Page 53 of Till Death

Five years ago, ten even, if someone had been brave enough to tell me that would ever happen, I’d have laughed in their face. My father was cunning and guarded and everything a king should have been, aside from compassionate. But maybe kings weren’t meant to be kind. Maybe they were forged from iron and ruthlessness. History had surely proven that to be true. All the more reason to worry for that wide-eyed little girl likely surrounded by strangers. Enemies even.

By the time we’d gotten to the carriage and within two blocks of the castle, I could taste the citrus tang of Paesha’s magic in the air. Thea gripped the edge of her wooden seat. She could feel it, too. Paesha concentrated, her power seeming more peaceful than mine, but I’d rarely witnessed anyone use magic. Ro’s was different. A granted entry, but not a continuous stream.

The beautiful Huntress sat back, her long lashes falling onto her dark face as she closed her eyes and got lost in her power. The air in the enclosed space filled with my envy. I’d never feel an ounce of my magic and not loathe it. Not cower. Not hate myself a bit more.

“She’s still there,” she said, the smoky tone of her voice calm. “I can’t tell exactly where, but I know she hasn’t moved since I checked last.

“How does the magic work?” I asked, scooting forward.

Those mysterious eyes fluttered open. She began to speak and then stopped, staring out the window.

“I’m not trying to pry if it’s personal. I’m just wondering if you’re able to see anything when you find her or if it’s a feeling you get. If you have any visions, I can probably figure out where she is and save us some time.”

“We’re on the same team here, P.” Althea nudged her friend with a knee.

“It’s different every time. This time, I can see small bits of light on a far wall. I can tell she’s in an empty room, sitting in a corner. I saw the hallway earlier. There were several guards.”

“Do you remember any paintings? Sculptures? Windows with a view? Something that could give us a point of reference?”

“As if you have the whole castle memorized,” she said under her breath, slumping backward.

“I do.”

Both heads snapped to me.

“You have your powers, and I have mine.”

“There’s a painting on one of the walls of the former king. He’s holding a scepter and riding a stallion.”

I searched my memory. We couldn’t afford to make a mistake, or we’d all be in deep shit. And as the Huntress, Paesha was likely just as valuable to Icharius as I was. “Black or brown?”

“What?”

“The horse. Was it black or brown? There are two paintings, and the halls are on opposite sides of the castle.”

“Gods, you really do have the whole place memorized.”

“It’s not that impressive,” I assured her, lifting a brow to Paesha for an answer.

“I’m not sure. Maybe brown.”

“Thea, does your magic allow you to bend metal, or does it lend more to the design and ingenuity?”

“I can build anything, given the proper tools and time.”

I shifted to face her. “How well can you destroy something?”

“Thea’s a badass, Maiden. What do you have in mind?”

“We’re going to need a distraction. Let’s go.”

After instructing Hollis and telling Althea the plan, we left them behind so we could get as close to the moat as possible. We waited, crawling on our bellies through the grass in the dark until we could go no further without being spotted by the cluster of guards walking the parapet.

There was not a break in guards, not a single angle the king’s men didn’t have covered. The last time I’d come, Bram Ellis’s guards were scattered. These men, dressed in full armor, stood nearly shoulder to shoulder, staring down at the world.

“Why are they prepared for battle?” I asked, mostly to myself.

“Half of them probably hate the other half, for starters. And if a usurper didn’t live in a constant state of paranoia for an uprising, he’d be mad.”