Chapter 13
Thirteen
“Good morning, Princess.” Brevan is outside my room when I open the door.
“Good morning,” I reply as I turn down the hall.
He walks alongside me. “And where are you heading?”
“I was told I was free to leave my rooms once I met the court,” I say. “I met the court last night, so I will go where I please.”
He’s silent as he continues alongside me. I look over my shoulder and see that two legionnaires still stand in front of my door. I suppose they’ll tell Marian where I went when she wakes.
After my walk with Caiden last night, she was waiting in my room. She helped me out of my dress, then slept in the small bed to be near me. I wondered if Caiden made her stay.
After last night, I’m even more eager to find out about the emperor so I can leave. There’s a time limit on how long I can delay the prince’s advances and I’m not sure exactly what it is. The sooner I finish here, the better.
“I’m just going for a walk around my new home,” I tell Brevan. “I don’t need an escort.”
“There have already been rebels inside this castle twice since you arrived,” he says.
“It’s not my fault you have terrible security,” I tell him. “Besides, they’re not after me. They’re after something in the library or the vault, correct?”
“How did you know that?”
“Caiden told me.”
“You two are getting close.”
“Was that judgement in your tone?” I glance over at him.
“Of course not.”
“Why does he have you following me around?” I stop at a staircase and contemplate which way to go.
“Library is upstairs,” he says.
“What makes you think that’s what I’d like to see?” I ask.
“Because that’s what the rebels are always after.”
I blink a few times and stare at him, hoping he can’t hear the pounding of my heart or the rushing sound filling my ears. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Because you’re curious and I’m sure your father wants you to find things out while you’re here. You won’t discover anything that will be useful to him, but we all expected you to have ulterior motives.”
“Is that why I was trapped in my room?” I ask.
“Probably.”
“What about the vault?”
He chuckles. “I can show you where it is, but I can’t let you inside. Even I don’t have the key.”
My brow furrows. “What exactly is in the vault?”
“No idea. Probably gold and gems. Why do you ask? You don’t strike me as the jewelry type. I had to practically force you to choose something from Jacques.”
“You know exactly why I’m curious.” There are easier ways to get funding for the rebellion. There must be something of greater value inside. Or at least they must think there is. I wonder if it’s something that might help kill the emperor.
“That kind of prying is dangerous,” he warns.
“The library is upstairs, you say?” I smile sweetly, taking his warning to heart. I can’t keep making stupid mistakes like that. Brevan reads me far too easily. There has to be a way to spend some time around here without him at my heels.
“Yes.”
He leads us toward the library, but along the way, we pass an open chamber that catches my eye. Candles burn at an altar in the back of the space. A large mural, spanning several panels, spans all the walls. Each panel shows a different scene, telling a story.
“This was the empress’s private temple,” he says. “The servants still light the candles for her every day, and they leave offerings on feast days.”
“Can I go inside?” I ask.
“Go ahead.”
I step into the darkened room, and the temperature drops. Despite the candles and lack of windows, it’s much cooler in here. I look at the paintings, recognizing some of the scenes from the stories told on feast days when I was a child.
My parents would host a gathering, and friends and neighbors would come to cook and eat.
Sometimes there would be gifts of sweets or wooden toys.
The elders would share stories of the gods and heroes, and we’d listen with rapt attention.
The best was when they’d use puppets behind a screen and act the stories out with shadows.
When we moved to the city, we stopped celebrating feasts. The people who live in Aurorium have abandoned the gods. Or the gods abandoned them. There were no more feasts, no more stories.
But these vibrant paintings are the stories of my childhood come to life.
I move down the wall slowly, taking in the tales of heroes slaying beasts and receiving boons from the gods.
Of the gods working together to defeat the monsters they sent to the realm beyond the veil.
Of Apophis, the god of chaos, winding around the world with his serpent body in his attempt to destroy everything.
And Amate, the goddess of the sun, leading the charge against him to send him to the underworld.
