Chapter 30
Aurelia’s hand was shaking in mine as we sprinted down the hallway. Our feet were bare, our clothes sparse; we hadn’t had time to pack our belongings because Aurelia had been a bloody idiot chasing after a dying king.
Luckily, it seemed most of the castle was still asleep. But it wouldn’t take long for the staff to discover Tyrone’s body and sound the warning bells.
We had to leave this court. Now.
We flew down the staircase, our feet padding on the carpet. Inside, my heart beat a roaring rhythm in my chest, panic flooding my veins.
Gods, my kingdom was already in enough trouble. Now, the Autumn Court would be after me…
Shit, shit, shit.
Aurelia panted behind me, her breathing ragged. She let out a small cry, and when I glanced over my shoulder at her, I found her face was smeared with blood and tears.
“Are you crying for that bastard?” I hissed.
She only hiccuped, shaking her head, her face crumpling. Stars above, I would never understand this woman.
We flew down the corridor, ducking behind a suit of armor as a servant bustled past.
Instead of heading for the massive double doors that led to the courtyard below, I followed the servant through a door, descending down a narrower staircase.
“Where are we going?” Aurelia whispered .
I didn’t answer, making sure to keep a safe distance from the woman who made her way down the stairs. The faint light of her candle cast an eerie amber glow on the stone walls surrounding us, but I was grateful for the light to illuminate the way. I didn’t fancy taking a tumble down the stairs when I was running for my life.
We reached the bottom and lingered for a moment as the maid strode down the hall to the servants’ quarters. When the door snapped shut behind her, we were plunged in darkness, and silence filled the air. Aurelia’s fingernails dug into my palm. Not a single sconce was lit. It was nothing but total and complete blackness.
Aurelia trembled beside me, but I found myself smiling. It was just like home. She likely couldn’t see too clearly, but I had the blood of the Night Fae in my veins. Even in the dark corridor, I could make out the lengthy narrow hallway and each door that led to a servant’s room.
I squeezed Aurelia’s hand to reassure her. “Come on.”
We inched down the hall, and for the first time, I was grateful we wore no shoes. Our steps were completely silent.
I paused a few doors down, pressing my ear to the door and listening. The first one had snores coming from the other side. But the second was utterly silent.
Carefully, I inched open the door and peered inside. My gaze swept over the empty bed before I surged inside, dragging Aurelia with me. I softly closed the door before digging through the belongings of whoever once lived here.
“What the hell are you doing?” Aurelia breathed. She stumbled, running into a night table, and swore loudly. “Don’t you need a candle or something?”
“Night Fae, remember? Aha!” I grinned as I found a pair of boots and a cloak that looked close to Aurelia’s size. Whoever stayed in this room was clearly a woman. I tossed them over to her, then whispered, “Put these on. I’ll be right back.”
“Fenn—” she objected, but I had already left, gently easing the door shut behind me.
It took me a few more doors before I found an empty manservant’s room. The boots were a bit small on me, but they would have to do. As I made my way back to Aurelia, I heard shouts from upstairs .
We were out of time.
Aurelia was pulling the dark hood over her face when I burst into the room. Her face was still sticky with blood and tears, but she looked more resolute and determined, and her eyes were clear. She nodded once, and we hurried through the hall and down another smaller set of stairs. Something banged loudly behind us—a door crashing open perhaps—and we quickened our pace.
At the bottom of the stairs were two doors, and I faltered. I had never been this way before.
But Aurelia had. She shoved past me. “This way.” She threw open the door on the left, and we hurried through. It opened to small patch of grass facing a sloping hill. In the distance, I recognized the royal stables.
That was when the warning bell sounded. The chime rang out through the kingdom, blaring against my ears.
Nausea churned in my gut, but I couldn’t dwell on it. I couldn’t think of how I was now an enemy to this kingdom. Mother would be so furious.
We had almost reached the stables when Aurelia suddenly stopped short.
It took me a few steps to discover she wasn’t beside me. I turned to her, my eyes wide with panic. “What are you doing? We have to move!”
“I need to speak with Callan.”
I stared at her. “Are you insane? He’ll have you imprisoned on the spot!”
