Chapter 32
“There’s just the one carriage and four guards,” Vonetta told us as we walked across the courtyard, passing the spot where Casteel and I had knelt and exchanged vows.
She had her braids swept up in a tight bun, and her hand rested on the golden short sword at her hip.
“The remaining Ascended have stayed back.”
“Are they Royal Knights?” Casteel asked.
Vonetta nodded as the lit torches along the wall rippled from the breeze.
Spying the Guardians on the wall, I spotted the thick, blonde braid in the moonlight. Nova stood there, two swords in hand. Beside her, another Guardian held a bow at her side. “My brother?”
“He hasn’t been seen, but we believe he remains in the carriage.”
The endless roiling of my stomach threatened to return, but I forced myself to stay calm. The last thing I needed was to start glowing.
As we neared the gates, I saw several men armed with swords and crossbows. I recognized a few as those I’d aided after the siege. They bowed as we approached. Kieran and Delano prowled out of the shadows in their wolven forms. “Did you all rest?” I asked Vonetta.
She nodded as we caught sight of her father and several other wolven. “We did. I hope you two did.”
There was a ghost of a smile on Casteel’s face, one I hoped Vonetta didn’t notice. “I’m sorry about this,” I said to her. “This stress is the last thing the people of Spessa’s End need.”
“It’s not your fault, Your Highness,” she started.
“Poppy,” I corrected her. “We’re…friends, right?
” A flush crept up my neck. “I mean, I did wear your gown to my wedding, and—” I trailed off as old insecurities reared their bitchy heads.
Vonetta had been nothing but kind and welcoming to me, but she was friends with Casteel, and she’d met me when I was positioned to become a Princess.
And now that I was their Liessa ? It felt like Tawny all over again, and I felt even more foolish.
Because, seriously, this was not the time for this.
“Just ignore me. I don’t even know why I’m thinking about this when there are Ascended waiting for us beyond the gate. ”
“I think some would call that avoidance,” Casteel murmured.
I shot him a look of warning, and a dimple appeared.
“We’re friends,” Vonetta said, grinning. “At least, I thought we were. So I’m glad to hear you think so, too, because boy, it would’ve been awkward if not.”
Relief swept through me. “I think it’s already awkward. At least, for me,” I said as amusement radiated from the general direction of where Kieran waited. Jerk.
“Don’t worry about it.” She reached over, squeezing my arm. If she felt the weird static charge, she didn’t show it. “And don’t apologize for what is happening tonight. Everyone here knows the risks. The Ascended could come at any time. We’re prepared.”
Based on how quickly they’d come together before the Ascended attempted to overtake Spessa’s End with the Duchess, it was obvious that they truly were.
Having come down from the wall, Nova joined us. The blonde Guardian placed a fist over her heart and bowed at the waist, the moonlight glinting off the golden band around her upper arm. “What is the plan?”
Casteel glanced at me. I remained quiet because I believed she was looking for a more detailed plan beyond me not losing control of my emotions.
“Kieran and Delano will go with us,” Casteel decided. “Netta, I know you’re quick with a blade, so I want you with us. You, too, Nova.”
Both of the women nodded, and then Nova advised, “We have archers on the wall, and several wolven already beyond the gate, hidden in the woods.”
“Perfect,” Casteel replied, and I started to speak but stopped. Cas took note of it. “What?”
“I’m just…I’m curious about why you chose only Kieran and Delano in their wolven forms, and Vonetta and Nova,” I admitted, cheeks warming as I looked between the two women.
“Not that I doubt you two are skilled. I know for a fact that you both are, so please don’t take my question that way.
I’m just curious to understand the strategy.
” And that was the truth. I wanted to know why he would approach the Ascended without the entirety of the wolven present and every armed soldier we had.
“There are two reasons,” Casteel explained as I quickly reached out with my gifts, relieved that I didn’t feel anger or irritation from Nova and Vonetta. “They don’t need to know how well-organized we are. The less they see, the better. It gives us the element of surprise if needed.”
I nodded. “That makes sense.”
“And as you know, the Ascended nor the people of Solis expect females to be as skilled as men when it comes to battle,” he continued. “That’s something so inherently ingrained in them that even those who have heard of the Guardians’ fighting skills still won’t view them as a threat.”
I should’ve realized that. “They’d be sadly mistaken to hold that belief.”
