20. Chapter 20
Fitz
N o trace. My security team had torn the palace apart searching for her, and yet found no trace. I’d grounded every flight, every train, and barricaded the major roads, and nothing.
Someone had to have taken her. They were holding her somewhere and if I had to search every home in Nolcovia, I would.
“I’m afraid, Your Highness,” Reginald spoke slowly, knowing the wrong phrase would set me off, “it’s time to begin preparing for the ball.”
“No.” I walked away from him and pushed my balcony doors open. Fresh air blasted my skin as I stepped outside. I had to think. Michaela needed me. “Not until I know where she is. There’s no point in going to the ball if Michaela won’t be there.”
As soon as I said the words, I regretted them. This wasn’t the time to tip my hand. I whirled around, expecting judgment on Reginald’s face, but found none. Was I wrong to believe that perhaps the old man was actually on my side about this? Or maybe he hadn’t heard me at all. He was getting up there in age.
“Then you’ve made your choice, Your Highness?”
So, he had understood. And yet, still no judgment tipped the scales in his features.
“I’ve loved her since we were children, Reg. There was never a choice to be made.”
“I know.” He rarely smiled, but the faintest glimmer glanced through his eyes. “Love is a miraculous thing, is it not?”
“Yes, but only if I can find her. I fear someone has taken her in order to control me and the choices I make today.” Pain gripped my heart knowing I’d put the woman I loved in such danger. “I simply can’t rest or function until she’s found, Reg.”
Once more, he hesitated, understanding his place and yet, having advised me for years with careful precision. “Might I ask, Your Highness, how you plan to marry the American? I know the agreement with your mother. You promised not to fall in love with her or marry her on condition of Miss Caldwell entering the country.”
“Well,” I gulped back my nerves as I struggled not to feel like a petulant child throwing a fit, “if they want me to rule, then they’ll allow it. If not…”
“You’ll abdicate.” His shoulders slumped with defeat. “And since the king’s brother refuses to rule, your cousin will be offered the throne.”
“Yes.” I saw the flaws in my plan, but it didn’t matter.
“And if he denies it?”
That’s where my heart resided, the awful truth that Bishop would likely abdicate as well, and then the crown would go to a distant relation, one who may not love the country at all. One who may rule with an iron fist and glutton himself on the people. By this time tomorrow, Nolcovia could have a tyrant for a king, and I would be the one to blame.
“I suppose I better hope he doesn’t.” I spun to face the city as it came to life in the twilight hours. “Or, better yet, that my choice for a wife is the lesser of two awful futures and no argument is made over her country of origin.”
He didn’t say another word. Perhaps too caught up in his own worry since I’d shared my reckless plan. It wasn’t right to put the weight of my choices on his shoulders, but it felt good not to bear the burden alone for a moment. A knock at the door interrupted any further discussion. Reginald made haste to open it and Kabir entered, eyes wide, jaw taut.
“Your Highness—”
“Did you find her?”
“I’m afraid not.” His face twisted with the agony of denying me what I’d asked of him. “We’ve searched everywhere. The city, the palace, even the old castle and the woods.”
“Search again,” I commanded him.
“Sire,” once more he spoke as if the title of king had been given already, “the queen has commanded the transportation lockdowns to end. Guests are due to arrive by plane and train and—”
“No!” I shouted. “Nothing goes in or out of this country until Michaela is found, understood?”
His mouth moved, but for a moment there was no sound. “Your Highness,” my rank dropped back to reality, “she’s ordered it and I must follow the queen’s command.”
Anger surged through my veins. Yes, Kabir was honor-bound to Mother’s commands. It didn’t matter what she asked of him, even if it went against all that he believed, he had to do it. Since even murder was not out of her reach, of course lifting the transportation freeze didn’t phase her.
“Fine.” I practically pushed my guard out of the doorway. “I’ll take it up with her myself.”
Michaela
The long lines of my handwriting stared back at me like traitors. I wrote the letter, but it was all lies. I wasn’t hung up on how we would make our situation work. Fitz had a plan and I still thought it was worth trying. I wasn’t questioning the way I felt about him, because I only wrote the letter in order to save him. And I certainly didn’t feel like we would be better apart. If I had my way, we would always be together.
But the lies were all that remained in the end, scribbled out in black and white, masquerading as truth.
