Chapter 35
T heo says nothing as he listens. He is curled up underneath my arm, eyes wet, and takes a shuddering breath. When I am finished, he stays quiet.
“ Svellenta ,” he says after a while. “That…is that the word on my back you did not recognise?”
“Yes,” I say softly. “It was never a curse. It was a gift.”
“A gift,” Theo repeats, his voice cracking.
“She knew you were a dragon, like her, and wanted you to be able to defend yourself against…him.” I stroke his hair. “But shapeshifting takes decades to learn and control. I do not know the full extent of it myself, there is so much about the rest of the world that is not written in books. But this Ascension… I believe it is a stronger magic which dragons can achieve. Honora used it to gift you shapeshifting. To defend yourself.”
Theo nods numbly .
“The turnings were not at random,” he whispers, almost to himself as though thinking out loud. “But whenever I was threatened.”
He sits up slightly, wiping his eyes.
“Is this why it is so painful? Because it was forced?” he asks.
I rub my temples, dredging up old dragon knowledge hidden in the deep crevices of my mind.
“I believe so…all the books made reference to dragons using meditation to draw on their faeth. I suppose when used out of anger or fear, it is…a lot less peaceful,” I answer as best I can. “In time and with practice, I believe you will be able to clear your mind at will and use your faeth painlessly.”
Theo falls silent, processing this.
“I think we should use today for rest,” I tell him. “You have…learned a lot of overwhelming knowledge in a short space of time.”
“But my father.” Theo shoots up to a sitting position. His lip is curled in anger. “He…he,” Theo stutters, his hands balling into tight fists. “He killed my mother!” he yells, and his eyes begin to blaze gold. “He let me believe she hated me when this entire time…Saints, she loved me. My mother loved me.” His voice falters and cracks, his anger rapidly dissolving into sorrow. He slumps back against me.
“It is alright,” I whisper, trying to keep my voice as soothing as I can, even though I also want to turn my wrath on the king. For now, though, is it not what Theo needs.
“How do you know all of this?” he asks, sliding down until his head rests on my lap.
“Inez gave me her mother’s diary—she wrote about everything that happened that night.” I brush a lock of his hair from his eyes.
“But the king ordered her head. How did she write about that night?”
I hesitate, wondering if I should share everything else I learned or if I should let Theo ruminate on everything he has already discovered. I decide on somewhere in the middle.
“He did not follow through, as it turns out. And so she wrote about everything that happened afterwards. It…” I lick my lips. “It has given me what I need.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have a plan, Theo,” I whisper. “Not just for both of us, but for everyone in this castle.”
He shifts onto his back and looks up at me.
“You do?” His voice is soft, as though he is afraid to believe me. I nod and clasp his hand, a bittersweet smile on my lips.
“I do. But first, you will rest.”
“But I—”
“ Rest ,” I repeat. “When you awaken, we will finally loosen the grip that bastard has had on us all.”
?? ?
Theo sleeps until the late afternoon when the air begins to cool and the sun starts its descent. We have not been disturbed all day except for a servant who brings us a tray full of food.
“From Vanya and Inez,” she tells us in a small voice, eyes darting nervously to a sleeping Theo. “And the rest of us in the kitchens.”
“Thank you,” I tell her from the floor, Theo’s head still resting in my lap. She hesitates, lingering in the doorway.
“You might not remember, miss,” she says, fidgeting. “But you prayed with me on Saint’s Day. I had dropped the plate of biscuits and, well…it is a small thing, really, but you were very kind about it and helped me clean up.”
I remember her now, a young girl nervous in the presence of the prince. My cheeks curve in a smile, remembering that day.
“If you need anything from us…the servants and the kitchen staff, I mean,” she continues. “Well, you need only ask. Anything at all.”
Her eyes widen and she leaves briskly, as though afraid to have said too much. But I am grateful—it will make our next task even easier.
Not long after, Theo rouses from his deep slumber. His face grimaces as he rubs his eyes sleepily.
“Shivani?” he says, voice thick.
“I am here,” I tell him, running my hand along his chest reassuringly. “Are you rested?”
Blearily, he nods and hauls himself up to a sitting position. He groans, stretching his arms high above him. I take the opportunity to draw my legs back up, easing the cramp in my calves.
Theo sighs heavily, looking around his chambers as though seeing it for the first time.
“So.” He looks at me. “What is the plan?”
I give a small, determined smile.
“Let me show you.” I get to my feet and stick out a hand for Theo. He accepts it, grasping me firmly and standing. His eyes glint.
“Lead the way.”
We slip into the secret passageway leading to the servants’ quarters—the same one Honora used to try and find her friends. When we emerge from the other side, we find two guards lingering in the hall. Their heads whip towards us as we clamber out from behind the landscape painting.
