Page 30

Chapter 30

Julius

J ulius had only made it a few steps down the corridor when Cade pounced on him.

“What’s happening in there?” Worry laced his voice.

He looked as if he meant to rush into the receiving room, so Julius restrained him with a hand on his arm. “I’m afraid you won’t find a warm welcome in there.” He met Cade’s eyes steadily.

Cade looked away, sinking into himself. “Everyone knows, then?”

“Walk with me.” Julius wasn’t willing to stop, even for this conversation.

Cade fell into step at his side, his shoulders still hunched, and Julius spoke again.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“Not before today,” Cade cried. “I swear it. I had no idea.”

“Don’t worry,” Julius said. “I never thought that. You would never have let Marigold be taken. I assume it was the mention of the glass trade that tipped you off? That was your family’s warehouse, wasn’t it?”

Cade nodded miserably. “I was going to tell you, I swear. I was just so ashamed, and my focus was on rescuing Marigold.” His voice turned earnest. “And I hope you know that I would never have been part of such a thing, even if Marigold wasn’t involved. Zane’s behavior is outrageous and criminal. I could never condone?—”

Julius stopped, turning to stare at Cade. “Zane? Are you saying your brother is behind this? Not your father?”

“This has Zane’s fingerprints all over it, I’m afraid.” Cade’s brows drew together. “I should have seen it earlier, but I never thought…” He shook his head. “My family’s holdings are so diverse that it didn’t strike me that all the businesses Markus mentioned crossed with ours in some way. But I did notice one of the names. It's been bothering me ever since, wondering where I’d heard it before. I remembered today after everything became clear. Zane had a petty dispute with the man two years ago. Zane didn’t think the man had shown him sufficient respect, given their respective positions, and so Zane…”

Cade broke off, pressing his lips together. “My father has his faults—he’s done plenty of less than praiseworthy things over the years. And he raised Zane to place far too much stock in his rank and the family name. But my father would never have come up with such a criminal and cruel scheme.” His mouth twisted. “It would disappoint Mother, and Father loves her too much to ever do that. A trait that Zane sees as a weakness, of course.”

Julius swallowed. He had heard Zane say something similar with his own ears.

“But one of the captives talked,” he said, still struggling to believe it. “He said they got their orders from Lord Strathmore. So my father has arrested yours. He’s in custody now.”

Cade’s hands fisted, his arms trembling. “Why am I not surprised to hear that Zane did it all in my father’s name? He probably already thinks of the title as his.”

“So where is Zane right now, then?” Daphne asked, reminding them she was there with the single most relevant question.

“If he’s taken Olivia out of revenge, I’ll run him through myself,” Julius said in a voice he barely recognized as his own.

Cade shook his head. “That isn’t Zane’s way, thankfully. Even cornered, he’ll be thinking strategically. Olivia is a valuable hostage.”

“A hostage?” Julius was still furious, but he clung to the hope that Olivia might survive long enough for them to rescue her.

Cade nodded, his face lined and tight.

“So where would he have gone?” Daphne asked. “He could hardly walk out the front door with Julius’s betrothed as hostage.”

“Our courtyard!” Julius and Cade said at the same time.

They broke into a run, Daphne and Mildred racing behind them. “Why the courtyard?” Daphne called.

“We never showed Olivia all its secrets,” Julius called back, but he didn’t explain further, saving his breath for running.

They careened down corridor after corridor, finally sliding into the courtyard. A man in Strathmore livery turned to meet them, a surprised look on his face.

Cade and Julius drew their swords in unison, and the man went white and tried to flee. He didn’t make it far.

“Maybe we should have kept him conscious,” Cade said doubtfully when the man lay at their feet.

“No need,” Julius said shortly. “We know what he was doing.” He pointed at the bench seat by the fountain.

“I don’t know, however.” Daphne said, puffing as she reached their sides.

“We chose this courtyard when we were boys for a reason,” Cade said. “It has a little-known entrance to the tunnels beneath the palace.”

“Tunnels?” Daphne’s brows flew up.

“Look at all the scuffed dirt.” Julius crouched down beside the potted tree next to the bench seat. “The servant must have only just got the pot back in place when we arrived, which hopefully means we aren’t far behind them!”

