Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
LINDY
The throne room was sweltering.
Lindy shifted her weight, hoping that the movement would hide the fact that she was shaking with nerves.
It was one thing to expect a death sentence as a hypothetical; it was quite another to be standing in the room, waiting for it to hit her in the face.
She was thankful, at least, that Corbin had demanded she be allowed to bathe, treat her blisters, and change into clean clothes before her trial.
Though the crown prince’s soundness of mind was in question, his words still held quite a bit of weight.
Just not enough to get her out of there alive.
Haldrick had taken over the throne room, turning it into the center of his own investigations. While he hadn’t gone so far as to sit in Theodor’s throne, he was standing directly in front of it, using its kingless presence as a wordless reminder to the people of why exactly Lindy was there.
It’s a brilliant move, honestly. I’m sure that if Corbin hadn’t shown up, he would be positioning himself somehow to be next in line.
The rest of the room was full to the brim.
Ellie had said that morning as she combed through Lindy’s matted hair that people had been arriving since dawn to witness the trial.
Evidently, since Elise’s canceled execution, the people had been thirsty for some kind of spectacle of justice, and the public’s perception of her was filled with enough distrust, jealousy, and anger on behalf of the princes to make her the perfect target.
She could feel all eyes on her from her position in the center of the room, and she glanced to the side where seven chairs had been set out in the front row for the princes.
Six of them were there, seated from youngest to oldest, but Corbin’s chair remained conspicuously empty. Lindy drew in a shaking breath.
I’m sure there’s some reasonable explanation for it. Perhaps he just doesn’t want to be here to witness my end.
Haldrick cleared his throat, commanding the attention of the entire room. As one, the crowd fell silent.
“Your Highnesses,” Haldrick began.
“Hold a moment, Haldrick! You can’t start yet.”
Murmurs rolled through the crowd as Corbin pushed his way through, filling the empty seat. He gave Lindy a small, reassuring smile.
Haldrick’s jaw clenched as he pressed his lips together in a tight smile.
“Your Highnesses,” he began again. “People of Cygnus. We are gathered here today in search of justice—justice for our king, may he rest in peace, and justice for our princes who were cruelly cursed. The evidence, which has already been examined and found indisputable, will be presented for the benefit of all present, and a suitable punishment will be given.”
“Belinda Olorin, formerly of Nedra, has been accused of regicide and the abhorrent use of magic to curse our princes, altering their minds to suit her own fashions. Would the accused care to state how she pleads?” He fixed Lindy with a smug sneer.
Lindy breathed deeply through her nose and threw her shoulders back, refusing to cower in front of him.
He wants me to show weakness. He’s nothing but a bully.
“I cursed the princes,” she stated, clearly surprising him with her admission of guilt. “It was accidental, not out of malicious intent, but I did curse them. I had no part in King Theodor’s death.”
The second part of her plea was hardly heard, as the room erupted with angry boos and shouts. Haldrick held a hand out for silence.
“So, you admit it,” he said once the room was quiet again. “You claim the act with pride.”
“Hardly. But I will take ownership of my mistake. Once I understood the ramifications of my anger, I made every effort to make things right.”
“And while we’re on the subject, Haldrick,” Corbin interrupted, drawing a glare from the self-styled judge, “Queen Belinda was not the only one at fault. The curse would not have happened were she not sorely provoked.”
Whispers traveled through the room.
“She has affected your minds. Who can say what sort of lies she filled your brains with while under her influence.”
Jacques piped up, “How could she have done that? She didn’t talk the whole time.”
“Ah, yes.” Haldrick held up a finger as if he had been waiting to come to that point. “The nettle shirts. Further proof that the witch was working some kind of vile magic, likely one that required blood as a payment.”
The response to this claim was nearly as loud as her admission, and Lindy mumbled darkly to herself as the room roared. “That’s not even how magic works.”
“You have heard it yourself,” Haldrick yelled over the din. “The witch has admitted guilt for her crimes.”
“My brothers and I were the ones affected,” Corbin interrupted again. “According to Cygnus law, we must be allowed to say our side of things.”