I couldn’t even slide in a secret message, not with Sadie reading every word as I wrote it. Her fingers pinched the edge of the notepad and pulled it from my grasp. “That will do.”
“But I didn’t sign it Ro— ” I stopped myself short before I admitted to the one thing every single one of my letters had. Royally Yours, Princess Coco , every single time. If I left it blank or signed it wrong, would it be enough to tip him off?
“Fine.” Sadie’s nerves increased with every passing moment. I got the feeling she was ticking down to some deadline. “You should sign it.”
She returned the notebook, but my mind stalled without my normal tagline as an option. I couldn’t very well write, locked in a tower but still yours , but something would work, right?
Sincerely, Michaela
Was it enough? Bland, generic, a hundred miles away from the years of letters we’d exchanged, but would he realize the letter was written under duress?
“Thank you.” Sadie stole the notepad. The page ripped from the pad, and she slipped it into an envelope after folding it neatly. “Which brings us to the final element of our evening.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. Too much emphasis on the word final.
“You didn’t really tell me what you planned to do with me, did you?”
“Do you show the dinner lamb the menu?” She frowned. “I told you; I never wanted it to happen this way.”
“And yet,” I replied dryly. Here I am, tied to a chair . But that wasn’t entirely true either. Once she’d freed my hand to write the letter, I’d been quietly working on releasing my other hand as well. I felt like I was one hard jerk away from freedom.
“It’s not so bad, what they have planned for you. No one comes to the tower. You won’t be found. Though, it’s hard to say if your hunger or thirst will end you before the elements.”
“You’ll leave me here then? Waiting for death?” I wriggled my wrist, knowing at any second she could re-tie me and I would lose my opportunity. “A bit cruel, isn’t it?”
“Would you rather I kill you? I’m sure I have an elixir that would work.”
For a minute, I couldn’t breathe. It was a real offer. And she saw it as a mercy she could extend.
“No, thank you. I’ll take my chances.” More than ever, I knew I had to get free. Once she cleared the doorway, my fate would be sealed. I would never escape the tower.
“I know you think I’m cruel, but it’s not that way at all. Tauriq needs me to be strong. I won’t ever see him again, but if I do as they wish, at least he’ll survive.” Sadie turned away from me and I took my shot, tugging and jerking against the rope that still held me. “It gives me comfort to know that my sacrifice will grant him freedom, even if we never—hey! What are you—”
I stood, both hands free, ready to barrel into her like I was on the field ready for Monday night football and the whistle just blew. Eyes wide, Sadie’s hand disappeared into the folds of her skirt before I could take a single step. As I started to lunge for her, she threw something at the stone floor. Glass shattered and a thick plume of smoke rose between us. My lungs seized instantly, driving me to my knees.
“Careful,” she cautioned, “it shouldn’t kill you, but it will knock you out. You won’t wake up until tomorrow at the soonest.” I kept coughing but over my gasps I still heard the massive door release and pull backward.
I had to get out. I had to make my way to… My body dragged with exhaustion. My eyes rolled back in my head without my permission. Everything became heavy and weighted.
“It’s better this way,” Sadie’s parting words were meant to give me comfort, “if you wake up, it’ll all be over.”
“Wait!” I stretched a trembling hand toward her, touching the bluish haze that filled the room. But my plea fell on deaf ears and the door latched closed again, leaving me in my cell of poison to die.
Fitz
A guard moved as if to stop me, but with one look, he cowered back to his position. The transition of power was imminent and everyone within the palace knew it. I wasn’t king yet, but that guard didn’t want to do anything to upset me in case I held grudges.
I burst into my parents’ chamber, startling my mother where she spoke softly with her lady’s maid.
“Rescind your order,” I demanded. “Lockdown the country at once.”
Her eyes flashed with anger and then amusement, as if I was a child again and this was some sort of game I’d made up. “Don’t be a fool, Leonidas. We have a ball in a matter of a couple of hours. Dignitaries are landing at the airport as we speak. Of course we need transportation lines open.”
“You’re behind it, aren’t you?” I had no evidence, only a feeling in my gut that she would exert power to make Michaela disappear. “You’ve hated her from the first time I said her name as a teenager. Now, you’re bent on making her vanish with no trace.” I squared my shoulders and faced her dead on. “You think you can control me because you have her, but I refuse to go forward with anything until I know she is safe.”
