Page 41

I furrowed my brow, confused by her words and actions.

I figured she’d come and see me, but my expectation was that she’d sit me on the bed and ask how I’d been—where I’d been.

Ask me about my life away from Elizy—who had kidnapped me.

How I had escaped and made it back. I expected her to tell me that she missed me.

But instead, she stood there smiling as if wanting to pretend like nothing had happened.

Perhaps that conversation would come in the future. I had, after all, come on strong about not wanting them to see me as their daughter, so maybe she was just trying to respect my request.

I let her look me over a few times before she parted her lips and said, “Everything is almost ready. Your father and I will walk out first, then you will follow.” She sighed. “You are going to make such a profound princess. And I don’t know if this means anything, but I am proud of you.”

She took a step forward and wrapped an arm around me, careful not to let go of her dress.

Her embrace felt neither warm nor cold. My magic had some sort of reaction though. Did my magic ever have a reaction in front of the queen before I had gotten kidnapped? I would have liked to know.

“Well, I’ll see you outside.” And as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone.

Minutes later, I was ushered out of my room, down the two grand staircases, and to a back exit.

Before I knew it, I felt the sun on my face, images of the castle’s interior having rushed by and words of convoluted instructions having been spoken into my overwhelmed ears.

We took a narrow passageway that curved toward the front of the castle.

I could only see the stage that was set in front of me.

The queen was already posed on the platform at the top of a flight of stairs, smiling and waving with the king by her side. His arm was wrapped around her waist as his lips came to her cheek for a quick peck. Enormous double doors leading into the castle stood behind them like a regal backdrop.

The crowd was loud and feisty. Sweat began to coat my hands as whistles and hollers sailed through the air. Wiping them on the sides of my dress, I was glad to be hiding behind the wall of the stone passageway.

“We are gathered here today for a very special event,” the queen began, projecting her voice using her magic. “Thank you all for coming. I introduce to you our long-lost, loving, kind, and exceptional princess, Ripley Griever.”

A pair of hands shoved me out onto the stage and my eyes darted to the crowd of several hundred spectators that were going wild. I waved timidly at them, thinking if I didn’t, they’d swallow me whole.

It was then that a velvety voice echoed through my head, scaring away my nerves.

Look to the trees, Fletcher coaxed.

I quickly looked out across the crowd, past the field of grass, beyond the barrier, and into the trees.

There he was. His broad shoulders, tapered waist, and long legs at the apex of a tree.

One shoulder leaned against the bough, feet firmly pressed on two separate branches, one knee bent just slightly as he waved at me.

I wanted to say something back, desperately.

But I refused to use my magic. He knew that.

So instead, I smiled brightly and gave him an excited wave.

I made it.

Tears filled my eyes as he blew me a kiss.

Wow, Ripley, you look—

As his voice cut off, my magic receded to the depths of my soul, and it almost caused me to choke.

The smile on my face ripped away, eyes darting down to the ground at my feet.

A wave of something that tasted of smoke and obsidian strained down my neck and throughout my extremities until I wasn’t in charge of my own body.

I felt like a rock sinking to the depths of the ocean as I was forced to my knees.

Sharp vibrations rocked up my thighs and into my hips from the impact.

I’d have clenched my teeth or yelled, but my brain wasn’t responding properly.

Tears sprung to my eyes and my heart pounded with speed and fright. What was happening to me?

Breathing came in short spurts, but even that felt laborious with the little room my ribs had to expand. Calling for my magic was like calling into an endless tunnel. But I tried and tried and tried to move on my own.

Impossible.

This external pressure had me bowing my head so that my gaze was firmly secured down at the cobblestone. My hands came together, fingers linking in front of me.

The crowd hushed, and the queen’s voice boomed. “Welcome to Princess Ripley’s crowning ceremony.”

My heart stopped, skipping several beats. Crowning? This was supposed to be a welcome home ceremony. The confusion rippled through me with the uncertainty of what that meant .

There was a beat of silence from the crowd before I heard Fletcher roaring in the distance. “ Ripley! ”

His desperate scream, his gritty tone… my name. Fletcher knew what was happening, and he was scared.

I tried to look at him up in the tree, but some heavy force coated my muscles and held my body in place.

The crowd exploded into an even louder cheer. I could pick out certain voices praising me, calling my name—thanking me. Their noise covered Fletcher’s voice, and I felt more alone than ever.

A pair of white, laceless shoes came into view, facing me.

The crowd quieted, but there was still a hum of chatter. Loud enough to drown out any attempts Fletcher made to call for me.

“You may kneel,” the queen ordered.

“Thank you, my queen,” a male said in a husky voice I did not recognize.

The person in white shoes repositioned himself on his knees in front of me. His white pants wrinkled where his knees met the ground.

“This union has been approved by both your king and by me,” the queen continued.

Union ? What union?

Then, it hit me. Was—was this a wedding ?

And everything in me began to scream.