Haldrick shook his head. “We can trust nothing. The witch has—”
“Let the princes speak!”
“We want to hear their side of the story!”
The audience was overwhelming, and eventually Haldrick gave in, gesturing for Corbin to stand with a tight-lipped scowl.
The prince cleared his throat. “As I said before, the curse that Queen Belinda cast was not without provocation. From the time that she joined our court late last year, my brothers and I have done little to make Queen Belinda feel at home. In fact.” He glanced down the row at the rest of the princes.
“We went out of our way to make her miserable. Honestly, the fact that we were only turned into swans and not into worms or toads, and that it didn’t happen months ago is a testament to the queen’s restraint and strength of character. ”
“So your defense of her is only that she could have chosen something else,” Haldrick jeered.
Corbin silently stared Haldrick down until the guard quailed and looked away.
He continued, “On the night the curse was cast, my brothers and I had played a particularly cruel prank on the queen, filling her room with geese and other water fowl while she was at dinner. There is no defense for what we did; it was unfeeling and spiteful, and it caused irreparable damage not only to the room itself, but also to Her Majesty’s personal belongings, some of which were quite precious to her.
” He took a deep breath, and his next words were directed straight at Lindy.
“We may never be able to repair the damage that was done, but I want to acknowledge publicly that I share the blame, and I apologize for my part in it.”
“So do I.”
“Me, too.”
One by one, the princes rose, adding their voices to their brother’s. Lindy’s eyes filled with tears in spite of her intention to remain strong, and they spilled down her cheeks as she mouthed a trembling, “Thank you.”
The atmosphere in the room had shifted to an undecided tension.
Haldrick sliced his hand through the air, as if he could somehow cut it.
“This whole display is an orchestration! She’s cursed their minds just as she cursed their bodies.
The evidence is clear, and the investigators have found her guilty.
She will be burned at the stake at noon. Guards—”
A great crash echoed through the room and women screamed as the heavy, gilded doors were thrown open with such force that they bounced off the walls.
A deep, angry voice followed, sending Lindy’s heart galloping in her chest at the same time as it sent some of the audience members to their knees in a frightened faint. It bellowed, “I demand payment!”
Haldrick turned pale as a sheet, and Lindy turned slowly on her heel to see Atlas striding into the room with a dark and deadly expression on his face.
She had become so accustomed to his size that she forgot just how big and intimidating he was.
The crowd parted like water as he passed through them.
He gave her no more than a passing glance as he stopped in front of her, as if she were of no more consequence to him than anyone else in the room.
Her heart tripped over itself, cracking open a sliver as it fell.
Atlas leveled the full force of his angry scowl on Haldrick, who tried to step back and put distance between himself and the giant, only to be stopped by the throne. “Your prince stole something from me.”
“I–I’m terribly sorry.”
“I want it back.”
“Want what back?”
“What he stole. He took my goose.”
“I’m s–sure, I’m sure we have any number of geese you can t–take with you. Back. To where you came from.” Haldrick shrank into himself, his former bravado completely vanished.
“I don’t want those.” Atlas leaned down, invading the guard’s space. “I want my goose. Give it to me.”
“I don’t have it! For all I know, it’s already been eaten.”
Atlas growled. “Then I demand some other form of payment.” He made a show of looking him up and down. “I’ve eaten worse. You’ll do.” He grabbed Haldrick by the shoulder, eliciting a terrified squeak from the man.
“I’m–I’m just the guard. The princes!” Haldrick gasped like a drowning man reaching for a lifeline. “The princes are the ones who can settle payment.”
Atlas looked down at him, curling a lip in disgust. “You’re not in charge? Why are you here?” He threw him away with enough force to send him tumbling into the front row of the crowd.
Well done, Atlas.
The giant stalked over to the princes, towering over Corbin as he repeated his demands.
Corbin’s gaze flicked to hers. “If it’s payment you want, you can take the woman. She seems to have some skill in the area of…bird transformations.” His voice wobbled, and though his face wore an expression of terror, Lindy could see the laughter in his eyes.
He planned this. Haldrick was right. It is all orchestrated…just orchestrated to get him out of the way and me out of the castle.