Unlike me, Mother had already started preparations for the ball. Her black gown draped over her figure, gauzy fabric that subtly twinkled in the low lighting. If I squinted, the sheer overlay appeared to have spiderwebs embroidered in delicate silver thread. With the flick of her hand, her maid departed through a side door, understanding the unspoken command. Once the door clicked shut, Mother’s icy gaze seared into me.
“You dare speak that way to your mother?” She cocked an eyebrow. “To your queen?”
She wanted to intimidate me, but I wasn’t willing to cower. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you had nothing to do with it. Tell me that my happiness matters more than your sinister plans.”
“Sinister?” She shook her head as though I was off base. “I am looking out for the best of the country. I don’t think you can classify that as sinister, Son.”
“Depends on the means,” I corrected her. “If kidnapping is high on that list, then I would wager that—”
My accusation was interrupted by a thudding at the door. Not a knock, but more like a skirmish gone wrong. A body against the wooden frame. Chaos rose up in the next second, voices and cries of alarm. I pursed my lips, angry that some commotion had interrupted my interrogation of my mother. Prepared to tune it out, I opened my mouth to start again.
A woman screamed.
My heart dropped. Without thinking, I raced to the chamber doors and ripped them open, searching the hallway for Michaela.
But she wasn’t the woman I found.
Two guards towered over the cowering frame of Sadira. She ducked her head, as if anticipating another blow.
“Escort Lady Sadira from this wing,” Kabir ordered. “She has no place outside of her chambers.”
A guard took hold of her small arm with strength I feared would snap her in half. “Serves you right for disturbing the prince, eh?”
“Unhand her,” I commanded, stepping out into the hall. The brute instantly obeyed and Sadira tumbled back to the ground, body as limp as a ragdoll. I rushed forward, concerned for her safety. They had no right to treat her so gruffly.
“Forgive me, Your Highness.” Sadie bowed herself to the floor, head level with the marble tile. “I had to come, even if it meant I would risk my life.”
With the wave of my hand, I urged the guard to move back from her. I sank onto my knees in front of her. “Tell me. What is worth such a sacrifice, Lady Sadira?” I touched her cheek to bring her head up. Her worried eyes locked onto mine and my heart sank, knowing that she bore something devastating. “What news?”
Her chin dropped away from my touch, but she produced an envelope. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. She must have left it on my pillow when I went for a walk in the garden. If only I’d seen it sooner.”
I took the envelope that had been extended to me. The seal was broken, but that didn’t surprise me. Sadira likely thought it was meant for her if it was on her pillow, but what had she… I recognized the penmanship as I unfolded the letter and my eyes raced to read the contents as fast as I could.
Fitz, I hate writing this letter. I hope you know that. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I won’t be there tonight. I can’t. We both know this is a mistake. You would spend the rest of your life resenting me for taking you from your home. And, if by some miracle they allowed us to be together, I would never feel at home here. My heart would always pull for my real country. Sadie though, she’s ready to rule. You may not love her now, but you will love her more than you ever loved me. Your country needs you. It’s time we grew up, don’t you think? Childish dreams won’t carry us through this time. I will always be yours, but it’s best if we part ways now. Let the past be what it was and carve out your future as the king you were always meant to be.
Don’t look for me.
Sincerely,
Michaela
I stared at the letter, an evil mixture of shock and sickness churning in my gut. My mind clung to the memory of the previous night. Had she given me any indication of these feelings? She’d hesitated, but in the end, she’d chosen me. Would she reverse such a decision in the light of day? It made no sense.
A cry of alarm sounded behind me, jarring me from my trance. I turned, ready for an attack. Instead, I found my mother collapsed to her knees, sobbing as the doctor tried to comfort her.
“No,” I whispered, willing the awful thought not to come to life. There was only one piece of news that would destroy my mother in an instant. “No, please no.” I retraced my steps, leaving one distraught woman for another.
“It’s only a matter of time now,” the doctor’s soft voice gave no comfort, “he won’t make it out this time.”
I understood even without context. Not only was the love of my life leaving me, but my father wouldn’t see morning.
All at once, my life collapsed around me, as if the earthquake had returned and swallowed every chance of happiness into a sinkhole with no end.