When I reach the center panel on the wall behind the altar, I hesitate.
It shows a man and a woman wearing gold crowns, standing back-to-back with their hands clasped.
Both of them have winding black gift marks that swirl around their wrists, up their forearms, then vanish under the sleeves of their tunics.
They’re dressed in white, and their dark hair is loose and billowing, as if they’re standing in the middle of a storm. Darkness and light swirl around them like shadows meeting sunlight.
It’s stunning but also sends a chill straight to my bones. There’s something so dangerous about the pair. Something familiar. I grasp at the memory, urging the tale to return to my mind.
As the story takes shape, I recall the prophecy about the return of the gods and their full magic to our world. Many people believe it would bring the return of magic to all mortals, while others say it is just for those deemed worthy by the emperor.
We all grew up knowing the prophecy, but it is dismissed as fiction. It is too dangerous to believe a tale that could be interpreted as promising magic to commoners.
The air around me shifts, and I know Brevan is standing next to me. “Is this the prophecy of light?”
“You know the story?” He seems surprised.
“Not well. I wasn’t always the best student,” I lie, hoping that a princess would have had tutors and classes.
“It was the empress’s favorite story. Some hoped she’d be the one to fulfill it since she received a god’s gift when she visited the temple, but it could never have been her.”
“Isn’t it shadows and light? A pair that finds balance?” I ask.
“Yes. That’s how I’ve heard it.” He’s suddenly very interested in adjusting the leather bracers at his wrist. “But the emperor doesn’t have shadow magic.”
My brow furrows, and I take a step closer. The shadows that wrap around the pair originate at his feet while the light starts at hers. “Is that why the emperor insists on shadows for all his legionnaires? To try to find the person who might fulfill this prophecy?”
“I’m not sure,” he says.
“Do you have shadow magic?” I ask before I can stop myself.
“No.”
“But the prince does.” I don’t like the places my mind takes me as I put the pieces together.
“Yes.”
“Is that why he wants me to go to the temple at Darkfall? He’s hoping I will get light magic from the gods?”
Brevan’s eyes widen. “He wants you to visit the temple?”
I nod.
“I suppose it could be,” he says. “He’s one of the few who believes in the prophecy.”
“And you don’t?”
“I’ve never seen anything that makes me think the gods care at all about what happens in the mortal realm.”
“Such blasphemy, and in a temple no less.” I gasp overdramatically. Now I’m the one being disrespectful to the gods.
“They haven’t struck me down yet. And trust me, they’ve had enough reasons to do so.”
“I’ve heard,” I say.
He stiffens, then walks out of the temple. When he reaches the hall, he faces me. “When you’re ready, I’ll show you the library.”
I glance at the mural one more time, then turn to leave. If the empress was so interested in this prophecy, what does that tell me? Is there a clue in there about the emperor and his immortality?
“How does it work in the temple for Darkfall? Is the emperor there with you or do you go alone?” I ask.
“We aren’t allowed to share what happens in the temple,” he says.
“Isn’t that convenient,” I grumble.
When we reach the library, I stop in the entrance to stare at the rows of shelves lined with books. I don’t know why I’m surprised by it after all the other wealth I’ve seen, but I am.
The room is the size of the ballroom, with windows across the top. Books fill all the space between the floor and the windows. Stone ravens perch atop each like sentinels. It’s easily my favorite place in the entire castle.
In the center of the expansive room are a few large circular tables surrounded by chairs and lit by a brass oil lamp. Nearby, a few plush armchairs face a fireplace that’s crackling and flickering. Despite the expansive space, it’s cozy.
A woman in a silver dress looks up from the thick tomb she’s reading. She stands and approaches with a warm smile. “This must be the princess I’ve heard so much about.”
“Juliette, when did you arrive?” Brevan asks.
Juliette is a stunningly beautiful woman with thick brown curls and long dark lashes over deep brown eyes.
She walks over to him and drags her fingers down his chest. “Last night. I’m supposed to stay with you for a while.”
