Chapter 27 Scarlett
CHAPTER 27
SCARLETT
T WO Y EARS A GO
“T his is our purpose! This is what we were trained for! To protect the innocent. You more than any of us!”
Juliette’s words clanged through her mind as she watched the prince from where she lay hidden in a tree. It was late summer as the prince meandered through the green grass by the hidden pond. She about fell out of the tree when the prince plopped onto the ground and pulled a book from the satchel he had slung across his shoulder. His guards stood back by the clearing they had come from, relaxed and chatting. Clearly, this wasn’t the first time he’d come here. At one point, the prince took out a journal of some sort and wrote in it for a good fifteen minutes before he went back to his reading. How long was he going to sit here and read? He was the crowned prince. Surely he had other things he needed to be doing?
After another twenty minutes, Scarlett realized the prince had fallen asleep reading his book. He lay in the sunshine, the book still in his hands, and all she could think about was how incredibly stupid he was. She could have him dead in less than twenty seconds, faster than his guards would even be able to register what was happening.
Or she could somehow convince him to investigate the rumors of the children in the dungeons that Cassius had heard in the tavern a few weeks ago.
While the prince lay napping in the summer sun, Scarlett silently climbed down from her tree and crept along the grasses. She gave the guards a wide berth as she followed the path they had come from and found their horses tied to some trees near the road. She cooed and spoke softly to the animals to keep them from startling as she approached. The guards’ two horses were brown and had the coat of arms of the castle guards on their saddles, but the prince’s horse was a stunning black stallion. She drew her hood down as she approached him. He snorted once, pawing the ground.
“Shush now,” she crooned as she patted his nose, and he huffed into her hand. She made her way to the saddle bag that hung from the prince’s saddle, and a smile filled her face as she dug through and found a piece of paper and pen. She quickly scrawled a note onto it:
If you’re going to sneak away and read, Prince, at least read something that doesn’t put you to sleep. I shall leave a book at your napping spot tomorrow at this time that is sure to keep your interest.
Scarlett used the cinch of the saddle to punch a hole into the paper and secured it. Then, silent as the wraith she was, she climbed a nearby tree and waited. Ten minutes later, the prince emerged, laughing with his guards. They were casual and laid back, clearly friends and not just protectors. The prince’s stallion had shifted such that the guards hadn’t seen the note stuck to the saddle, but she saw the prince’s face as he came around his horse to mount. He paused, looking around, then reached for the piece of paper. He read it. Twice. Then looked around again. His companions, sensing his hesitancy, came to investigate.
“I told you we shouldn’t be coming here,” said the taller of the two guards. He was muscled and had a square jaw with short, cropped blond hair. His pale blue eyes scanned the surrounding areas warily.
“Relax, Sloan,” the Prince said, a small smile quirking up the side of his mouth as he read the note again. “Clearly if whoever wrote this wanted to kill me, they had every opportunity to do so.” He folded the note up and placed it in one of his inner tunic pockets. “Besides, they were right. That book was dreadfully boring.”
The other guard rolled his eyes. “That’s one of my favorite books,” he said pointedly. While he was shorter than Sloan, he was just as muscled. His hair was slightly longer than Sloan’s and was a light bronze color that accented his dark brown eyes nicely.
“I know,” Prince Callan said with a grin as he swung himself up onto his horse. “We should go. My mother will be displeased if I miss court…again.”
“I’m told she has a new list of potential brides,” the shorter one said. Scarlett would later learn his name was Finn.
“Lovely,” she heard Callan mutter under his breath. Scarlett held in her laughter as the trio made their way along the road, Sloan and Finn monitoring everything far more closely now.
Scarlett arrived hours before the time specified in her note. As she had predicted, a few hours before, Finn and Sloan arrived scouting the area to find the book already in place. Sloan swore as he picked it up.
“We should have come earlier,” he said through gritted teeth, leafing through the book. The note she had put inside fluttered to the ground. Sloan picked it up and skimmed it.
“Don’t read his private stuff,” Finn snapped, snatching the note and book from Sloan’s hands and placing the piece of paper back inside.
“It’s a book left by a pond. Anyone could find it,” Sloan argued.
