Chap 25
"Where have you two been?"
Prince Sebastian demanded the moment they emerged from the sea.
The sun was already sinking toward the horizon.
Penny was once again wearing the red silk gown.
The crimson ribbon hung wet and heavy down her back.
The soaked skirts were gathered in her arms to keep from tripping over them.
Prince Sebastian looked up.
Then immediately looked down at her bare legs.
Then very determinedly looked somewhere over Penny's shoulder.
His ears were turning red.
"It is almost sunset."
Wade climbed from the water beside her.
Still holding her hand.
"I do apologize, Prince."
He sounded entirely unapologetic.
"There was a whole thing involving a sea dragon."
Sebastian blinked.
"A what?"
"A sea dragon."
"You promised to keep her safe!"
"I did."
"You took her to a dragon!"
The sea prince considered that.
"Well when you say it like that it sounds irresponsible."
"It was irresponsible!"
Penny laughed.
The sound immediately drew both men's attention.
Sebastian reached her first.
"Are you alright?"
His hands closed around hers.
Checking.
Looking for injuries.
Signs of distress.
Anything.
The growl that escaped Wade sounded suspiciously genuine.
Sebastian ignored it.
Mostly.
Penny nodded.
Then pointed toward the castle.
"Yes, yes."
Sebastian immediately relaxed.
"You are right."
She hadn't actually said anything.
"We should return."
His hand never left hers.
Wade stared at it.
Then at Sebastian.
Then at Penny.
Then at Sebastian's hand again.
The sea prince looked deeply offended.
Penny gave him a helpless little shrug.
What exactly was she supposed to do?
Explain that she was secretly married?
Sebastian started leading her toward the castle.
Wade immediately grabbed her other hand.
"Absolutely not."
Sebastian stopped.
"What?"
"If you get one hand, I get one hand."
"That isn't how people work."
"Seems to be."
Penny found herself walking between them.
One prince on each side.
Each holding a hand.
Neither willing to let go.
The king was still sleeping when she returned to his rooms.
Penny paused in the doorway.
One arm draped over his eyes.
Dark hair spread across the pillow.
Completely asleep.
For a moment she smiled.
Then quietly closed the door.
Wade had taken up residence in the room next door.
The room the king had secured for him.
The room that had been Nyx's and she lost before she could fully move in.
The kiss he stole before she entered the room still left her smiling as she looked around.
"Nyx?"
Silence.
Penny frowned.
"Nyx?"
Nothing.
That was strange.
Nyx usually answered with at least three insults.
The door opened.
Three attendants entered.
Not gray.
Green.
Deep forest green.
Penny's smile vanished.
One bowed politely.
"There has been a change of plans. To allow His Majesty to rest, you are to come with us."
The attendant beside her rolled her eyes.
"You are such an idiot."
She gestured toward Penny.
"She doesn't understand a word you're saying."
The third attendant stepped forward.
Smiling warmly.
Taking Penny's hand.
Then gesturing toward the hallway.
Penny hesitated.
A strange feeling twisted in her stomach.
Small.
Uncomfortable.
Wrong.
She looked toward the door.
Toward where Wade had been.
Toward where the king slept.
The feeling only grew stronger.
"Nyx?"
The attendants exchanged a glance.
Too quickly.
Too practiced.
"Yes."
The smiling attendant nodded immediately.
"Nyx is waiting."
Penny didn't move.
The feeling pulled harder.
Like a hook.
Like a warning.
The attendant squeezed her hand.
Encouraging.
Patient.
Waiting.
Penny looked once more toward the king's door.
Then sighed.
If Nyx was there, everything would be fine.
Wouldn't it?
Reluctantly she followed.
Behind her, the king's door remained closed.
Penny didn't know where they had taken her.
This part of the castle was unfamiliar.
The room was elegant.
Clean.
Comfortable.
And completely wrong.
She fought the moment she realized Nyx wasn't there.
Vampire strength won easily.
It wasn't even a contest.
For the fourteenth time she was deposited onto the rug in front of the fireplace.
"She is like a little demon."
One attendant grabbed her arm before she could scramble away again.
The second laughed.
"A demon dressed like a queen."
The wet red gown was being unlaced.
Heavy silk slid from her shoulders.
Pooling around her feet.
The third attendant picked it up.
Walked to the fireplace.
And tossed it into the flames.
Penny froze.
The red silk caught immediately.
White roses blackened.
Curled.
Vanished.
"No point leaving evidence."
