Chapter 4
Chapter Four
LINDY
The pounding on the door matched the pounding in Lindy’s head.
“Lindy, wake up!” the harsh whisper as Elise shook her shoulder pulled Lindy free from the last holds of sleep. Her eyelids felt heavy and crusty as she blinked and looked up at the face of her lady-in-waiting kneeling above her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, peeling herself up from the floor where she had cried herself to sleep the night before. A dull ache in her back reprimanded her for that choice.
“What did you do to the princes?” Elise’s face was tight and drawn, her lips pressed together in a thin line.
Lindy held a hand to her throbbing head. “I told them to get out and shut the door behind them.”
“You didn’t try to punish them?”
“What? No.” Lindy winced as the pounding at the door grew louder, accompanied by a shout from the guard outside demanding to be let in. “What happened? What’s going on?”
“The princes are missing.” Elise leaned back onto her heels and anxiously twisted the curled ends of her hair. “Corbin’s valet says that his bed was never slept in, and there’s no sign of His Royal Highness anywhere. The other princes’ servants all say the same thing.”
“Ah. And naturally, I suppose I’m the only suspect,” Lindy muttered darkly.
Elise hesitated. “The rooms were empty except for a single swan in each. They think it’s some sort of sick revenge.”
“I didn’t—” Lindy shook her head as she shifted her legs to stand, then froze at the sound of glass shards tinkling on the floor.
A horrifying suspicion began to creep up on her as she took in the broken bottle and the faint black stain on the floor.
She swallowed, and her voice cracked as she asked, “There was a swan in every room?”
“Yes. After the ridiculous stunt Jacques pulled, most of the servants think it’s retaliation—that you killed the princes and left a swan as a warning.”
Lindy’s hands trembled as she began gathering together the pieces of glass. “Ellie…I think I cursed them.”
Elise’s voice was sharp. “What?”
“It wasn’t intentional!” she rushed to clarify as her thoughts began swirling with panic. “But I was angry and I broke the bottle and…I think I cursed them.” Her voice dropped to the barest hint of a whisper at the end.
“What was in the bottle?”
Lindy kept her gaze on her hands, afraid to look up and see the disgust and revulsion that she knew she would find on Elise’s face.
“The last of the magic-infused liquid I made when I cursed my sister. It wouldn’t have done anything on its own, but I’ve always used my voice to channel magic before and…
” She let her words trail away, aware that anything else she said would sound as if she were trying to explain away her guilt.
“And you were crying last night,” Elise offered softly. “And because your anger and tears were directed at the princes, the magic must have latched onto them as well.”
She looked up, surprised to see her lady-in-waiting looking at her with a sad, sympathetic expression. “I didn’t mean to do it,” she repeated.
“I believe you,” Elise stated, rising and offering her a hand up. “But, unfortunately, I don’t think the rest of the court will. Haldrick is already campaigning for your arrest.”
Lindy wrapped her arms around her middle. Her shoulders deflated. “I should turn myself in.”
“No!” Elise shook her head vehemently. “If you do that, they’ll throw you into the dungeon and you’ll never get the chance to undo it. You can undo it, right?”
“I think so? There’s always a way, but since I wasn’t aware of casting it, I need time to figure out how to break it.” Her panicked breaths were coming in short, sharp bursts, and she pressed her shaking fingers to her temples.
“You’ll have to do that outside. You need to get out of here, Your Majesty.”
“And go where?” Lindy threw up her hands. “This was supposed to be my home. It’s not as if I have family in the area.”
“But I do,” Elise answered calmly. “My parents own a strip of land near the shores of Lake Lossos. There’s a cabin—it’s small, but it should be empty this time of year. You can stay there.”
“Won’t they object?”
Elise’s jaw tightened. “Let me worry about that. Right now, all you need to think about is getting yourself out of here without letting Haldrick see you and then figuring out how to undo this curse.”
There was no stopping the tears now as they leaked out of Lindy’s eyes and down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Ellie.”
Elise’s eyes softened. “I know you are, Lindy, and I know you’ll make it right. Now, come. Tell me what you need.”
She looked around the room, completely at a loss as to what she would even need. Despite her less-than-happy childhood, she had lived a privileged life. Her survival skills began and ended with personal hygiene and a few basic laundry skills. “I don’t…”
Her words were cut off by another round of pounding at the door. Lindy sucked in a frustrated breath through clenched teeth, annoyance eclipsing all other emotions for the moment.