“No, they couldn’t. That’s why Callan likes coming here…and also why I suspect he’s so intrigued by whoever left this and the note yesterday,” Finn said pointedly, returning the book to the ground. “You stay here in case they come back. I’ll come back with Callan.”
Finn trudged off and nearly an hour later, returned with the prince.
“I suppose you have already searched the book and area for traps, Sloan?” Callan asked with a sigh.
“I know you think no one else knows of this place, Callan, but clearly someone else does,” Sloan answered, his tone grave and serious.
“Well, with you two hovering like a mother bear, I doubt they will show their face today,” Callan said, stooping to pick up the book. It was one of Scarlett’s favorites, and when he opened the cover, he found the note that Finn had shoved back inside.
I trust you will find this book far more stimulating, Prince. I look forward to reading your review in a few days when I bring you another since your current collection is obviously lacking. Do not lose it!
“Who do you think it is?” Finn wondered as Callan again folded the note and put it in his tunic.
“I do not know,” he mused, “but their taste in books already seems better than yours, Finn.”
Scarlett didn’t miss the note he subtly dropped as the three made their way back to the clearing, bantering lightly. She also didn’t miss the slight glances the prince gave over his shoulder, and neither did his companions. She followed them in the shadows, not putting it past his friends and guards to linger to see if she showed up.
When they had been gone at least twenty minutes, she doubled back and picked up the note:
I was going to bring you a book of my own to prove that my taste wasn’t entirely dismal, but my busybody friends would have asked far too many questions. Perhaps next time.
But what am I to call you? A goddess of the wind?
Scarlett smiled to herself. Oh, this would be fun indeed.
The next night was the first night she slipped into his rooms. Cassius had supplied her with a map of the castle, and Nuri and Juliette had gone with her to keep watch. They had slipped into the castle on numerous occasions, but never to a royal’s private suite. She was in and out of his rooms in less than a minute, leaving only a note on his pillow.
I am no goddess, Prince. If I am, I am one of darkness and secrets, but your dreams of me would certainly be beatific.
The next several weeks were met with more book and note exchanges. The notes gradually got more personal and were a welcome distraction from their now daily guarding of the orphans. The flirting between the lines, she casually began asking the prince what his roles included in his father’s kingdom. She had asked if he wished he had other roles, and as she read the note in the chill wind of the fall day, she sank down into the leaves, cross-legged.
I do not entirely know that I want to be king, even though the decision is already made for me. My father’s focus is on land and power. I wish to focus on the people already in our care. My father and his Lords call me young and na?ve. Perhaps, but I know more of our city than they do and am eager to visit the surrounding towns and cities to find out what needs they may have.
And you, my dear Wraith? Do you enjoy your roles of secrecy and darkness and causing my guards such anxiety with these notes?
That night when she snuck into the castle to deliver her answer, she found another note already waiting for her…along with a night black mask.
Come to the Samhain Ball at the castle. As my guest. Your mask will hide your face so such a goddess of darkness and secrets can roam freely. You will find your PROPER way into the castle enclosed.
A formal invitation fluttered to the ground as she unfolded the rest of the note.
She had debated the merits of going with Nuri and Juliette for the next three days. The Samhain Ball was a festival of the dead and, as such, celebrations involved masks and costumes so that spirits could walk among them at will. Or that was the fun of it, anyway. It would be a masquerade ball. She wasn’t worried about being recognized. She’d been hidden from the world since the night her mother was killed.
She rode in the carriage alone to the castle and was allowed in without a bat of an eye when she produced her invitation. She was led to the ballroom, where she found a large staircase that led down to the festivities. Dressed in a black flowing sleeveless dress with a plunging neckline, the tiny black beads that adorned it glimmered in the candlelight lighting the room. A chiffon train attached to each strap of her gown flowed behind her. The gown came to the floor with deep slits up the sides. Her slippers were silver, and her hair had been curled and swept back with two black combs that curved like wings. That black mask provided by the prince was fixed perfectly to her face, which Juliette had accented with blood-red lips and a dusting of light color to her cheeks. Nothing else was needed.
Scarlett scanned the crowd as she descended the stairs gracefully, but in a sea full of masks, she couldn’t immediately pick out the prince. The two figures that stepped directly in her path as she stepped from the final stair, however, she recognized them. The two wore only gold domino masks that covered the eyes.