He and Cade worked together, grunting, their muscles straining as they lifted the pot and rolled it away. The tree and pot had both been smaller when they were younger.

“Phew,” Cade breathed. “I’m glad we were armed and he wasn’t. That brute must be as strong as an ox to move this thing on his own.”

Before them, a cunningly concealed trapdoor lay in the ground. Julius pulled it up, revealing a dark hole beneath.

Daphne looked into it and shivered. But she didn’t protest when Julius dropped into the hole. Cade eased her down after him and then, at her insistence, half-lifted, half-dropped Mildred down as well. He brought up the rear himself, leaving the trapdoor open behind him.

“Where does the tunnel go?” Daphne asked, as they hurried along the smooth floor in the near darkness. “Isn’t it a security risk?”

“It ends inside the grounds,” Cade explained from behind her. “It doesn’t lead beyond the walls. It comes out in the kitchen gardens by the west gate.”

“The west gate is the most isolated gate,” Julius said grimly. “Zane will know it’s his best way out.”

The traces of light from the trapdoor behind them eventually faded into pitch blackness, but it wasn’t long before the air gradually started to lighten again. They were approaching the other end of the tunnel. Julius broke into a jog up the mild incline, the square of light at the end of the tunnel soon becoming visible.

The floor sloped up to join the door-like opening, and the four of them raced out, blinking in the sunset light. They stood in the middle of a pumpkin patch filled with enormous produce.

Julius’s eyes immediately caught on two figures halfway between them and the western gate.

“Zane!” he shouted, his furious cry tearing through the air and making the people ahead of them freeze.

“Julius!” Olivia’s voice cried, and his heart lifted, only to crash again when Zane seized her arm and shook her roughly. He was clearly making some sort of threat that didn’t carry back to them.

Julius hesitated, trying to work out the best avenue of attack—one that wouldn’t put Olivia at risk. But Mildred—unhampered by strategy—charged forward. With a resounding squeak, she thundered toward Zane and Olivia, looking surprisingly fearsome thanks to her unnatural size.

Zane turned to meet the threat, attempting to push Olivia between him and the mouse, but he moved too slowly.

Mildred rammed him, knocking him off his feet, and Olivia jerked free of his hold. Running from him, she zigzagged through the pumpkins. Julius charged toward Zane, but his former friend was already back on his feet. Dodging Mildred, Zane dashed after Olivia. He knew that Olivia was his only hope of escaping Julius’s wrath.

The pumpkin patch extended up a slope, and Olivia had fled uphill instead of down, away from Zane, but also away from Julius. When she reached the top of the incline, where the ground leveled out again, she turned right and ran along the top of the slope. Zane changed the angle of his run, looking to cut her off, but his new path took him nearer to Julius than he had taken into account.

With a final, desperate burst of speed, Julius caught up with him just as he crested the slope, a short way ahead of Olivia. She had already stopped running and was backing away as Zane turned toward her. Zane tried to move to close the gap between them, but Julius tackled him from behind, sending both of them crashing to the ground.

Zane kicked out at Julius, catching him in the midriff. The blow temporarily winded the prince, giving Zane a chance to wriggle free. He reached for his dagger, and Julius only just managed to grab him again, preventing him from drawing the blade.

They rolled across the ground, Julius’s blow to Zane’s nose being returned with an elbow to the sternum. The pain of the blow made Julius flinch instinctively back, only to freeze as his head rolled out over empty space.

He risked a half second’s glance sideways and down. Blast! When had a miniature cliff appeared behind the pumpkin patch? He was sure it hadn’t been there a month ago.

The pain subsided enough for him to roll forward, but Zane was already bearing down on him, an ugly light in his eye. Apparently, he had decided that he could take on the prince even without a hostage.

Julius scrambled to his feet, relieved that Zane was still coming after him rather than chasing after Olivia. He couldn’t see her any longer, but he hoped she had already fled for the relative safety of Cade and Daphne.