“He won’t. I know him. I need to speak with him.”
I swore, turning away from her and running a hand through my hair. “Aurelia, you are impossible. If we linger here, we will be caught and tried for assassinating the king. You know this.”
“If we flee, we will only look more guilty!” she argued. “And the Autumn Court will invade my kingdom . My kingdom which currently has no defense, no armies, not even a royal family. Fenn, if we leave, we are sentencing my court to death.”
I drew closer to her, placing my hands firmly on her shoulders. “Aurelia, listen to me. Even if they did attack your court, you have your dragons to protect it. But I don’t believe Callan will let that happen. That foolish prince is in love with you. He won’t see clearly, and he will direct his rage to me and my kingdom. He will attack the Star Court first. I am sure of it.”
She blinked at me. Clearly, she hadn’t considered this. “But… Tyrone was in my chambers.”
“Did you hear me? Callan doesn’t think clearly when it comes to you. And he knew his brother was paranoid, claiming someone was after him. He knows it wasn’t you. But it would be easy for him to believe it was me. Or someone working for me. He will convince himself that I’ve poisoned you, turning you against him, brainwashing you into believing you are in love with me.”
Clarity sparked in her gaze, her eyebrows lifting. I could tell I was convincing her.
Shouts echoed nearby. Alarm raced through me, and I took her hand. We sprinted for the stables, rounding the corner and nearly colliding with the stable hand.
He was a boy, likely no older than sixteen. He yelped in fright, staggering backward, the bales of hay dropping from his arms.
I stepped forward, but Aurelia grabbed my arm and hissed, “Don’t kill him!”
“I’m not going to kill him,” I said, shooting her an incredulous look before turning to the trembling boy. “ You didn’t see us .” My voice turned low and ethereal, with an echo from my fae magic pulsing around us. “ You fled from the stables when you heard a strange noise .”
The air thrummed with power, making the hairs on my arms stand up. I sensed Aurelia staring at me in horror, but I couldn’t meet her gaze.
“ Leave now ,” I said, layering more magic onto my voice.
The boy stared at me with wide, unseeing eyes. After a moment, he turned on his heel and stalked off, leaving the hay strewn all over the ground.
I rolled my shoulders back with a loud exhale, and the thrumming in the air stopped, replaced only by the chill of night and the clanging of the warning bell.
“What the hell was that?” Aurelia demanded. I finally turned to look at her. Her eyes blazed with anger and the hint of betrayal.
My stomach dropped at that look. I knew she was re-evaluating our every encounter, wondering if I had used my powers on her before.
Whatever trust we had established was now broken.
“I’ll explain later.” I ducked into one of the stables and retrieved a large white stallion. “Come on, he’s already saddled. Probably belongs to one of the courtiers from the ball.”
I swung atop the horse, but Aurelia hesitated, still visibly shaken by what I’d done to the stable hand.
“Would you have preferred I gut him with my sword?” I snapped. “Get on!”
Aurelia puffed an exasperated breath. She ignored my outstretched hand and swung up, settling in front of me on the saddle. With my arms on either side of her, I flicked the reins and dug in my heels, spurring the horse into motion. In seconds, we were taking off, galloping madly down the road. Behind us, more shouts echoed. I chanced a glance behind us and found flickering lantern lights illuminating dozens of shadowy figures.
Soldiers, no doubt.
I flicked the reins again, and the stallion put on a burst of speed. Wind whipped fiercely at us, and Aurelia’s hood fell down, her strawberry hair billowing around us.
“He won’t last long if we push him like this,” Aurelia said. “Not with two riders.”
“We don’t need to go far. We just need to make it to the Mistwood Hills and we’ll be clear.”
“What makes you say that? The soldiers can easily follow us through those hills.”
“You’ll see,” I muttered darkly.
Aurelia glanced at me over her shoulder, brows furrowed and her expression full of mistrust. I had already revealed my fae magic to her. And now, we were about to venture through the deadly Mistwood Hills, which would only further remind her of the despicable nature of my court.
As the horse carried us farther away from the Autumn Palace, my mouth set into a grim line as I felt that impenetrable barrier wedging itself between me and the princess once more.