Chapter 40
The king’s advisers, in their benevolence, had allowed me an hour to prepare to leave Valnar.
I stood before the open wardrobe in my quarters, empty save for the simple, cream-colored dress and a few specks of lint.
Sighing resignedly, I pulled the dress over my head.
I grimaced at the circlet hanging from my wrist as I tied the laces of the bodice.
The aftermath of Geraint’s onslaught showed itself in the purple shadows sitting above my cheekbones and the tangled rivulets of red around my irises.
I raked a comb through my hair, my thoughts occupied with fears about the journey ahead.
At least I’d finally be rid of this cage, I thought, even though it meant being cast out to some distant corner of the kingdom.
Two guests awaited me in the drawing chamber. The human and vampiress made an odd pair, I thought. Niamh, her hands curled neatly in her lap, and Vesper, who was draped over the settee like a sliver of starlight. I was grateful to Mordric for sending them. It could be ages before I saw them again.
“Finn!” exclaimed Niamh, jumping to her feet. “You look well.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Hardly.”
“Well, that dress is beautiful on you,” she continued, undeterred.
“I’m delighted to see you again,” Vesper said, rising to clasp my hand.
“Although I had hoped that we would be reunited under more fortuitous circumstances. And perhaps not in such an odd locale.” She glanced pointedly at the doors.
The iron bars stood open, as I was no longer a threat, though a handful of soldiers lingered with swords in hand.
I sighed, dropping into the armchair opposite her. “So had I. Thank you both for coming.”
“Maxence told me everything,” said Niamh.
“And I heard it from Enhart,” Vesper added.
“What exactly did he tell you?” I asked.
“That you were cursed by a witch and compelled to make an attempt on his life,” she explained, cocking an eyebrow. “What he didn’t tell me is what the King did to you.”
I dropped my voice to a whisper, rushing through my explanation of everything that had come to pass since I left Valnar. Time was not on our side, so I glossed over the details of our journey to Hollybrook, the wightgasts, and the witches.
When I told them about Mordric’s plans for me, Niamh clapped a hand to her mouth. Vesper leaned toward me, her silver irises flashing. “That wretch. This is exactly like him, you know. Has to keep everyone under his thumb.”
“You can’t say that,” Niamh interjected, her eyes wide.
“I can,” Vesper snarled. “How can you stand to be with him after everything he’s done to you, Finn?”
I winced. I wanted desperately to tell them the truth. To reveal to them that it was just a ruse. But I wouldn’t dare put them at risk. “Niamh is right,” I said instead. “You can’t say that. Not here.”
The vampiress hissed, crossing her arms over her chest. I could only imagine what kind of feelings this brought up for her after what she’d told me about her betrothal. Beside her, Niamh shifted nervously in her seat, her eyes flicking between me and the guards.
“There’s more. I, er, kissed Enhart.”
Niamh gasped so loudly that the guards spun, prepared to skewer me on the edge of their swords, no doubt. Vesper’s scowl fell instantly. She waved away the guards like they were bothersome flies. They retreated obediently to their posts.
“Vengeance is delicious, isn’t it?” Vesper purred, flashing the diamond embedded in her right fang. “I couldn’t have planned it better myself.”
I dropped my head into my hands. “It wasn’t vengeance,” I murmured. “I was possessed.”
“How did the King react?” Niamh pressed. “He must have been upset.”
I shrugged. “I wasn’t there when he found out.”
“Thank the gods,” Vesper interjected.
“Well, that’s a relief,” squeaked Niamh. “Is he taking you to, well, wherever you’re headed?”
I shook my head. “He said that Enhart would be going with me instead.”
Vesper clapped her hands together. “Delightful.”
“Don’t,” I groaned.
“There’s so much the two of you could get up to on your own,” Vesper teased.
“I’m never telling you anything again.”
The vampiress squealed with laughter.
I cleared my throat. “Besides, Enhart doesn’t feel that way about me.”
“That remains to be seen,” she replied simply. Heat seared my cheeks.