The attendant smiled.
Penny launched herself toward the fire.
Strong hands caught her.
Dragged her back.
"Rotting fangs she is a pain."
Another escape attempt ended much the same.
Penny went limp.
Slipped from their grip.
Hit the floor.
Crawled.
Made it almost to the door.
Then three sets of hands hauled her back again.
The third attendant disappeared into a side room.
Returning moments later carrying a gown.
The room fell silent.
Even Penny stopped fighting.
White.
Pure white.
Silk blossoms spilled across the shoulders.
Trailing down the back.
The train flowed across the floor like fresh snow.
A wedding gown.
Penny's stomach dropped.
Her hands began to shake.
The attendants took her silence for surrender.
They were wrong.
Her heart hammered wildly.
Who?
Who this time?
The noble in green velvet?
Some lord?
Some monster?
Another stranger deciding she belonged to him?
The panic clawed through her.
She had chosen.
For once in her life, she had actually chosen.
Wade.
Not a king.
Not a prince.
Wade.
The red ribbon was yanked from her throat.
Penny gasped.
The familiar silk vanished from her skin.
For one terrible moment, she felt naked.
Exposed.
Wrong.
The attendant tossed it into the fire.
The ribbon landed atop the burning remains of the king's gown.
The flames consumed both together.
Penny stared.
Unable to breathe.
Unable to move.
The king's ribbon.
Wade's marriage.
Her choice.
Everything felt like it was burning.
The white gown was pulled over her head.
And the first tear slid down her cheek.
She sat in a chair.
Two sets of hands held her in place.
The white silk clung softly to her body.
Pearls were braided through her hair.
Fresh blossoms woven between golden curls.
Hours passed.
Penny kicked.
Bit.
Escaped twice.
Made one attendant cry.
Another threaten murder.
Yet somehow the preparations continued.
With the solemn determination of priests preparing a sacrifice.
One that happened to bite.
Then finally they led her away.
Not toward the ballroom.
Toward the throne room.
Penny's stomach twisted.
The towering black doors opened.
Candlelight dripped from iron chandeliers high above.
The vast room stood almost empty.
Waiting.
And at the far end
The king.
He was already there.
The moment he saw her she felt it.
Relief.
Raw.
Overwhelming.
It hit through the bond so hard it almost staggered her.
Penny stopped walking.
No.
Her breath caught.
No.
The bond still existed.
The king crossed half the throne room before remembering he was supposed to be dignified.
Before remembering kings were not supposed to run.
His hands found her shoulders immediately.
Holding her.
Looking her over.
Checking.
As though reassuring himself she was real.
Safe.
Still there.
Penny stared up at him.
The panic rising inside her.
She had gone to the sea.
She had chosen.
The dragon had witnessed it.
The ocean had accepted it.
The magic had answered.
She had married Wade.
Then why
The king's hand brushed her cheek.
And relief flooded through her.
Not his.
Hers.
Warm.
Immediate.
Automatic.
Penny froze.
Because she knew exactly what that feeling meant.
The sea hadn't taken the king away.
It had merely given her someone else.
Penny took the king in as he stood before her.
His clothes were hastily fastened.
His hair imperfect.
One cuff still unbuttoned.
A king who had dressed himself in a hurry.
The panic she had felt through the bond still lingered beneath the surface.
Raw.
Barely hidden.
Then his eyes found her.
And everything else disappeared.
"My love."
His fingers brushed the white flowers woven into her gown.
The pearls.
The trailing silk.
Wonder slowly replaced fear.
"You're perfect."
His voice was barely more than a whisper.
"I told you my surprise would show you how sorry I am."
The sound of the queen's voice shattered the moment.
Every instinct Penny possessed screamed.
She looked around the king.
And found Kaida seated upon her throne.
The queen's smile spread slowly.
Like ice crawling across a window.
Penny's stomach dropped.
Trap.
The realization hit instantly.
She was standing in a trap.
The queen rose gracefully.
Every movement controlled.
Elegant.
Predatory.
"Is she not beautiful?"
Her gaze swept over Penny.
"The perfect bride."
The king never looked away from Penny.
"Perfect."
The same word.
Again.
Something flickered behind the queen's eyes.
Satisfaction.
Then she reached beside her throne.
And lifted something small.
Crystal.
Penny's breath caught.
No.
The bottle.
Her bottle.
The perfume bottle she had hidden.
The potion meant for Alyrina.
The potion she had forgotten.
The bottle the queen now held between two elegant fingers.