Zane lunged for Julius’s neck, both hands outstretched, and Julius only just evaded him, seizing his forearms and holding the other man at arm’s length. The two struggled, swaying in place, until Julius’s foot slipped on the dirt at the edge of the cliff, nearly plunging off the edge.

Zane tried to push him further in that direction, but Julius let go and ducked away at the last second. Zane cursed and spun, ready to lunge at him again. Julius danced backward out of reach.

With a second’s breathing room, he shot a quick glance behind him, trying to catch sight of Olivia and make certain she was safe.

She hadn’t run as he had hoped. She still stood further along the top of the slope, although now she held a dagger. Her eyes were fixed on something behind him, and as he watched, they widened in shock.

He swung back around, realizing his mistake a moment too late. While he had used the momentary space to look for Olivia, his opponent had used it to arm himself.

Julius had stood across from Zane’s blade a hundred times before, but never like this. Despite his fury, he couldn’t entirely shake off the dissonance—the history of all their shared mornings in the courtyard overlaying the current moment.

Zane lunged toward him, dagger out, and Julius jumped backward. But his retreat had taken him too near the cliff’s edge. He dodged again, this time moving along the cliff, parallel to its edge. He couldn’t go far in that direction, though. He couldn’t risk letting Zane drive him too close to Olivia.

Julius wished he still had his sword—or even his dagger. In a fair match, he could have disabled Zane with or without an adjacent cliff. But Zane’s blade unbalanced the scales, and Julius had no choice but to dodge for a third time.

His movement swung him briefly toward Olivia, who had placed herself behind a pumpkin that had grown at the very top of the slope. As soon as his gaze fell on her, she gestured wildly for him to get down.

He only had a second to grasp her intentions and respond, but it was enough. He dropped low and threw himself under Zane’s blade, aiming for his ankles. Zane hastily sidestepped, taking himself nearer the cliff just as Olivia gave a final shove on the pumpkin and set it rolling. It careened wildly along the top of the slope, bouncing as it came.

Julius—still on the ground—rolled sideways out of the way. But Zane, too focused on his opponent, caught sight of the incoming threat too late.

Like a ball hitting a skittle, the pumpkin collided with him at full speed. He fell backward straight off the cliff.

His shout sounded briefly before being cut off by a solid thud. Julius lay still for a second, his own breath harsh in his ears as he listened for sounds of life. A low groan floated upward. Zane had survived the fall.

Julius slowly stood and dusted himself off. Olivia met him at the edge of the cliff, both of them peering down at Zane’s prone body.

After confirming he was still alive, although apparently unable to stand, Julius looked in the opposite direction, searching for Cade. How would he react to his brother’s fall?

But Cade had moved, and it took Julius a moment to spot him. When he did, he realized that Cade had found a place where the cliff leveled out, sloping down more gently and giving access to the lower ground below.

Julius followed him as swiftly as his tired body would go, the two girls on his heels. None of them spoke.

They reached Cade as he stood over Zane, staring down at him.

“Brother,” Zane said, his voice edged with pain. “Help me.”

“You must be out of your mind if you think I’ll help you now.” Cade’s voice was ice cold, despite Zane’s injuries. “You held Marigold for months, Zane. Months ! And you made me complicit in doing it. It makes me sick to think I’ve been benefitting for years from your criminal behavior.”

“You never did value your family.” Zane managed to put poison in his voice, despite his pained, gasping breaths.

“No, you’re the one who didn’t value your family.” Cade’s ice had melted, and he just sounded sad. “Look at how you always treated Mother and me. The only thing you ever valued was the family name.”

Zane stared at his brother, but he must have realized he had no hope of convincing him because he turned his head to look toward Julius.

“Julius.” His tone was conciliatory, although it looked like the effort pained him. “We’ve been friends our whole lives. And what have I done that was so very bad? I’ve never killed anyone. I think one of my legs is broken, and isn’t that punishment enough? Let me leave the capital quietly, and you’ll never see me again.”

“You speak of our friendship,” Julius said, “but you ended that the second you attacked my betrothed.” His eyes narrowed. “No, you ended it the first time you abducted one of my subjects for your own gain. You traumatized children , Zane, just to grow your own, already vast, wealth. You destroyed families and businesses—people who had never done you any wrong. You’ve clearly never cared who you hurt, and now you can face justice just like anyone else. You’re no friend of mine.”

