Page 46 of The Starlit Ring (The Chronicles of Liridin #1)

P rince Marius had tricked me.

I spent hours pacing back and forth in the Star Room, failing to quell my panic.

He knew who I was. Didn’t even give me a chance to dispute his claims. Just let them fall at my feet before leaving abandoning me.

Marius said he’d protect me, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe him. Not after that exit. Anger radiated from him, and I couldn’t even be angry. I’d lied about everything, just when we finally started to trust each other.

I needed to leave. But the second I set foot outside the room, I’d be arrested. Tried for treason. Probably executed. Any feelings Marius might’ve had for me were null and void.

I was a liar, and I’d die a liar’s death.

There was the possibility I could be extradited to Olmstead, but I held little hope.

It would take too long for word to reach King Amonrew.

Even if I somehow made it to the palace pigeon coop, or paid a messenger with my meager savings, it would take days for my letter to reach the king.

I didn’t have that kind of time. It didn’t matter if I was a princess.

Tocchia would think that Ria brought me with her to steal their secrets—to study the layout of the palace, or the movements of the guards.

If Tocchia was anything like Olmstead, they’d rather go to war than let a potential spy go free.

Even if I convinced them of my identity, there was a real possibility they’d leave me to rot in the dungeons.

I’d recognized the danger I was in and failed to remove myself from it. Instead, I’d convinced myself that things were going to be fine, that I could afford to wait and see.

Now, I’d doomed not only myself, but potentially Valeria and Avens. Ria probably wouldn’t be outright killed, but Avens was just a bard. A good one, but not valued highly enough to be spared.

Guilt tore through me, crawled along my bones and through my guts like a fleet of maggots chewing through rotten flesh. Bile worked its way up my throat.

I needed to leave. Tonight. I couldn’t wait for Avens.

I couldn’t tell Valeria. I needed to slip out of the palace while I still could.

There was a possibility—however slim—that Prince Marius hadn’t said anything yet, that I might be able to escape if I was quick enough.

I’d grab my money, my sword, some food, clothes, and make my way out of Tocchia.

But I’d be too slow on foot. I needed a horse, and there was no way I could afford one on my pitiful servant’s wage. Stealing a horse would only add to my charges if I were caught.

I wouldn’t be, if the horse I stole was fast enough.

Fuck . I paced between rooms until my feet ached. Even then, I couldn’t stop. I was terrified to leave. Terrified not to. Even if Marius had a change of heart, if he came back and forgave me, I couldn’t rely on him.

Would Tocchia grant me mercy if I chose to stay and confess?

I thought of all the criminals Father had executed over the years. The ones who begged for forgiveness as they went before the axman. The ones who’d stolen a piece of jewelry, or expensive cutlery, or overheard a pertinent piece of information. The ones who had families waiting for them.

There would be no mercy for me. I’d broken the laws, and I’d have to run, or face the consequences.

I stood before the door, inhaling and exhaling frantically. Tears burned their way down my face like streams of acid. I reached for the handle, then retracted my hand as if stung. I sank down to the floor and wrapped my arms around my knees.

Prince Marius found me there, a puddle of fabric and despair.

“You’re still here,” he said, stepping into the Star Room, boots clicking against stone. His voice was barely a murmur—a low rumble in the silence.

“Yes,” I mumbled, afraid to look at him.

He knelt beside me. I scooted away on instinct, afraid of a hand closing around my wrist, or catching in my hair. The guards were rough when they brought me to the dungeons, and I didn’t expect much in the way of compassion from the man who’d tricked me.

“Why?”

I shrugged. “There’s nowhere to go.”

“Don’t you have a bed?”

I stared at him, bewildered. “I—You think I’m a traitor. I can’t just go to bed .”

His jaw clenched. The gravity of my plight must have dawned on him, because his gaze swept over me, cool and critical. “At what point did I say you were a traitor?”

“You said that you think I’m—I’m Princess Talina,” I said. “That means you think I’m a traitor.” I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation. That I had to spell out my sins for him.

“And how exactly would Princess Talina have betrayed us?” There was no malice in his voice, only genuine curiosity. I wanted to slap him until his nostrils flared like a bull’s. I wanted to see his wrath and face it, not cower beneath this facade of kindness.

“By lying about her identity. ”

“I’m not quite certain that’s a crime, my lady.” That wasn’t my title, but I liked the sound of it on his lips. He sat across from me, careless of the dirty floor, and his impeccable wine-red trousers.