Atlas turned slowly on his heel, as if only just becoming aware of her presence.
His footfalls echoed through the room, and he seemed to move in slow motion as he crossed the short space between them.
He didn’t stop until there were only a few inches separating them, and she had to tilt her head way back to see his face.
His look was smoldering, heating her from toes to the top of her head, and filled with emotions and promises so deep she couldn’t even begin to unpack them. “I accept.”
In one swift motion, he scooped an arm under her knees and tossed her over his shoulder before turning and striding from the room.
The crowd, frightened and awestruck, once again parted before him.
He walked quickly, eating up the distance in long, purposeful strides, and keeping silent the entire time.
He didn’t stop until they passed through the city gate.
Even then, it was only to adjust her position, transferring her from his shoulder to a bridal hold, before he veered sharply off the road and entered the forest.
He halted under the safety of the trees, breathing heavily. His hands shook as he tightened his arms around her, dropping his forehead onto hers.
“Atlas?” she whispered hesitantly.
“I take it back,” he muttered, his words muffled by her hair. “I will respect your wishes unless they are ridiculously foolish, in which case I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Lindy let out a long, shaking breath. Her body was responding to all of the pent-up stress and anxiety of the morning. “You came back.”
“Of course I came back. I promised to keep you alive, didn’t I?”
She pulled herself up higher onto his shoulders, nuzzling into his neck. “Thank you.”
He moved again, and a moment later, he was sinking onto a fallen tree, shifting her so that she was sitting on his lap. He slipped an arm around her waist and tilted her against his chest. “I’ll always come for you, Lindy. You’re not alone anymore.”
She nearly cried in relief at those words, and she felt the pieces of her heart slowly start to knit themselves back together. “What now?”
“That’s up to you.”
Lindy tilted her head back, unable to resist the temptation of teasing him. “I thought you weren’t respecting my wishes anymore.”
“Only if they’re foolish.” He gave her a mock glare. “Think very carefully, Your Majesty.”
She shook her head. “I’m not a queen anymore. That will be Ellie’s job now.”
“I suppose that’s for the best. Phoebe rather thinks she rules the roost, and she might not take kindly to an interloper.”
“You’ll take me with you?” Lindy searched his face, certain that at any moment, she would wake up to find that it was all a dream and she was still in prison.
“Of course I’ll take you. In fact, now that I think of it, I believe I’m politically obligated to carry you off.”
Lindy laughed as she relaxed into him. “That was spectacular.”
“It was Corbin’s idea—the carrying you off part, anyway. Throwing that nincompoop guard across the room was mine. Maybe now people will see him for the greedy coward he is.”
“Did you see his face? He truly thought you were going to eat him.”
Atlas shrugged. “You have your reputation, I have mine.”
Realization struck her, and Lindy gasped. “Atlas. They probably think you’re going to eat me.”
His lips traveled in a slow, crooked smirk. “Between you and me, I’d rather taste you than him.”
“Atlas!” She tried to swat his chest with the back of her hand and winced, remembering too late the sorry state of her skin. He caught her wrist, bringing her fingers to his lips and gently kissing the healing blisters. Butterflies danced in her stomach.
“I’m just being honest, Lindy. If you’re coming to rule over my mountain, I want you to know: I love you.
I don’t just want to keep you alive, I want you to thrive.
” He cupped her cheek and dropped his forehead onto hers, and she leaned into his hand.
“I want to spend each day cherishing and honoring you until you rewrite every memory that taught you to fear.”
A tear escaped, leaving a cold trail down her face until his thumb wiped it away. His hands held her securely, and his heartbeat echoing beside her ear was deep and steady. He was like the mountain he lived on, solid and dependable, and she knew:
Her heart was safe with him.
She was safe with him.
“I love you,” she whispered, unable to find any other words to capture the myriad of things she wanted to say.
But words weren’t necessary when he dipped his head, catching her mouth with his.
She grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer and communicating with her kiss all of the things she couldn’t say out loud, and her giant responded, holding her fast and filling her with a love that knitted their hearts together.
And rather than be weighed down by him, she felt she could fly.