“Well, wherever you end up,” interrupted Niamh. “You’ll have to promise not to miss the wedding.”
I glanced up at her, my brow furrowed. Her lips spread into a wide smile.
I shot to my feet, throwing my arms around her. “Congratulations,” I cried, my eyes stinging.
She squeezed me back. “Thanks.”
“Congratulations, indeed,” Vesper chimed in. “Surely this calls for a toast.”
I released my friend. “This is wonderful news.”
“Isn’t it?” she gushed. “Maxence is even trying to find us a house in the city for once we’re married, if you can believe it.”
“It better be a big one,” I said sternly. “You deserve it.”
“Thanks,” she whispered, her eyes growing watery. “Just promise me that you’ll be by my side at the wedding.”
I beamed at her, my smile masking the thoughts within. That I didn’t know when I’d be back. Or if I’d be allowed to return at all. I shoved all that aside. It was a problem for another time. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
My ears perked up at the heavy tread of sabatons on the other side of doors. “I hope that in my absence, you two can be friends,” I said quickly, my pulse quickening at the thought of what lay ahead of me.
Niamh and Vesper exchanged a glance. “Of course,” Niamh squeaked after a brief pause.
Vesper nodded. “I don’t see why not.”
“Good,” I said. In central Valnar, the bell chimed eight times. “Listen, we still don’t know what Geraint meant to do with that shrine,” I said hurriedly. “If you hear anything, or if anyone else disappears, you must write to me immediately.”
“How?” asked Niamh. “We don’t know where you’ll be.”
“I’ll figure it out,” Vesper said, waving a hand. “I’m on excellent terms with Sir Raltisse’s mistress.”
Niamh’s eyes rounded. I chuckled, shaking my head. “Of course you are.”
“We’ll write,” Niamh assured me.
“Perhaps we’ll even visit,” said Vesper. “Once I can find you, that is.”
I smiled halfheartedly. “I would love that.”
I glanced up at the door. A dozen guards awaited me, their expressions grave.
“Miss Erramun,” said their captain. “It’s time.”
I cursed as the carriage hit a bump in the road, the door rattling wildly.
Mordric and I had shared an awkward goodbye at the castle gates, Victoria lingering a foot away as he kissed me for the final time.
I didn’t need to read her mind to know that she was prepared to stick her knife in my neck at the first sign of trouble.
Peeling aside the silken curtain barring my view, I gazed at a copse of towering oaks that flanked the road ahead.
My skin had turned an angry shade of red beneath the circlet from the hours I’d spent fiddling with it.
I’d been in the carriage for nearly a day, flanked on all sides by guards dressed in black and armed with iron weapons.
I’d never seen them before, which meant they must belong to the Keeper of Secrets.
Enhart had ridden ahead some hours before my departure, according to Mordric.
I couldn’t be sure how the prince felt about his new role as my personal bodyguard for the foreseeable future, but I supposed neither of us had much choice in the matter.
I hoped, at least, that we could remain friends despite everything that had happened between us.
Hope was not lost, I reminded myself. I didn’t plan to sit on my hands, and I didn’t expect Enhart to, either. Geraint and his witches held the key to my freedom, and I did not intend to let them do so for much longer.
When the carriage emerged from beneath the cover of the oak trees, I spied a manor sitting atop a gentle slope.
It was old, its tower slightly crooked. A dense tangle of ivy crept up its stone walls, as if the forest meant to reclaim the structure.
The gardens were a bit wild, but someone cared for them from the looks of it.
Early summer blossoms in nearly every color had sprouted across the lawn and up to the manor’s towering oak door.
I dropped the curtain back into place as the carriage slowed to a stop, my heart pounding in anticipation.
When the carriage door swung open, I found myself staring into a familiar pair of emerald eyes.
The summer breeze rustled the prince’s black waves, a golden chain peeking out from between the folds of his shirt.
I accepted his offered hand, inhaling the scent of petrichor as I stepped down from the carriage.
“Miss Erramun,” said the prince, his lips curling into a smile. “Welcome to my home.”