I should have turned him into a swan.
She marched over to the door and threw it open. Haldrick, fist swinging mid-pound, stumbled forward a step. “Can I help you?” she asked icily, holding her chin high.
He covered his surprise with a scowl. “Where are the princes?”
“In their rooms, I would assume, based on the fact that the sun is barely over the mountains yet.”
“Don’t play dumb with me, witch.” Haldrick stepped closer, crowding her space. “They’re not there.”
“I certainly don’t know why you’d think I’d have any knowledge of their whereabouts. We don’t have that kind of mother-son relationship.”
“I know you did something.”
“Do you?” Lindy hid her anxiety with a cool lift of her eyebrow. “If you’d like to come in and look for them, by all means, be my guest. Just watch for the bird droppings.” She stepped back, sweeping her arm out invitingly.
The corner of his mouth curled up in disgust as he took in the mess.
He narrowed his eyes at Elise, who was seated on the edge of Lindy’s bed, flipping through the pages of a book as if nothing were amiss.
She spoke without looking up. “Sometimes His Royal Highness likes to take a ride at sunrise. It’s possible, given the emotional nature of the last few days, that he asked his brothers to join him.
” She turned a page and finally met his scrutiny with a sweet smile.
“Have you sent someone to check the stables?”
He grumbled a negative and backed away from the door, pausing just long enough to glare at Lindy. “I don’t trust you.”
“I know,” she responded neutrally, folding her hands in front of her dress. “The feeling is quite mutual, I assure you.”
His jaw worked back and forth, but he left without saying another word. Lindy waited until he was nearly out of sight before closing her door and leaning against it with a sigh. She ran a tired hand over her face, allowing herself just a moment of self-pity, then straightened.
“You should go.”
“What? Why?” Elise snapped the book shut and shot to her feet.
Lindy strode to her wardrobe and pulled out the most unassuming dress she could find. “Because if I leave, Haldrick is going to immediately accuse you of helping me. You need to have a solid alibi, and I want you to be able to honestly say you have no idea where I went.”
“But I do know. I told you—”
She interrupted her with a shake of her head. “I’m not going to the cabin, Ellie. I won’t put you in that kind of position. You have enough to deal with without needing to add your parents into the mix. The less you need to deal with your father, the better. I’ll figure something out.”
“Lindy…”
“Go.” Lindy took Elise’s shoulder and pushed her toward the door.
Elise’s brows drew together in concern. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”
She shrugged one shoulder, feigning more confidence than she felt. “I know how to take care of myself.”
I hope.
The heavy metal gate shut behind her with an ominous creak as Lindy exited the castle grounds with a hooded cloak pulled low to hide her face and a makeshift bag over her shoulder.
For once, she was thankful for the awful picnic her stepsons had taken her on, as it had alerted her to the existence of the rarely-used gate that led straight from the back gardens to the neighboring forest. The tall pine trees were a vibrant green in the morning sunshine, and their scent hung heavy around her in the humid summer air.
She had no idea where exactly she was going, only that she needed to walk north and west until she hit the shores of Lake Lossos. If she was going to figure out a way to break the curse, she needed someplace to stay that was at least somewhat inhabitable for swans.
Assuming they were still able to comprehend human speech and could follow Elise’s instructions to meet her there. If not, she was going to have to start swan hunting.
“And I’m sure wandering around the countryside, throwing counter-curses at water fowl in the hopes they turn into princes will do wonders for my public image,” she muttered sarcastically. “Haldrick won’t use that against me at all as further proof that I should be thrown into prison or executed.”
She kept moving, following a narrow, often overgrown path through the trees.
The air quickly grew warm as the morning lengthened, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead and carved a path down her back.
Her cloak was quickly abandoned—in the dense covering of the forest it was unlikely anyone would recognize her from afar, anyway—and Lindy was soon longing for the cool waters and gentle breezes of the lakeside.
The clear blue waters finally glistened in the distance, reflecting the light of the midday sun.
Lindy cleared the tree line and dropped her sack of belongings on the ground before heading straight to the shore, kicking off her shoes as she went.
She plunged straight into the water, sighing in relief as the cold water hit her sweaty, blistered feet.