“Hmm,” Scarlett mused. “Let me see if I’ve got this right. Finn,” she said, pointing to the shorter of the two on the right, “and Sloan.” Her mouth curved up in an innocent smile. They both frowned.
“Who are you?” Sloan asked in a hushed voice.
“A guest of Prince Callan,” she replied simply.
“Where did you come from?” Finn tried.
That innocent smile became wicked as she purred, “I am from your nightmares, Sentry.”
“Then you shall not get near the prince,” Sloan said through gritted teeth, clearly trying to avoid making a scene.
Scarlett laughed. “Had I any desire to kill the prince, it would have happened at any of the other dozens of times I’ve been watching him from the shadows… Or in his rooms.”
Sloan’s eyes flashed with fury, but Finn cut in smoothly. “You are unarmed?”
“Do you see a place I could hide a weapon in this dress, Finn?” Both guards looked her up and down. “The view is wonderful, isn’t it?” Sloan scowled, and Finn flushed. She just smirked in return. She, of course, had a dagger discreetly strapped beneath the dress to her thigh. “Am I required to stand at the base of the stairs all evening, or am I allowed to see the one who extended me such a thoughtful invitation?”
Sloan was about to protest, but Finn cut him off with a look. “Callan will be furious if he finds out she came, and we sent her away.”
“I don’t give a shit about what Callan wants,” Sloan retorted. “Our job is to guard his ass, not kiss it.”
Finn sighed and extended his arm to Scarlett. She placed her hand on it and allowed him to lead her into the bustle of the ballroom. She looked over her shoulder to find Sloan watching her with a scowl, and she smirked.
“Don’t goad him,” Finn muttered, his eyes scanning the crowd, looking for the prince.
“Shouldn’t you two know where Callan is at all times? You really are pitiful guards, you know,” she said, taking in the elegantly dressed nobility, the music, and the smell of cider and nutmeg and other fall spices.
“We have felt that well these past few weeks, thanks to you,” Finn replied coldly.
Scarlett felt a twinge of guilt. “I will not hurt him,” she whispered. “I only need his help.”
“Then ask for it like a proper person in the proper way,” Finn argued, his words short.
Scarlett tsked. “I would not get within one hundred yards of this castle if it were known where I come from or who I really am, let alone an audience with the Crowned Prince.”
They had come to a stop on the edge of the dance floor, and Scarlett watched as the couples twirled and whirled their way around it. Then she noticed the gaggle of young women on the opposite side of the room and followed their stares. Callan was dancing with a young woman in a rust orange gown. Her mask was one of gold and her long brown hair was curled elegantly down her back. Her skin was golden, and she didn’t have the air of one enamored by the prince. She danced with him confidently, her chin high. No flirty smile, but a look of pure possessiveness, as if she dared anyone to try and interrupt her dance with him.
“That is Lady Veda Lairwood,” Finn said, noting her stare.
“Lairwood? Daughter of Lord Lairwood? Hand to the King?” Scarlett asked curiously as Callan and Veda conversed while they danced.
“One and the same,” Finn answered.
“Are they involved?”
“That is the desire of Lady Veda,” Finn said with a shrug. “She is likely the closest one to that goal of all the nobility in attendance this evening.”
“And Callan? Does he return such an intention?”
“ Prince Callan,” Finn said with reproach, “will avoid taking anyone as his bride until his father forces him, I’m guessing. He finds the women of the court far too…predictable.”
“Why?” Scarlett asked.
“Because none of the women here would slip him notes in a secluded clearing or sneak books into his bedroom. Not without trying to get into his bed with him.” At his words, Scarlett slid her eyes to him, but his eyes were on the prince now. She returned her own eyes to the prince just in time to see his eyes settle on her.
Callan’s features went still, and even from a distance, she could see his eyes widen in shock. Lady Veda was telling him something, but his attention was now fully on Scarlett. She felt Finn tense beside her.
“Sloan is watching from the other side of the ballroom. I shall monitor this side,” Finn said quietly. “The castle guards are everywhere, and the Captain of the Guard has been warned of an anonymous threat against Callan. Do not do anything stupid.”