I lift my brows in silent question. Maybe she’s the distraction I need. What if she’s the woman who got between Brevan and the prince? Perhaps she didn’t choose Caiden. My chest tightens uncomfortably.
Brevan clears his throat and takes a step back. “In your rooms, you mean.”
“Of course. But it’s so fun to tease you. One of these days, you’re going to meet a woman who gets you to stop being so damn serious about everything.” She turns to me. “Wouldn’t he be more interesting if he didn’t take everything so seriously?”
So, not his lover. I hate the little weight of relief that settles over me. “She’s got a point.”
Brevan doesn’t mask his annoyance. “The two of you should not be allowed to be alone together.”
“Oh, I think that sounds like a challenge,” she says.
“Or an invitation.”
“I’m Juliette.” She dips into a curtsy. “It’s lovely to meet you, Your Highness.”
“Please, call me Sabina,” I offer.
“The princess is on a tour of the castle,” Brevan says. “We should continue on.”
My brow furrows and I glance over at him. “I didn’t realize I was on a tour.”
“I can take her, Brevan,” Juliette cuts in.
“I’m supposed to stay with her.” He moves a bit closer to me.
“I think my cousin would be fine with me taking over,” she says.
“I disagree,” Brevan replies.
“Alright. Tea?” Juliette looks at me. “In my rooms after your tour? Maybe in an hour or so?”
I was hoping to find some books about the temples and Darkfall and magic. Anything that might help me find out about the emperor—but his niece might be an even better source of information. “I’d like that.”
Brevan lets out a sigh. “Come along. I’ll show you more of the castle, and then you can go for tea.”
“It was nice to meet you,” I say.
She wiggles her fingers in a playful wave. “See you soon.”
Brevan is even grumpier than usual as he leads me around the castle. He shows me another ballroom and a small study that has its own collection of books, and he points out the doors that lead to Caiden’s rooms.
“What’s the story between you and Juliette?” I ask.
“There’s no story,” he snaps.
“She’s not your ex-lover, is she?”
He gives me a look that could bring a small child to tears. I hold up my hands in mock surrender. “Alright. So not an old girlfriend.”
“It’s because she’s nothing but trouble,” he replies.
“You realize that makes me like her more?”
“I was afraid of that,” he says.
We travel down a set of stairs we had yet to use, and we end up in a busy kitchen.
Servants and cooks hustle around, chopping and stirring and mixing and baking.
Several pots hang over a large fire while loaves of bread cook in the oven above it.
Someone dices vegetables while someone else is washing dishes in a sink full of suds.
An older woman, wearing a white apron over her gray dress, approaches, a plate of scones in her hands. “This wouldn’t happen to be the new princess I keep hearing about?”
Brevan reaches for a scone. “It is.”
The woman holds the plate up to me, and I take one of the pastries. It’s still warm. “Thanks.”
She smiles. “You’re prettier than they said.”
“She’s also already very important to the prince,” Brevan says, a hint of warning in his tone.
The woman lowers her head. “Of course, where are my manners? It’s lovely to meet you, Your Highness.”
“That’s really not necessary,” I say. “Anyone who brings me fresh scones is a friend. What is your name?”
The woman rises, her cheeks rosy. I never met my grandmother, but I’d like to think she’d be like this. “I’m Elizabeth.”
“Nice to meet you, Elizabeth.”
“I’m taking her on a tour. She’s already been invited to tea with Juliette,” Brevan says.
“I’ll send up some extra cakes.” Elizabeth signals to another servant, who is setting beautiful little sweets onto a tray. Next to it is another tray with a teapot and cup. The servant adds a second cup and more sweets.
“I suppose that means our tour is over,” Brevan says.
“As soon as you show me where Juliette’s room is,” I say, then I turn to Elizabeth. “It was so nice to meet you.”
“You as well, dear.” The woman smiles at me in a way I haven’t been smiled at in years. Like she actually cares about me even though she just met me.