Chapter Seventeen
Celeste’s aim did notwaiver. It remained centered directly on her uncle’s heart, hidden under a deep blue damask vest. The organ served only to keep him alive. If anything had been revealed since her father’s death, it was that this man harbored no sentimentality or emotion. The cold calculation of his coup left her vibrating with fury.
“Where is Caroline, damn you?”
The traitor laughed, and the sound turned her molten blood to ice.
“You returned to rescue her with a bounty on your head.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “How touching.”
“You mock me.” Her finger rested heavily on the trigger. “I have no reservations about ending your miserable life.”
“Then do it and have done.” He stepped from behind the desk, his demeanor nonplussed, as though he were strolling through the garden on a spring afternoon.
Her intention never faltered. She kept steady with every step he took.
“You will not shoot me, child.” He leaned against the front of the desk, his fingers tapping the carved edges. “There are still too many unanswered questions.”
“I suggest you make your confession quick, for I grow weary of your presence.”
“I have no intention of confessing to you...or to any other, for that matter. My actions do not need to be defended.” His smile made her stomach lurch.
“Why did you order them to kill me?” she asked, cursing herself for giving him the satisfaction of another breath.
“I should have known.” He chuckled. “You were always bright. It seems my men were not as competent as I gave them credit for.”
“I overheard you speaking to them and I ran.” She gritted her teeth. “But that does not answer my question. Why did you order my death?”
“You would have pieced the truth together at some point.” He rubbed his jaw. “It was easier to entirely remove you from the picture.”
“So you could kill my sister as well and take the throne yourself?” She scoffed. “The people of Nevarro will never accept you as their king.”
“After the untimely death of my brother, it falls upon me to take the new monarch under my wing, to guide them in their early rule.”
“You kidnapped my sister and placed the blame on me!” She stomped down the rage boiling inside her. “Every pirate and brigand in the kingdoms are searching for me.”
“Exactly.” Uncle Peter remained calm, unnerving her.
“I do not understand.”
“You created the perfect distraction. While everyone searches for a treasonous princess who kidnapped her own sister, their eyes are not on me.”
“You used me to usurp the throne?”
“I used your escape to my advantage.” His evil grin widened. “I have every soldier in the kingdom searching for you. A whisper or two in the local taverns, and suddenly I have the entire nation hunting you down. I could not have planned it better myself.”
“And what did you expect? That I would just allow you to take the throne?” Celeste scoffed. “I would rather die than let you sit in my father’s stead.”
“He refused the throne.” A gentle, familiar voice drifted in from behind her.
Celeste spun, keeping the gun trained on her uncle while taking in the sight before her. “Caroline!”
Her sister, several years her senior, stood in the doorway of their father’s study. Celeste’s smile of joy turned into a frown as small details filtered into her mind.
Caroline wore a clean, regal gown of deep scarlet and blue with bell sleeves and gold trim along the hem. A small gold coronet sat upon her dark hair. There was not a mark on her skin. No blemish. No chains. She walked uninhibited into the room, coming to stand beside Uncle Peter.
“Caro...” Celeste’s voice broke. Tears sprung to her eyes as the force of betrayal struck her like a harpoon. “You...”
She could not bring herself to finish the sentence.
The barrel of the pistol slipped as Caroline stood tall beside their uncle, a pillar of commitment and confidence. Celeste forced herself to hold steady, unable and unwilling to relent. It could not be. And yet, the proof lay before her.
Uncle Peter had poisoned Caroline against her.
“You play his puppet?” Celeste fought to free the words from her throat. “You betray our father’s memory to sit upon the throne doing his bidding?”
Caroline rested a hand upon their uncle’s shoulder. “Uncle Peter has shown me the truth. He believes I will make a wonderful queen. By my side, he will guide me to become the ruler I was born to be.”
The woman Celeste once admired had vanished. This was not Caroline. Her body and mind perhaps, but there was no longer a beautiful soul beneath the carefully crafted veneer. Whatever Uncle Peter did to her, he’d stolen the loveliest parts of her sister and replaced them with venomous lies.
“You allowed him to use your name to tarnish mine and cast me to the sharks?”
Caroline flinched, showing a glimpse of whatever humanity remained, but she recovered quickly. “I followed his instructions to ensure his plan succeeded.”
“You would let them kill me?” Disbelief burned inside her. How could this be? She choked back the threatening tears, swallowing them like a bitter tonic.