“Why would you think I would?” Scarlett asked. She had meant it to sound arrogant, but it came out quieter than intended.
“Because you sneak into not only the castle, but the Crown Prince’s private chambers. That is incredibly stupid.”
“It’s only stupid if I get caught, which I have yet to do, so I would call it brilliance,” Scarlett replied, masking her nerves as the song came to an end. Callan barely glanced at Lady Veda as he said something to her and left her standing on the dance floor. She swallowed hard as he made his way towards her, his eyes locked on her own.
“Do not hurt him,” Finn said quietly into her ear. And Scarlett knew he did not mean with a blade.
“That’s not what this is,” Scarlett started to argue, but then Callan was before them.
“You came,” he said, his eyes darting to where she still held Finn’s arm.
“It would be foolish to refuse an invitation from a prince, would it not?” Scarlett replied with a tilt of her head.
“Do I get to ask you to dance, or do I need to write it on a piece of paper and leave it for you to find somewhere?” Callan said, leaning in to whisper in her ear.
His breath was hot against her cheek, and she felt herself flush slightly, but she smiled like a cat and said, “I believe this evening, Prince, you need to ask my escort.”
“Be careful,” was all Finn said as he allowed the prince to take her hand from his arm and lead her to the dance floor.
She was keenly aware that every eye was on them as he placed a hand on her waist, and not just the eyes of the castle guards or Sloan or Finn. As Callan began leading her through the dance, he said to her quietly, “I finished your most recent book last night.”
“Oh?” She tried to relax, but she could feel the tension in her limbs and muscles.
“Not as good as the first few, but fine enough,” he said. His tone was casual, easy. The tone of someone who was used to having all eyes on him at all times.
“If you didn’t fall asleep while reading it, it is clearly better than what you’ve been filling your time with,” Scarlett replied. She dared a glance around. Sloan was staring at them stone-faced next to the women of the court who were watching her with looks of pure loathing. They were all in varying shades of autumn — golds and reds and russets, a stark contrast to her black attire.
“Do not look at them,” Callan murmured. “It is easier to pretend they are not there if you do not pay them heed.”
“Does it bother you? To have your every movement watched?”
“Why do you think I was in that hidden clearing that day?” he answered, his mouth forming a grim line. “And even there, I had eyes on me.”
“They are your friends, though. Finn and Sloan,” she countered.
“They are, but they also have their jobs,” Callan grumbled.
“Poor Princeling, having two people making sure he is safe at all times,” she crooned with a grin.
Surprise passed over Callan’s face. His eyes narrowed as he said, “You do know I am the actual Crowned Prince, right?”
“I called you Princeling, didn’t I?” Scarlett replied sweetly. When he only stared back at her, she sighed. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Callan. If your title means so much to you—”
“It doesn’t,” he interjected. “It is a breath of fresh air to have someone not care about my title. To tease me and simply call me Callan. It is nice to have a friend who is simply that.”
“We are friends?”
“We are people who converse on a regular basis, who share details about ourselves and our interests. Yes, I would call us friends,” Callan said thoughtfully. “Although friends usually know each other’s names.”
Scarlett let a small smile tug at the corner of her mouth. “Do they now?”
“You will not tell me?”
She didn’t say a word. Just shook her head slowly, her eyes fixed on his.
“That is hardly fair. You know my name,” he argued.
“You’re the Crown Prince. Everyone knows your name,” Scarlett replied dryly.
A small applause broke out as the song ended. The throng of court ladies began to make their way to him, but his fingers tightened on hers as she made to pull away. And as the next song began, he gently tugged her back to him, closer than before.
“Do you not need to dance with others?” she asked, her mouth going dry.
“I am the Crown Prince,” he replied, his voice thick. “I do not need to do anything.”
Indeed. Callan danced with no one else for the rest of the evening, save for his little sister, Princess Eva, who giggled as Callan swung her around the floor. As soon as she was ushered off to bed, though, he had come right back to Scarlett. Finn had kept her company while he had been occupied, and she had used the time to study the royal family— the king and Queen Meredith. To the king’s right was his Hand, Lord Lairwood, and next to him, his son, whose eyes met hers. A slow smile spread across his lips as he had lifted his wine goblet to her.