Penny's heart stopped.
For one terrible moment, she understood.
The queen had found it.
Kaida turned the crystal bottle slowly between elegant fingers.
Sunlight shimmered within the trapped seawater.
A single enchanted petal drifted lazily through the glass.
The queen's eyes met Penny's.
And for the first time since arriving in the kingdom
Penny felt genuine fear.
Not for herself.
For what the queen was about to do.
The cork slipped free.
The room seemed to hold its breath.
The king finally looked away from Penny.
"What are you "
The question died unfinished.
Kaida lifted the bottle.
And drank.
Every drop.
The seawater.
The petals.
The sunlight.
All of it.
Her crimson lips curved.
Satisfied.
Victorious.
Penny felt the wish awaken immediately.
Not moonlight magic.
Not the gentle enchantments she usually wove.
This was sunlight magic.
Ancient.
Patient.
Fed for weeks.
Waiting.
The air thickened.
The throne room seemed suddenly too small.
Outside one of the side doors came the sound of snarling.
Low.
Hungry.
Waiting.
The queen smiled.
At last.
She leaned against the king.
One elegant hand sliding across his chest.
"I wish we could play a little game, my love."
The king's eyes immediately returned to Penny.
As though they could not help themselves.
"What game?"
The queen's smile widened.
"Give your little songbird away to the first thing that enters through those doors."
Silence.
The wish struck.
Penny felt it.
The magic ignored Kaida.
Ignored herself.
Ignored the room.
It went straight to the king.
Searching.
Seeking.
Finding.
The countless times he had gifted flowers to nobles.
The countless times he had offered companions for dances.
The endless generosity expected of kings.
The magic found the possibility.
And made it inevitable.
The king frowned.
Just slightly.
Something in him resisted.
His hand tightened on Penny's shoulder.
The bond flared.
Confusion.
Discomfort.
Wrong.
For one beautiful moment Penny thought he would fight it.
Then his eyes unfocused.
Only briefly.
Like a man listening to a distant voice.
The resistance vanished.
A smile touched his lips.
Soft.
Certain.
The spell locked into place.
"No!"
Penny slammed both hands against the king's chest.
A heartbeat later confusion flickered across his face.
Tiny.
Gone almost instantly.
But she saw it.
She knew she was already too late.
The promise had been spoken.
The magic had accepted it.
Still
She grabbed his face and kissed him.
Desperate.
Fierce.
Her arms locked around his neck.
Pulling him closer.
The old bond blazed between them.
Penny threw everything she had into it.
Fear.
Love.
Panic.
Hope.
Every emotion she could reach.
Anything that might pull him back.
The king answered instantly.
One arm wrapped around her waist.
Holding her tightly.
As though he never intended to let her go.
Beyond the doors the growling grew louder.
Closer.
The queen's smile widened.
Victory already shining in her eyes.
Penny could feel the magic tightening around the king.
Settling.
Rooting itself deeper.
The promise had already been made.
The king slowly pulled back.
His forehead rested briefly against hers.
His fingers brushed away a tear she hadn't realized had fallen.
And through the bond she felt it.
Not confusion.
Not magic.
Not compulsion.
Love.
Pure.
Hopeless.
Endless.
"I love you," he whispered.
The words hurt more than the spell.
The doors burst open.
But not just one.
Two.
The eastern doors slammed against the walls.
Prince Sebastian rushed inside.
"Father!"
His gaze swept the room.
The queen.
The king.
Penny in white.
Then back to the king.
"There is some kind of creature loose in the lower halls "
At that exact moment
The western doors opened as well.
Commander Evander entered laughing at something said beside him.
A pheasant slung over one shoulder.
Beside him walked another vampire.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
White-silver hair tied back with a black cord.
Dark military uniform.
Silver rank insignias gleaming beneath the candlelight.
The general.
The very same one who had watched Penny during the council hearing.
Silence crashed through the throne room.
The queen's smile vanished.
The king's arms remained wrapped around Penny.
Protective.
Possessive.
The prince froze.
Evander stopped laughing.
The general frowned.
Even Penny could feel it.
The magic.
Turning.
Looking.
Deciding.
Four men.
One wish.
The first thing through the doors.
The queen had expected certainty.
Instead she got confusion.
Because suddenly nobody in the throne room seemed entirely sure who had arrived first.
The prince.
The commander.
The general.
Or whatever creature was still running loose beneath the castle.
But the magic knew.
And it had already chosen.