on the threshold.
He didn’t look up at me, not a trace of shock or surprise on his face. Arthur wasn’t the kind of man to be shocked or surprised. “Well, how did it go, then?”
“He’s going to kill Rhen.”
“Who?” The table in front of him was filled with papers and coins — he had been counting money.
“Lance!” I cried out. “Who else?”
“So he’s figured out who’s been giving us information. Not too bad for a petty prince.”
“Did you hear what I just said? He’s going to kill him tomorrow.”
“Shame, really — though we have all the information we need, so I doubt we would’ve had much use for him after today.”
“How can you say that?” I spat out. “If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be alive right now.”
“He’s a means to an end, Lara.” Uncle finally looked up from his work. “You’ve been around these people for too long. They’ve made you sentimental and we know that sentiment is only a weakness.”
I knew that regardless of any words or insults I spat at my uncle, the results would remain the same, so I stormed out and ran back to my cabin, not having the courage or guts to face anyone.
I didn’t make it to the cabin door before hurling the contents of my stomach out onto the grass. Guilt. So much built-up guilt. Lance was going to kill Rhen because he had helped my family. Rhen was going to die because of me. I placed my hand on the wall of the cabin and breathed deeply. I was being irrational. I was being emotional. I closed my eyes — breathed in and breathed out. My emotions weren’t going to change anything. This was a war, and war wouldn’t be war without casualties. I was part of it now, even though I didn’t want to be. Even though I still wanted to run.
In the days that followed, Cordelia remained silent and pale, refusing to eat or talk about what had happened in Levernia. I couldn’t judge any of her actions — she was mourning the loss of her brother. Though some small part of me was thankful that she didn’t show any form of hostility against me. But it pricked at my gut, seeing her like that, seeing my friend in pain. And that dark part of my soul that stomached stealing from the rich, the part that boiled with hatred for the monarchy who forced innocent people to become criminals, that awful part of me wanted — perhaps even needed — some form of revenge.