And when the moon was high, and it was nearing midnight, Scarlett knew she needed to go and take her tonic. As planned, Cassius appeared at the ballroom entrance, waiting for her. He caught her eye and gave a subtle jerk of his chin. Time to go.
“You have a keeper?” Callan asked quietly when she told him she needed to take her leave, noting her escort at the hall doors.
“No, I do not have a keeper,” she chided. Their dances had become closer and closer as the night had progressed. Finn and Sloan had intercepted any other ladies who tried to ask the prince for a dance. He held her close now, his arm looped around her waist, her hand clasped in his against his chest.
“Then why?”
“Darkness and secrets, Prince,” she whispered, her tone sultry.
“And where shall you go?” he pressed, as she began to disentangle herself from his arms.
“Back to the shadows,” she answered.
“So now you are a Wraith of Shadows?” His fingers still gripped hers as she made to move to the stairs. If he only knew how close he was.
“Good night, Callan,” she said gently, with a soft smile.
She felt him watching her as she crossed the ballroom. Finn appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and she merely nodded to him. When she reached the top, Cassius pressed her tonic into her hand, and she drank it down as he said, “He’s falling for you, you know.”
“I know,” she said.
“This was your plan?” he asked sharply.
“No, but I suppose it could work to our advantage.”
“It is a dangerous game, Scarlett,” Cassius said quietly.
“The only kind I know how to play.”
The next week, five children went missing from the Black Syndicate, and Scarlett knew it was time to ask Callan for help. She placed the note on his pillow as she usually did and then slid into the shadows of his room to wait. An hour passed. Then two. She was growing restless and bored when she finally heard the creak of his hall door.
She watched as he entered his private bedroom, untucking his shirt as he went. He reached up to begin unbuttoning his tunic when he spied her note. He crossed the room quickly and sat on the bed, unfolding it. Then his head jerked up.
The note had held only one sentence:
What if the shadows spoke to you tonight?
Callan stood, crossing the room to the door. He closed it, sliding the lock into place, then asked cautiously in the dark of the room, “What would the shadows say?”
Good. He hadn’t called for anyone.
“They would ask if you could keep some of its secrets,” she purred back.
His head whipped in the direction of her voice. “If they would trust me enough to share them, I would take their secrets to the grave for the return of two favors,” he replied, taking a step towards where she stood hidden. She was next to an open window, a quick escape route already noted should she need it.
“That’s mighty brave of you to ask from the darkness,” she crooned back.
“Brave or stupid, I am not yet sure,” Callan said with another step.
“And what are these favors?”
“One.” Another step closer. “Your name.”
“And the second?”
“To see your face without a mask in place,” he breathed. He was a few feet from her now, but the clouds were obscuring any moonlight. She was indeed ensconced in shadows, blending in with the darkness.
“Well then, Prince,” she said, stepping from the shadows now. She heard him suck in a breath as he beheld her in the little light from the flickering hearth. She was bedecked in her usual black with more weapons than teeth upon her. She reached up and pulled her hood back, revealing her face. “I shall fulfill the second favor now, the first after we have discussed a matter I need your help with.”
They spoke long into the night. Scarlett told him of the children disappearing; although she left out where they were disappearing from. A dangerous line she was toeing, being here, asking him for help. He listened, only interrupting when he needed clarification. Callan kept a healthy distance from her for much of it until she needed to leave to take her tonic. She pulled her hood back into place, and as she made to move to the window, he caught her arm. She froze, her eyes dragging from his hand to his face.
“That,” she said, her voice lethal, “is very stupid of you.”
“Or mighty brave,” he countered, his voice low.
“I must go,” she answered, making to leave again, but his grip tightened.
“My first favor,” he growled, bringing his face closer to hers, searching it, as if memorizing every feature.
“Tomorrow,” she replied, her own voice dropping low. “Have information for me tomorrow night, Callan, and I shall tell you my name.”
The next night she again waited in his rooms, but he returned to them far sooner than the prior evening. He entered from his private sitting room, again locking the door behind him. Then he turned to face the room where she had been hiding the night before. “Are you here?”