“And that is a mistake we intend to exploit,” Nova stated, and I hoped the Guardian no longer viewed me as a possible distraction to Casteel or a weakness.
“Thank you for explaining,” I said, filing the information away.
Casteel nodded. “You ready?”
Drawing in a shallow breath, I nodded, even though I wasn’t—because I had to be. “Yes.”
“Your promise.” He stepped closer to me, lowering his chin. “Don’t forget it.”
“I haven’t,” I whispered, the wolven dagger strapped to my thigh suddenly becoming a heavy weight. It would be nearly impossible to walk away from Ian if he’d become what I feared, not knowing when I’d get the chance again.
“You can do this,” he told me. Kissing the center of my forehead, he then took my hand and turned to the men at the gate. With a nod, the heavy doors opened with a groan of stone against stone.
Torches had been lit on both sides of the road, casting an eerie glow over the crimson, windowless carriage that waited, the side embossed with a circle with an arrow piercing the center. The Royal Crest.
Ian traveled in a carriage used by the Blood Crown. Nausea rose in my throat.
Two guards in black armor with matching mantles swept over their shoulders stood beside the carriage’s horses.
Another two stood by the closed door, their grips on their swords firm.
These knights had a new piece of attire.
Their helmets were adorned with combs made of horsehair and shone red in the moonlight.
Red-painted masks with slits for eyes fitted tightly to the upper parts of the knights’ faces and hid their identities.
It reminded me of the masks worn during the Rite.
“The masks,” Vonetta murmured from behind us. “Are an interesting choice.”
“The Ascended are dramatic in all things,” Casteel said, and he was right.
My heart thumped crazy-fast as Casteel threaded his fingers through mine, and we walked forward, joined by Kieran and Delano and flanked by Vonetta and Nova.
I sensed nothing from the Royal Knights as pebbles crunched under our boots. We stopped several feet from the carriage. Having taken a vow of silence, the knights didn’t speak. At least, these didn’t. The ones who’d come to New Haven had had a lot to say.
“You called,” Casteel spoke first, an air of nonchalance oozing from his tone. “We answered.”
A beat of silence passed, and then a soft rap came from inside the carriage. My breath seized as one of the knights reached forward, opening the door.
Time seemed to slow as one cloak-covered arm extended from the carriage, and a pale hand clasped the door.
My heart seemed to stop as a long, lean body unfolded from the interior, stepping out onto the road.
The black cloak settled around legs wrapped in dark breeches.
A white shirt peeked out from the folds of the cloak.
I ceased to breathe as the body turned to where I stood, and I lifted my gaze.
Hair a reddish brown in the firelight. A handsome, oval-shaped face and smooth jaw.
Full lips not tilted up in a boyish smile like I remembered but settled in a flat line.
Ian.
Oh, gods, it was my brother. But as my gaze continued tracking up to settle on his face, I saw the eyes that’d often shifted from brown to green depending on the light were now a fathomless, pitch-black.
The eyes of an Ascended.
He said nothing as he stared at me, his expression utterly unreadable, and the strained silence stretched between us like a widening gulf.
I felt a crack widening in my chest. My fingers went limp, but Casteel’s hold on my hand didn’t falter. His grip tightened, reminding me that I wasn’t alone, that he believed I could handle this because I could. I forced air into my lungs.
I can do this.
Lifting my chin, I heard myself speak. “Ian.”
There was a twitch of movement around his mouth that could have almost been a flinch as he blinked.
“Poppy,” he said. And there went another tear in my heart.
His voice was soft and light as air. It was his voice.
The corners of his lips tipped up in an almost familiar smile. “I have been so worried.”
Had he? Truly? “I am fine,” I said, surprised by how level my voice sounded. “But you? You’re not.”
His head cocked to the side. “I am more than well, Poppy. It is not I who has been taken by the Dark One and held hostage—”
“I am not a hostage,” I interrupted as a red-hot arrow of anger pierced me. I latched on to it, as it was far better than the rising grief. “I am here with my husband, Prince Casteel.”
“Husband?” Ian’s voice roughened, but the inflection was forced. It had to be. The Ascended may be prone to extreme emotion like anger or lust, but concern? Sympathy? No. He stepped forward. “If this is a farce, I—”
A rumble of warning came from my right as Kieran inched forward. Ian halted, his eyes widening on the fawn-colored wolven. “Good gods,” he exclaimed, and he really did sound surprised…maybe even awed. “They really are huge.”