“I advised him to encourage your capture, not your death.” Caroline smoothed a hand over her bodice.
“And I suppose you believe that to be a mercy?” Celeste turned the pistol to her. “Lock me in a dungeon and throw away the key, is that it? Imprison me for the remainder of my life to silence your conscience?”
“Would you rather die?” Caroline asked, her tone calm. Quite unlike the woman Celeste had called sister not long ago.
“Without question.” A humorless grin split her lips. “But you are at my mercy now, and I will not allow this charade to go further.”
“How will you explain our deaths to the people of Nevarro?” Caroline asked.
“’Tis amazing what people will believe.” She twisted their logic back upon them. It left her feeling dirty and vile, stooping to their villainous tricks. Celeste shoved it aside. “Any final words?”
“Taken up with pirates, have you?” Uncle Peter narrowed his eyes, allowing his gaze to roam the length of her before settling on the pistol. “That seal.” His eyes widened at the weapon in her grip. “Captain Hook.”
“Enough.” Celeste rounded on him and squeezed the trigger.
The explosion rattled her head.
Uncle Peter had anticipated her and ducked to the side, shoving Caroline to the ground.
Celeste tossed the pistol aside and drew the blade tucked into her bodice just as her uncle lunged for her. He grabbed her by the waist and threw her to the ground.
Every moment of training came rushing back to her in a flash of panic.
She shoved her weight into him and twisted, rolling on top of him as they landed on the floor. Pressing the blade to his throat, she held his gaze.
“For my father.”
As she drew the blade, something slammed into her back, knocking her forward. The blade slipped, slicing his jaw and up the side of his face.
He unleashed a cry of agony, and blood gushed from the wound.
Celeste scrambled to her feet, her blade poised and ready as she turned to face Caroline.
Her sister stared at their uncle, horror etched upon her pale face. “No!” She turned her ire on Celeste. “What have you done?”
A shout echoed down the corridor, followed by the unmistakable sound of boots on marble floors. Soldiers.
Celeste spared one last glance at her uncle lying in a pool of blood, cradling his marred face. Caroline sank to her knees beside him, tearful and sobbing.
Celeste could end it now. With two well-placed blows, she could end the coup.
With a muttered curse, she turned and ran from the room. Behind her, shouted orders shook the walls.
Her heart pounded as she bypassed them, using a passage that led to the kitchens. From there, she went straight to the wine cellar and the secret passage.
Safely inside, she leaned against the wall for a moment to catch her breath. They would search everywhere for her now. Even the caverns beneath the castle. She needed to get back to the ship. To the Raven and to Captain Hook.
Carefully making her way down the dark tunnel, she felt for the markings leading to the vault. When she rounded a corner and saw a lantern hanging outside the vault room, she could have expired with relief.
The vault lay silent as the grave as she approached. Blade raised, she crept closer. When she saw the guards lying chained to the open vault door, she swore.
They were gone. Hook and his men had escaped. How?
She shook the question from her mind. Now was not the time to ponder such things. She needed to escape before the guards came down to the caverns.
Racing back to the tunnel, she grabbed the lantern from the post and held it aloft as she wove back to the small cave where they had moored the boats.
Celeste stopped short at the sight that greeted her.
One boat was gone, and the one that remained was guarded by three angry pirates. They crossed their arms, staring down their noses at her.
“Please take me with you.”
The men stood, immovable as the cliffside.
“Where is the captain?” She searched the cave, but found nothing, no one but these three stoic pirates. “I must speak with the captain.”
Their silence spoke volumes.
“The soldiers are coming. We must leave.”
Nothing.
“Please, I beg of you. Take me with you.” Panic seized her heart. She needed time to regroup, to make a plan. But first she needed to be away from this damned place.
“If I’d known it was so easy to make you beg, I would have tried a different tactic.”
Celeste gasped and spun around.
The handsome Captain Hook lingered in the stone archway, his brow raised and a smirk upon his lips. Her heart ceased beating and her mouth went dry, whether from fear or desire, she could not tell. Her relief disappeared at the hard glint in his eyes as he assessed her.
“Say it again, Princess.” He sauntered forward, catching his hook beneath her chin. “Beg me to save you.”
“Please,” she pleaded, barely above a whisper.
“I win.” He stepped away. “Take her to the ship and lock her in the brig.”