Chapter 2
Two
Escaping the Gilded Cage
Asmile tugged at my mouth at the distant bonfire flickering like a beacon in the night. A beacon of danger but my only hope at freedom. It was too dark to see the sea beyond it, but I knew it was there, looming like a giant pit in the moonless night waiting for the sacrifices to begin.
I ripped off my ball gown and rushed to open my armoire. Rifling through the dresses, looking for something light, something that wouldn’t weigh me down in the water. No, they were all too heavy and would drag me to my death faster.
I glanced at my pile of slips, each nothing more than a thin piece of silk to wear beneath a dress. I couldn’t help but smile as I slid one of the silver undergarments over my head. It skimmed my thighs and exposed far too much skin.
How improper indeed. I wrapped a thick black cloak around me to keep the never-ending winter from biting into my exposed flesh.
I expected to die tonight but, if I survived, my soul would belong to the Gods, and I would be given a gift strong enough to kill a Fae.
I wouldn’t just be free of my father, I would be stronger than him, and that blow to his pride may very well kill him for me.
I wove my long, silver hair into a tight braid, hiding it beneath my hood to not give me away.
By dawn, I would either rise as something more, or drown, forgotten, like the countless others who had offered themselves for judgment. Either way, I would no longer be my father’s possession or a plaything for the priest.
Wrapped tightly in my cloak, I eased open the heavy wooden door to my bedchamber. Seeing there were no guards, I slipped quietly into the torchlit corridor beyond.
I took slow and steady steps while shadows danced like watching figures against the walls. The faint echo of guards’ boots drifted towards me, each step a reminder of the danger I was putting myself in.
If they caught me outside of my room, the punishment would be worse than the lashings that already awaited me in the morning. It would be weeks chained underground, left to rot in the dark. Being left in the hands of the priest scared me more than sacrificing myself to the Gods.
I walked quickly, silently praying to Gods who didn’t listen that they would not hear me. Every scuff of my slippers against the marble floor seemed too loud in the suffocating silence. Could they hear me too?
A guard rounded the corner ahead of me and I pushed myself against the wall, begging the shadows to hide me.
Without pausing, he continued walking straight ahead, not bothering to turn down this part of the corridor.
I placed my hand on my chest, urging my heart to calm.
Keep moving before he comes back. Stepping out of the shadows, I rushed down the open hallway.
My brother’s room and the library were the only other rooms in this wing of the castle.
I just needed to make it to the small door the servants used to-
A flare of torchlight caught the edge of my cloak.
Gods damn it. Another guard rounded the corner, and I pressed myself behind a pillar, muscles locked and burning as I flattened against the icy stone. I heard his footsteps come to a halt and my mouth went dry. I could almost feel his gaze sweeping too close.
For a heartbeat, time stopped.
And then he passed. His steps faded into the distance, leaving behind only silence—sharp, suffocating silence.
I let go of the breath I didn’t realise I was holding and moved again, faster this time.
I was so close to the servant’s hallways and since guards didn’t bother to patrol them, I would be safer there.
“Stop.” The word scraped across my soul from behind me. “Remove your hood,” the guard instructed.
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as the sinking feeling in my stomach threatened to pull me under. Kill him and run, the dark voice whispered in my mind.
I ignored it, like I always did, and reached for my hood with trembling hands. As soon as my silver braid was freed, I heard the guard’s quick intake of breath.
“Princess Lyra, I shall escort you back to your room. My king does not have to know.”
I turned, recognising the voice.
“No,” I replied.
“I promised Orin I would look out for you when I could.” I set my shoulders and raised my chin. I hated hearing his name. Orin was the only person I had ever had feelings for. Until he promised to help me then left me behind.
“Too bad. If you want to drag me back, you will have to kill me, Fredrick.”
He sighed, but I could see the sweat beading on his forehead.
“What if I promise that I will return after I am satisfied?” I paused, walking towards him with a sway to my hips until I could peer up through my lashes at his blushing face. “Unless you have finally decided you want me.”
He opened his mouth to say something but closed it before letting out a flustered sigh.
After Orin left, Fredrick had checked on me and showed me nothing but kindness.
He was Orin’s best friend, and I had tried to sleep with him to satisfy the dark, hurting part of me.
But he was too loyal to give me the satisfaction.
“That’s what I thought.” I shrugged, taking a step away from him. “I’m meeting a kitchen hand. Wait here if you please, but I may be awhile.” I swallowed hard, wondering if he could see through my lies.
“You get one hour. I’ll wait here and escort you back to your room myself. If you don’t come back in that time, Lyra, I will have to alert your father.”
I winked at him and opened the door to the servant’s corridor. In less than an hour I would be either dead, or on the shores of the barracks.
The door closed behind me and I pressed my hand against my chest, taking a deep breath through my nose and out of my mouth. If it had been any other guard, I would be in chains right now.
The hidden servant tunnels wound through the castle like veins.
I’d memorised every path, every turn, every chance at freedom.
Not that it had ever helped me. My fingers brushed the stone wall as I passed, grounding myself against the rising tide of unease in my stomach.
These hallways were empty. Vast and cold.
But I liked them better than the grand displays of riches that decorated every other part of Stonebriar.
The corridor finally gave way to the kitchens, and I pressed my ear against the door, listening for signs of life. But none came. There was no clatter of knives, no voices, just the sound of my own thundering heart.
The door creaked on heavy hinges as I walked into the stale air of the kitchens to find it empty. Thank the Gods. It seemed everyone was at the Ascension, even the servants.
I hurried past the pots and knives stacked on the benches, eyes locked on the back door.
“Who’s there?”
I froze.
A kitchen hand stood in the doorway, a sack of flour slung over one shoulder, eyes narrowing on my face.
“I was hungry,” I said with a practiced shrug, feigning innocence.
Suspicion flickered across his face, and I knew he didn’t believe me. His gaze slid towards the small brass bell on the counter, meant for summoning the guards.
“I’ll send food to your chambers, Princess,” he began, turning away from me to grab the bell. “The guards will help—”
His words cut off in a wet gurgle.
Crimson sprayed across the counter and painted my hand with sudden warmth.
My fingers slipped from the knife’s handle, a knife I didn’t remember grabbing, as his body hit the floor with a dull, final thud, the sack of flour spilling open next to him. The darkness inside me stirred, a quiet, eager pulse, as if savouring the kill.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to the dead man, kneeling next to him as his blood began to pool on the ground. “It’s just trying to protect me. It couldn’t let you call the guards.”
My fingers slid across his eyelids, closing them for the final time.
“It was you or me,” I explained to his unhearing ears, trying to justify my guilt.
But it wasn’t me who picked up that knife.
No one should find the body until morning because of the ritual, and by then, I’d be dead or free.
It wasn’t the first time the darkness had taken over and someone had gotten hurt.
Between bloodlettings, it was growing stronger, and I feared I would lose myself to it.
Perhaps sacrificing myself in the name of the Gods would be a mercy.