“H-how—” one of them stammers as they both stare at us.
“Move!” I bark, and they instantly scatter, running in the opposite direction from us down the halls. Theo grins at me with a thoughtful look in his eyes. “What?”
“Nothing,” he says unconvincingly, but we do not have time for me to argue, so I continue on, marching us to the servants’ quarters.
It is mostly empty when we arrive, with only a young boy I recognise as a kitchen porter. He jumps at our presence, eyes glued to Theo.
“He will not hurt you,” I reassure him, wondering how quickly news of Theo’s attack against the guards spread. “You have my word.”
The boy glances at me, relaxing slightly, but there is a tremble in his limbs. Theo steps forward and kneels.
“What is your name?” he asks, voice soft.
“J-James, Your Highness,” the boy stutters back. His eyes dart to the door.
“A strong name.” Theo smiles at him warmly. “I am a friend of Shivani and of Inez.”
James looks to me for confirmation, and I nod.
“What…what do you want here?” he asks, a nervous waver in his voice.
“I have a very special task for you,” I tell him, and his face lights up. “We need Inez’s help. Would you be able to find her for us and send her here?”
“Inez?” His eyebrows furrow in concentration. “Okay, I think I can find her for you.”
“Thank you, James.” Theo stands up again. “We are most grateful.”
The young boy grins, pleased, and scurries out of the room. Theo turns to me once he has left.
“What does Inez have to do with our plan?” he enquires.
I immediately start scouring the walls, but large, heavy beds line the room, stacked on top of each other.
“She was here when your mother tried to escape. She might remember what the servants’ quarters used to look like.”
“Used to?”
I run my hands over the brick, searching.
“Honora planned to flee through the servants' entrance.”
Theo casts his eyes skywards, thinking.
“The servants do not have an entrance—the king makes everyone stay in the castle.” His eyes light up with understanding. “There used to be a door here.”
“Exactly.” I fall to my knees, bending over to look under one of the beds. “Which the king bricked up after Honora tried to escape through it, ordering everyone to stay on-site. Well, everyone he did not execute.”
Nausea churns in my stomach at the idea of such a massacre, and Theo wears the same queasy look on his face. I breathe deep, putting the thought to the side and focussing on our task.
“But we have the secret tunnel. Why do we need to find an old doorway?” Theo asks. He inspects the walls with me to try and help, although he does not know what he is looking for. A pure-hearted action from a pure-hearted man.
“My auntie taught me this trick with her au’mana. A way to enchant buildings without casting a spell over the entire thing,” I tell him. Deep longing fills my chest. I take another deep breath and continue. “She enchanted a single brick, and the whole building fell under the spell.”
“Ah, so we are searching for a brick,” Theo declares before chewing his lip. “But why?”
I open my mouth to explain, but we are interrupted by Inez bursting into the room.
“Oh, Miss Shivani!” she gasps, her usually neat bun fraying with loose hair. “When I heard the prince had turned and—”
“Inez.” I step towards her. “I am well. Theo is well.”
I gesture towards him, and Inez blinks.
“Your Highness.” She dips into a curtsy, but there is a softness to her features. I think of Lucian, the person they had both loved and had cruelly ripped away from them. Theo gives her a small, sad smile.
“We need your help, Inez,” he tells her. She looks between the two of us.
“Me?”
“It will sound silly, but…do you remember where the servants' entrance used to be?”
Inez cocks her head, frowning. “The servants' entrance? Well, yes…but it has long since been bricked over.”
“We know but…” I lick my lips and glance at Theo. “There is a brick in particular we need to fi nd.”
Inez’s eyebrows shoot up and she gives a nervous laugh. “A brick?”
“Please, Inez.” I step forward and clasp her hands. “Do you trust me?”
She looks at me, her jaw set. “Absolutely, miss.”
With determined swiftness, she steps around me and hurries to one of the many beds.
“Here,” she tells us, pointing at the wall. “It was here.”
“Help me with this bed, Theo.” I push up the sleeves of my dress.
He grasps one of the metal bars on the headboard while I grip underneath the bottom. Together, we haul it away from the wall, the feet scraping loudly across the bare floor. Behind us, several other servants and kitchen staff have gathered in the doorway, watching curiously. I ignore them and stand in front of the exposed wall.
It is faint, but I can see where the arch of the old door used to be. There are subtle cracks in the wall, running over and between the brick. I run my fingers across it, but there is no purple brick. Regardless, my ophid thrums, and I know there is au’mana nearby.
“There is nothing here,” Theo says, shoulders sagged in disappointment.
“No,” I disagree. “There is. I can feel it. There is more than one layer of brickwork. ”
“Then what do we do?” Inez asks, wringing her hands. I know the servants’ eyes are on us as they mutter and speculate amongst themselves. I stand back and regard the wall.
“We break it.”