“False pretenses,” I reminded him.

“Less than ideal,” he admitted, stretching one leg until he poked my knee with the toe of his shoe. “But hardly a death sentence.”

“I’m quite certain this makes me a traitor.”

“It would if you planned to betray us,” he said. “Which I have no proof of.”

“I don’t,” I said quietly. “Plan to betray you, I mean. But when you tell them?—”

“Tell who?” he snapped. “I was hardly planning to expose you. I already promised to do everything in my power to protect you. I wouldn’t just—just hurt you.

” He dragged his long fingers through his hair, which was rather greasier than usual.

Dark circles formed beneath his eyes, and his cheeks were sunken.

When had he become so gaunt? Why hadn’t I noticed it sooner?

“I-I know I made a mistake,” I began, the words bursting free with a sob. “I couldn’t let her go with her kidnapper, and there was nobody to watch out for her, and I-I put myself and Valeria in danger, and?—”

Marius watched me. He started to reach for my hand, then hesitated. His hand fell back into his lap. “Valeria is your sister.”

“Yes.”

His brow furrowed. He refused to meet my eye, instead examining the floor like he was searching for something in the cracks between stones. “Under the circumstances, I couldn’t blame you. I-I know how that looked.”

“It isn’t about how it looked!” I spat, furious. “ That was coercion! You destroyed my home and stole my sister away! It looked bad because it was bad!”

“And what was I supposed to do? Let the kingdom fall to ruin while King Amonrew laughed from his throne? I had to do something!” cried Marius, looking directly at me now, a tortured despair in his strange, pale eyes. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

I laced my fingers together, squeezed. The tension and pressure eased the agony building in my chest. “I know you didn’t have much choice,” I said, forcing myself to breathe.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that people were hurt.

That Ria and I were pushed into positions we never should have been in. ”

“I know,” said Marius, placing his head in his hands.

“I know, I know. I thought that this was better than outright war. That fewer people would be killed. My father wanted to storm the castle and take it for ourselves! I thought—I hoped we could negotiate. That it wasn’t too late.

Death was inevitable, but I wanted to minimize the bloodshed.

” Slender fingers buried in his hair. The jewels in his rings peeked through.

He met my eye and lowered his shaking hands into his lap.

“I can’t say enough that I’m sorry. I never wanted to be in this position, and I never wanted to hurt anyone.

This was the best compromise we could come up with. ”

I wanted to believe him. Certainly, I pitied him. Longed to console him even as I wanted to chastise him. A thousand different replies circled round and round in my mind, like vultures over carrion. In the end, I said, “I understand why you did it.”

“That doesn’t make it right.”

“My father was wrong,” I said, and winced.

These were words of treason. No matter how I wanted to trust Marius, the reality was that I shouldn’t .

I knew better. These rules had been drilled into me over the course of my life.

You don’t speak ill of the king, and you don’t give people information about the king’s whereabouts, movements, or motives.

“I don’t approve of what you did. But I understand why you did it. ”

Marius nodded.

“That doesn’t change the fact that I’m in danger,” I said.

“My lips are sealed,” said Marius. The stone at his neck shifted as he leaned against the wall .

“Why do you wear that?”

Marius reached for the pendant. “This? This is the reason I survived childhood. I’ve been instructed to never remove it.”

“So it’s enchanted?”

“I suppose so,” he said, fingertips gliding along the stone’s polished surface. “Though I’ve no idea what its exact function is.”

“Have you ever removed it?”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t dare.”

“That’s probably good,” I said, leaning back against the wall, suddenly exhausted. All the adrenaline had drained from my body, and left me limp, tired, doll-like. I could lay here, on the stone floor, and sleep until dawn.

My eyelids drooped. The silence between us was comforting. My earlier despair was a descent into depths so vast, so incredible that I could not quite recall what had and hadn’t happened. Already, my memories were blurry.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” said Marius. “I didn’t think about—well, I didn’t think about anything, really. I was hurt that you lied to me, and I shouldn’t have left under those circumstances.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled, drawing my cloak around me. “I just need a few minutes, and then I’ll leave, I swear.”

“Take all the time you need,” said Marius gently. “Do you want me to escort you?”

I didn’t respond. Nor did I remember falling asleep. I woke briefly when he tucked his cloak around my shoulders, fell back asleep when he murmured, “It’s alright, it’s just me.”