Chapter 50
Belle
I awoke with a groan to the sound of Loreli drawing the curtains. The golden glow of the late morning light spilled into my room as an unwelcome intrusion, and I rolled over, my head throbbing. What had been in that wine?
The events of last night came rushing back. The ball. The general. Valen.
Oh my gods. The taste of him. The feel of him. The way his possessiveness had lit a fire within me. I pulled the pillow over my face. What had I been thinking? He didn’t kiss women. And yet…I pushed the thought from my mind.
Thank the Fates we’d stopped, because I’d been on the verge of giving him everything.
I’d dreamt that I had.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Lady Belle,” Loreli said. “But we need to talk.”
“It’s fine.” I threw the pillow to the side and slipped out of bed. “Just let me quickly come to terms with myself.”
I splashed my face with water from the basin, wishing I could wash the effects of the king away as easily as sleep. When I turned to Loreli, she was standing stiffly, hands clasped in front of her, her expression tight. My thoughts of the king and the dreams he’d given me vanished.
“What’s wrong? Did they reprimand you?” I wouldn’t forgive myself if I’d gotten her into trouble.
She shook her head. “No, though they must know. The king has doubled the guard on your door.”
My shoulders relaxed a little. Those were two pieces of good news. So far, my escapades hadn’t harmed her, and the additional guards at the door suggested that Valen still had no idea how I’d gotten out.
I pulled a warm shawl around my shoulders. “Then what is it?”
“Some of the Crimsons snuck into town last night, and the castle is awash with rumors. I spoke to a pair of serving girls who spent the night with the men, and…” Loreli leaned in, voice hushed. “They’re going to attack the Bloodvale.”
The room spun. “Are you certain? The king swore he had no intention of invading, and I asked him outright.”
I told the bastard to march his army straight back to Eradessa.
Had I been a fool to believe him?
Loreli’s expression fell. “The soldiers believe they’re heading into battle. Their general has been talking about the invasion for the past two months, enticing them with stories of easy plunder and that the women of the Vale will be eager to warm a conqueror’s bed.”
The lying bastard. The soldiers all knew the king’s plan. That’s why Valen had tried to keep me from the ball. He’d lied to my face, then he had the audacity to kiss me. To touch me. It had almost been more.
Riding through the woods, I’d imagined a noble king hiding beneath the mask, but it was an illusion. He was a heartless, self-serving bastard.
I pictured a knife skating across his throat, unleashing a crimson waterfall.
“Maybe the soldiers were wrong?” Loreli offered. “Maybe the general was lying to get them to march through the cursed woods.”
“Someone’s lying, but it’s not the general or his men.
It’s the fucking king. There are only two reasons to bring an army here: to sack this castle—and if that’s the case, he would’ve never sent them provisions—or to stage an invasion of the Bloodvale.
” I met her eyes. “The king is trying to take Silverthorn.”
Of course he was. It was his birthright, and he thought Cassius had stolen it from him.
I dragged my fingers through my hair and began pacing. How could I have been such an idiot? He’d hesitated after my question and then danced around the answer, yet I’d ignored my instincts and let my traitorous body steal away all sense and reason.
The truth was there for all to see. Valen was going to invade, and he was probably planning to use me as a hostage to force Cassius and Ella to concede. He just had to keep me docile and under control—though arming me with a bow and arrows was a strange way to do it.
I dropped down onto the end of my bed, scrubbing my hands over my face. “What am I going to do?”
“I’ll help, anyway I can.”
I thrust myself to my feet and pushed her toward the sitting room. “No. I won’t put you in any more danger. You need to keep as far away from me as you can. Request to be in someone else’s service. Do whatever you need to distance yourself. I don’t want you caught up in whatever happens next.”
Loreli dug in, surprisingly strong, and shook her head. “I’m here. I want to help, whatever comes.”
I gave her a mournful smile. “You already have. I had nothing and no one when I came here, and you’ve given me more than you can imagine. Help. Hope. Friendship. You made this miserable place bearable.”
She returned the smile, her lips tight.
I took her hands in mine. “Now, more than anything, I need to know you’ll be safe. That will give me strength to do what comes next.”
“Please. Let me do something, anything—then I promise, I’ll remove myself from your service.”
My mind raced, plans rising then crumbling to dust. I didn’t want to risk her, but I could tell by the all-too-familiar set of her jaw that I had to give her something.
I gnawed at my lip, thinking on the fly.
“What about a set of servant’s clothes? Could you slip those to me?
Maybe some rations for a few days’ ride? ”
“Of course.”
“You shouldn’t come back here though—the guards will remember if you bring me a package. Leave the uniform and supplies in the room below, where the secret passage we used last night exits.”
She nodded. “Give me an hour.”
“Thank you.” I pulled her into a hug, embracing her as tightly as I had my sister the day I’d set out on this road.
Loreli paused by the door, glancing back one last time, nodding subtly. I shut it behind her, then turned and pressed my back against the wood.
What was I going to do?
Kill the king.
Gods, I wanted to. Poison. Flying daggers. Perhaps I could find a way to collapse a stone arch as he walked through. My magic gave me limitless options.
Unfortunately, it was a dream. He was too alert, too fast. He’d proven that already.
I might be able to distract him, maybe even lure him to my bed, but he’d know what I was planning the minute he saw my face. He’d smell the betrayal and sense the fear and venom coursing through my blood.
I squeezed my eyes shut, hating myself. I’d drunk the bastard’s blood. What if he had some kind of control over my mind now? Maybe I wouldn’t be able to attack him. Fates only knew what power their kind had over ours.
That left one option: get the hell out of here and warn my sister before the Crimson Host invaded.
Although I regretted it with every fiber of my soul, some good came of our kiss. Valen had doubled my guard, but relaxed his orders, and I was permitted to visit the library.
I spent the rest of the day shuffling through the archive’s collection of maps. Most were ancient and lacked the precision of modern charts, but one proved to be exactly what I was looking for.
It showed the Bloodvale and Valen’s castle, though I suspected it predated the arrival of the bloodsuckers, as all the names were different.
The cursed woods had been known as the Fairwood, Fellspire had been named Highwatch, and the Bloodvale had been called the Greenmere.
Castle Silverthorn didn’t even exist then.
I stilled over the map, tracing the ancient road that led over the mountains and into the Bloodvale.
I was certain that I’d caught a glimpse of it while I was on the hunt with the king.
It was a different route than the merchant’s road we’d followed here; far more direct, but it would take me deep into the cursed woods.
Hopefully, the king had been telling the truth: beasts wouldn’t attack men unless attacked.
I drummed my fingers on the map. Timing my escape would be tricky.
Night provided cover, but the castle sentries would be on high alert with the lurking army, and immortals would be prowling the halls—as insane as it was, an escape in broad daylight would be far safer, when the sun would irritate their skin and blind their senses.
I sat back. I had a major problem: Gregoire. Valen would kill him if I didn’t take him with me.
He’d agree to come, wouldn’t he? He might be obnoxious and arrogant, but he was a man of the Bloodvale.
Doubt twisted as I replayed every interaction we’d had.
Maybe he was so afraid of the king that he’d betray my plans.
Maybe he’d laugh and tell me I was a foolish woman.
What I needed was proof; something that could persuade him to join me and convince Cassius that his long-lost brother was coming for his throne.
And I knew just where to find it.