“It should have been me born the prince,” Zane burst out. “You’ve always been too soft. You waste the endless opportunities before you.”

“Because unlike you, he isn’t selfish,” Olivia snapped. “And that’s why he’s exactly the person who should be prince.”

Warmth spread through Julius’s chest, but he directed a final comment at Zane. “You are far from the kind of leader Sovar needs.”

The kind of leader Sovar needed wasn’t in front of him—she was at his side. He was sure of it. Olivia had expressed her belief in him, and he had just as much belief in her. She would do a far better job than Marigold, and one day she would help him do a better job than his own parents. His mother and father’s response to Marigold’s rescue had shown they didn’t have the flexibility of thinking that Sovar needed—the sort of flexibility that would lead the kingdom away from people like Zane and Lord Emerson and toward a more just future.

A guard jogged up to them, looking concerned. He had obviously seen them from his station at the nearby gate and had come to investigate, leaving his companion behind to guard their assigned position.

“Your Highness?” he asked breathlessly, bowing.

“Bring more guards and arrest Lord Zane,” Julius said, hoping the arrests of the day were finally finished.

The man looked from one to the other of the small group, eyes wide, but no one else spoke, so he bowed again and raced off.

“We’ll need to stay until the guards arrive,” Julius said quietly to Olivia. “The other guard can’t leave the gate unguarded to assist us.”

“I’ll watch Zane,” Cade said stonily. “It isn’t as if he can run. He’s not going anywhere.”

“Mildred, on the other hand, has already fled back to the palace,” Daphne said, a note of amusement in her voice. “I think she’s run straight back to your suite, Olivia.”

“She deserves a medal!” Olivia’s voice shone with wonder and gratitude. “I never dreamed she’d do something like that for me.”

“She’s the one who alerted us to your abduction,” Daphne said. “It’s only thanks to her loyalty that we were able to follow you so quickly.”

“What a wonderful, excellent mouse!” Olivia’s face fell. “I should have thanked her properly before she ran off.”

“Since Cade has matters in hand here,” Daphne said, “why don’t we go and check on her?”

Julius was grateful for her prompting. He wanted to get Olivia away from Zane as quickly as possible. Daphne seemed to have other matters in mind, however, because she gave him a knowing look and took off without waiting for the other two. Although they followed promptly, she quickly outpaced them, showing more energy than he’d yet seen from the sleepy Oakdenian.

Olivia watched her with amazement. When Daphne disappeared into the palace before them, she called out her cousin’s name, but received no response. Olivia clearly didn’t understand why Daphne was giving them privacy, but Julius didn’t mean to miss his chance.

The moment they reached the first corridor of the palace, Julius whisked Olivia into a convenient alcove.

She stared up at him, her mouth still open in an adorable circle after calling for her cousin. “What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

He pressed her against the wall, concealing her from passersby with his own body as well as the sheer curtain that hung across the alcove.

“That depends,” he said, a soft tease in his voice. “What do you want me to do?”

Olivia immediately blushed a glorious pink, and his heart rate took off. She said nothing, but her body spoke for her, swaying toward him as her luminous eyes dropped to his lips.

His heart soared, and he closed the last of the distance between them, pushing her up against the wall.

“I’m going to do what I should have done a long time ago,” he whispered and bent the final distance to crash his lips against hers.

She responded, her hands running up his chest to grip the front of his jacket and meld them together. His arms tightened around her.

But the moment was over too soon.

The clang of racing guards made him pull reluctantly away from her. Turning, he watched two rows of guards run past, presumably on their way to arrest Zane. But four of the men broke away and stopped in front of Julius.

He remained still, blocking their view of Olivia behind him.

One of the men bowed respectfully. “Their Majesties are searching for you, Your Highness. Your presence is urgently required.”

Julius sighed but thanked the man for the message, expecting the guards to rejoin their fellows. They didn’t move, however.

“We’ve been instructed to escort you to His Majesty immediately.”