“Do you have news?” She was in a different part of the room this time, in the armchair directly in front of the darkened fireplace.
His head turned to where she sat, and he closed the space between them quickly, as if he feared she would slip away. He found her lounging in the armchair and braced his hands on the armrests on either side of it, leaning in close to her.
“Dangerous territory, Prince,” she whispered.
“Do not call me that,” he snarled softly.
“Do not call you by your title?” she asked with a tilt of her head.
“Just…no,” he whispered.
And without realizing she was doing it, she brought her hand to his perfect face. Callan froze, and she brushed her thumb along his cheekbone. She studied those hazel eyes, the green flickering in the embers of the hearth. “Do I frighten you, Callan?” she whispered.
“Yes,” he breathed back.
“Good.”
They stared at each other for another moment, her hand still on his cheek. Then he said, “Tell me your name.”
“Tell me your information,” she countered.
“Oh no, my Wraith of Shadows. Tonight I make the demands,” he said softly, with a small smirk.
“And what would you demand of me, Callan? ”
“We will start with your name.” He still stood braced over her in the armchair.
“Scarlett,” she whispered. “Scarlett Monrhoe.”
“Monrhoe? The healer’s daughter?”
“You know of my mother?” she asked in surprise.
“She was a renowned healer. The best in the kingdom. She came to the castle once to heal my mother,” he explained. “But she was…”
“Yes, she was,” Scarlett replied quietly, dropping her hand from his face, her eyes falling to her lap.
“And her daughter has not been seen in…”
“Nearly seven years,” Scarlett finished, lifting her eyes back to him. “So now, Crown Prince, will you still keep the secrets of the shadows?”
“Everyone believes you to be dead,” he said, searching her eyes.
“That was the plan.”
“Why?”
“Because I was also supposed to be killed that night,” she answered.
Callan was silent for a long moment. “I have been down to the dungeons. There are no children there. I have heard no mention of it from any of the dungeon guards or castle guards.”
“Could there be another set of dungeons? Ones you do not know about?” she asked, urgency in her voice.
“I do not know where there could be,” Callan said, standing upright now and taking a step back.
Scarlett was on her feet, pacing in his room. “He didn’t hear wrong. This cannot be another dead end.” She was muttering more to herself than to Callan at this point. “We cannot start over from square one. Not again. Too much has gone into this.”
She didn’t notice that Callan had stepped closer to her, not until he gripped her elbow gently. She whirled, instinctively grabbing a dagger from her hip and bringing it to his throat. He froze, but a small smirk spread across his face. “I’m sorry,” she said, panic in her voice. She quickly lowered the dagger, “I didn’t— I wasn’t attacking you.”
“I know,” Callan said, and as she sheathed the dagger, he tugged her close to him. “I have only had one day to look into things. Give me more time.”
“More time means the possibility of more children going missing,” Scarlett said.
“If you are Monrhoe’s daughter…then you are from the Black Syndicate.” It was Scarlett’s turn to still. He was smart, this prince. While she had been pacing and muttering, he had figured out a puzzle of his own. “Is that where the children are disappearing from?”
“Yes,” she whispered. When Callan didn’t say anything, she asked, “Will you stop looking into it then? Because of where they come from?”
Callan cocked his head to the side. “The Black Syndicate is still part of our kingdom, Scarlett. I once told you my wish was to focus on the people within our borders, not on obtaining more. That includes those in the Black Syndicate.”
Scarlett rose up on her tiptoes and pressed a featherlight kiss to Callan’s cheek. “You are a rare gem indeed, Callan. I hope you remain so when you assume the throne.” She made to step back, but Callan slid a hand to her waist and held her against him. “More demands tonight, Prince?”
“Only one,” he said, and he lowered his mouth to hers.
He pulled back a fraction of an inch, and she whispered softly, “Dangerous territory indeed, Prince. This is a dark path you should not travel down.”
“Do not tell me what to do,” he snarled onto her mouth, “and do not call me that.”
This time when he brought his mouth to hers, she kissed him back. He tasted of something sweet that she could not place, and his spring rain and pine scent wrapped around her. She parted for him when he ran his tongue along her lips.
And so they stood in the dark, kissing in the shadows.