Page 2

I slipped over the wall, and just as she’d promised, Lope’s arms anchored around me. I was in the warmth of her hold for just a moment before she delicately stood me upright. I dug my boots into the dirt, grateful to be earthbound once more. I gazed up at my dearest friend, taking in the face that was as familiar to me as the ground beneath my feet: pale,marked with faint white scars, her long, elegant nose, the notch in her brow when she frowned. The eyes that could be as bright as silver were dark as storm clouds today, and rimmed with red.

“You shouldn’t cry on your birthday,” I said softly.

She turned from me and scrubbed the heel of her hand against her eyes. “You’re right. Forgive me. And happy birthday to you, too.”

I always found it the most charming, magical thing that the two of us were born on the very same day, under the very same star. It was as if we were fated to be friends.

But despite the happy occasion, I could tell something was amiss. Her short words, her weak tone, the way she kept glancing to the horizon—some very special days, Lope would share her worries, her fears, her pain with me. Other times, like this evening, I knew that she was not ready for me to ask about her heartache.

“I brought you a gift!” I chirped instead, scooping up my pillow. Lope’s sword rolled aside into the grass.

“You needn’t have done that, my lady.” Lope surveyed the countryside, orange and gold as candle flames, with the plains cast in amber. “It’s getting late. You—you shouldn’t be out.”

“I know. But this is my chance.” From my bag, I procured a book bound in red leather with a rose etched onto its cover.

Lope’s eyes widened as I placed it in her hands, her lipstilting into a wondrous smile. “Such a beautiful journal, my lady.” She touched the cover so delicately, so reverently. “This is... this is more than I could have dreamed of.” When her eyes met mine, my heart fluttered, perhaps from the sheer delight of choosing such a perfect gift for her. “Forgive me, I do not have a gift for you here—”

“There’s something you can do for me!” I interjected, folding my hands penitently and offering the loveliest, most innocent smile I could muster. “Something that could inspire you to write a hundred new poems!”

As I batted my lashes, she glanced from me to my bag to the wall and then back at me. Her smile slowly began to fade into something like suspicion. “My lady... what did you mean when you said you were going on an adventure?”

I took a deep breath. My speech would go much better the second time. “Since I am seventeen now, I’ve decided the best thing for myself,andfor my mother, is to go to Le Château and petition His Majesty to let us stay in his courts.” Already Lope was opening her mouth, her brow furrowed, but I kept speaking with fervor. “The stories say there is only one place in the world safe from the Shadows, and that’s Le Château. Wemustgo. You told me just last night that more and more Shadows are appearing, just in the past few days!”

Lope grimaced. “Yes, but—”

“So it’s more dangerous than ever out here! And what sort of future am I meant to have in this manor?” I asked, atremor shaking my voice. “Am I meant to rot away inside, embroidering and reading, isolated from the rest of the world forevermore?

“And”—I hesitated but pushed on—“Mother ismiserable; she’s so lonely, and she worries daily about the Shadows, but she won’t do anything about it because she thinks I am too young and too naïve to live at the palace!” I jabbed my thumb at my chest. “I’ll prove to her that I’m mature. I will go and make a place for us. I’ll show her that I’m capable enough for court life, and I’ll take care of everything. I’ll have a royal carriage fetch her and bring her safely to the palace. None of us will have to fear the Shadows again.”

“Your Ladyship—”

“Ofelia. Please, call me Ofelia.” Lope never listened to me when I told her this, but I’d never given up trying, either. We’d known each other for five years now, since she first came here as a knight-in-training. Part of me wished she would set aside the differences in our stations and just call me by my name, but a smaller part of me felt a thrill each time, at the unending chivalry Lope extended to me, just as a knight in my fairy tales.

A blush rose up on her face, beautiful as a sunset, and she tucked a lock of black-and-silver hair behind her ear without meeting my eyes. “My lady, what happened? What brought this on?”

My throat was still raw from the shouting I’d done. Andmy heart still trembled as I thought of the fear in Mother’s eyes when she’d said,Put this dream of yours to bed. You are safe here.

Safe. Safe, while monsters crept closer to our walls every day.

“It’s three days to the palace by carriage alone,” Lope murmured into my silence, worry making the little wrinkle between her brows deepen. A part of me longed to press my thumb against it, smooth it out so she could smile again. “Do you mean to travel on foot?”

“It’s not a far walk to the next town, and I can hire a coach there.” I gave the bag over my shoulder a little shake. “I brought enough money to get by.”

“But... through the night? What about the Shadows?”

I smiled up at her. She looked as she always did: a knight from an old storybook come to life, noble and handsome, with her broad shoulders and her shining breastplate. My heart quivered at the thought that she would be a part of my story. “That is where I need your expertise,” I said.

But there was darkness in her eyes. Sadness. The same sort my mother had whenever I asked her about Le Château.

“The journey is not safe,” she whispered. “Trust me.”

I shivered at her words. She knew those Shadows well. Sometimes, on a very hot day, she would unwind the cravat that she always kept around her throat. Her neck was long and slender but covered with bruises and scars and scratches. Claw marks.

“You are too skillful a knight,” I said, shaking away the memory. “You would not let a Shadow even steal a glance at me.”

Her full lips pressed into a thin, pale line. In a blink, her eyes had grown glassy. She breathed, squared her shoulders, and then the strange shimmer was gone. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I can’t risk anything happening to you—”

“Nothing will happen to me. You’ll protect me,” I cooed. Inside, my pulse raced; I could feel my beautiful future slipping through my fingers like stardust. “Please, Lope, I’m willing to brave the journey. It is worth the cost. The palace is my heart’s greatest dream. My mother and I... we need it. Le Château Enchanté is a place blessed by thegods. It could be our sanctuary.”