Julius growled under his breath. He wanted to refuse, but it didn’t seem like the right moment to publicly defy his father. The situation with Zane and Lord Strathmore was too tangled, and it would be better for his father to hear the truth from Julius directly. As much as he wanted to forget all his responsibilities and remain in the moment with Olivia, he had to face up to his duties.

He glanced back at her, ready to explain, but she was looking at him with affectionate amusement.

“I know,” she murmured. “Go. I understand.”

Gratitude filled his chest. He didn’t deserve her.

“I’ll come and find you as soon as I can,” he promised.

The guards made no comment as he stepped away and revealed Olivia behind him, although several cast surreptitious glances at her. It reminded him of all the people who had gawked at Marigold and Cade in the city. Even if he’d been willing to go along with his father’s concocted story, there were too many witnesses to the truth for it to go down smoothly.

Julius strode through the palace toward his parents’ receiving room, the guards struggling to keep up. All he wanted was to finish talking to his parents and get back to Olivia.

When he reached the room, they remained outside, leaving him to step in alone.

“Mother, Father,” he said, “we need to release Lord Strathmore. It wasn’t him. It was Zane.”

But his mother was gone. Only his father remained there, a suit laid out on the chair beside him.

“I’ve heard,” the king said. “But it changes nothing. It’s time you got ready for the ball, son.” He gestured at the waiting clothes.

Julius squared his shoulders, preparing for a fight. “I’m not going to the ball. Not unless you give up on the whole idea of breaking my current betrothal.”

“And what of your mother’s words?” His father watched him with an inscrutable expression. “Do you truly care so little for Lady Olivia’s well-being?”

One side of Julius’s lips curved upward as he remembered Olivia’s enthusiastic kiss. Only a short time before, he had still been questioning if she could be happy with him, but she was the one to judge that, and she had already given him her answer.

“I believe in Olivia and her ability to choose for herself. It’s not for me to decide what will make her happy.”

“Very well, then,” his father said. “We will allow the ladies to choose.”

“Just like that?” Julius watched his father through narrowed eyes. It couldn’t possibly be that easy.

“In exchange, I ask only that you do your duty. Get dressed, attend the ball, and play your role. We have roused the court from their homes to attend, and they expect their prince to be among them. So attend the ball, and we will see which girl turns up in glass slippers this time.”

“And if they both come?” Julius asked, thinking of the threats made to Marigold by her father.

“Then you will choose,” his father said.

“And does Olivia even know of this ball?” Julius asked suspiciously.

“Of course.” His father regarded him coldly. “She was informed of it in your mother’s note. If she truly wishes to remain here at your side—and has the strength of character and determination necessary for the role—she will fight for you, will she not? She knows of this ball, so if she wants you, she will surely come.”

Julius hesitated. He and Olivia hadn’t had time to discuss anything. But he trusted her. She would come. And if she didn’t…

His heart turned away from that possibility. She would come.

“I want to speak to her myself,” he said.

The king shook his head. “There’s no time. Wild rumors of all kinds are already flying through the kingdom and capital—including that you have been killed in the fighting. The three of us must be there to open the ball. The kingdom needs our strong, steady leadership today. One day you will be king after me, son, and this is what it means to be king. You must put aside your personal feelings and arrive at the ball with your mother and me.”

Julius hesitated, but his father was right—the events of the day had been pivotal for him personally but also for the kingdom. It was his duty to do what he could to prevent harmful turmoil, and he was still committed to his duty. Marrying Olivia had never been a rejection of that—rather, it would be a deepening.

“How do I know you won’t order the guards to arrest Olivia the moment I go into the ball?” Julius said, still suspicious. “You would only need to hold her for one night to achieve your purpose.”

“A palace-wide order will be given,” the king said. “No guard is to lay hands on Olivia, and neither should they bar the ballroom to her. There are guards waiting outside, and I will give the order in your presence and have them spread it immediately.”

“So if I open the ball with you and Mother,” Julius said warily, “you swear not to bar the ballroom doors against Olivia? And if she comes, you’ll allow me free choice.”

“I give you my word,” his father said.

Julius reached for the outfit laid out for him. “In that case, just give me a minute to change.”