Page 33

CHAPTER 32

M UCK’S HOOVES POUNDED THE path. I had no idea how much farther we needed to go. My thighs burned, and I could sleep sitting up if I didn’t fear falling off the steed. Laude fell far behind on the trail. I slowed my speed. So long as we kept moving, we’d make it in time. That was the hope.

Laude groaned. “Please, miss, can we stop? I need another break.”

I hesitated but agreed, knowing she would never ask unless necessary. We pulled over. She hastened behind the high grasses on the side of the road, and I did the same, the drizzle chilling my bones. A strong wind rustled the trees, making it difficult to listen for the patrol or unsavory characters.

Once done, I stood on the muddy road. Moonlight peeked through the clouds, casting deep shadows in the forests surrounding us, and clouds overtook the skies again.

I lifted my voice to the Ancient One. “If you care, please make the road straight. If you hear, will you give me an ability to protect my people?” A rush of cold wind flapped around my cloak, hurrying me to Muck’s side.

Laude raced to the horses. “Miss, we should rest. You look just as exhausted as the horses. And I’m sure you have good reason to rush, but I’m a little confused.”

Her tender voice reminded me she served in love rather than obligation, and she showed implicit trust in my judgment. Those thoughts warmed the walls of my heart.

“We must continue,” I patted her arm, “and pray that these steeds can endure. I’ll tell you as we ride.”

Dark semicircles sat beneath Laude’s eyes. She looked more like a wilted flower than a lady on a horse.

I maintained a trotting pace while working up the courage to vocalize my thoughts. “I overheard Zichri speak …” My throat thickened. I glanced over my shoulder, still expecting a Himzo rider to crest the road. Surely, Zichri would be upset about me stealing Muck.

“Tell me, miss. I am brave.”

Hadn’t I told her to be brave? A nervous laugh escaped my mouth. “Yes, you are,indeed. It’s not you. It’s that Zichriand the others met with a traitor of Giddel to arrange an attack on our kingdom.”

“No! That can’t be. But Jaime and all the men were so kind. No, miss.” Laude shook her head, disbelieving.

I pictured the candlelight shining over the sea of faces at my ball. Anyone could have slipped in if they had the right connections. A memory of dancing with Blas shot into mind in that instant. No one else had such potent blue-green eyes besides Lux. And hadn’t strange men been watching and laughing when Blas danced with me? Lux had intervened, so I had no time to process my misgivings.

“Consider all that time they were with us,” I said. “They didn’t share why they went to Giddel. Did Jaime tell you anything contrary to what I say now?”

“He didn’t, but …” She gasped. “He did say they’d met with someone at the ball. And now thatI think of it, he said that they barely made it due to the wards. Ai-yi-yi! I must have been so blind. Jaime even warned me to stay in the palace with all the problems between the kingdoms.” She drifted into thought for a moment and widened her eyes. “He was trying to warn me!”

“Zichri was keen on knowing the exact location of my room.” It occurred to me that he would not be certain of my whereabouts in the palace unless I was asleep. “They’ll attack at night. If Papá sleeps, he can’t stop the Himzos. The wards are down. No one will expect an attack either.”

Laude shrieked. “How can the wards be down? The scoundrel who betrayed us must be powerful too. Oh, Princess! We need to move faster. It would have been nice if you had received the gift of quick travel.”

How dare she mention the gift! I stifled the quip ready to roll off my tongue. Pulling on the reins and pressing my legs into Muck’s sides, I shouted, “Pick up the pace.”

Laude was right about one thing. A regular person could not have brought down the wards. Whoever betrayed us must have attended the ball. That person must have been able to manipulate wards. Could it be my brother’s friend? What’s his name? Yes, I remember. Sir Lucas.

Twisting anger stormed through my blood. A turn in the path nearly caught me off guard. I balanced myself, panting. Since the treaties in my grandparents’ days, no one had dared threaten the eight allied kingdoms. Even the least-liked and most southern kingdom, Aldrin—from which Princess Alexa hailed—would not dare to break away from such a strong alliance.

Unless … these plans were the machinations of a few kingdoms. No, that was absurd thinking and would require too many mouths to stay shut. People were far too eager to share secret information for a pretty coin. No, the betrayer was most likely someone like Sir Lucas who dealt in wards.

The path slithered along, rattling my nerves. My fingernails dug into my palms as trees flew past us.

Bu-pum. Bu-pum. I shot a glance over my shoulder. The clomp of distant hooves pounded the road. Did I imagine this?

Sore in mind and body, I pressed forward. Laude sat upa bit, slowing when a fork in the road required us to choose a path. No marker indicated where each led. I bit on my bottom lip, holding in a scream.

“Do you know the way home?” Laude brought Jaime’s horse to a steady jog.

Gonzalo and Zichri had mentioned a road. Did they say to go left or right? Where were the patrols? The men made it seem like the patrols waited nearby. We didn’t have time to wait. I pulled on Muck’s reins, slowing him to a halt, and I heard Laude’s horse come to a stop behind me.

My palms sweated, making the reins slippery, so I wiped them down on my damp pants. Both roads appeared similar with scattered trees. A forest loomed in the distance ahead on the left while hilly grasslands cut into the landscape on the right. An ache fired from the back of my head toward the front.

“Do you hear that?” Laude lifted an ear to the sky.

I stared at the snaking path behind us. Leaves rustled almost thunderously, and branches snapped overhead. Then, I registered the sound of horses galloping toward us.

“It could be the patrol,” I said.

I glanced at Laude, who sat upright like a statue. The moonlight caught on her fiery curls whipping in the wind.

Two horsemen appeared around the bend, and I wanted to cower. Their cloaks billowed behind them. The closer they got, the more my entire body tensed with doubt. They wore dark cloaks, and dull light illuminated white tunics underneath. The patrol wore green.

I called to Laude, “We can outrun them.”

Laude didn’t budge.

“Laude! Come now, they aren’t the patrol. Don’t you see that?”

Instead, she guided her horse in the direction of the two figures speeding toward us. I could have wrung her neck for such foolishness. There was no time to hide anymore, so I pressed my shoulders back and moved my horse next to hers. I hoped whatever hunch motivating Laude proved true.

“Princess, trust me. I heard it on the wind.”

I’d heard this phrasing a million times by those who hoped to convince me to do as they bid. It always chafed against my will.

But Laude said it with such conviction. I daresay she believed she heard the wind speak.

The galloping of the horses meshed with the beat hammering in my temples. It was Zichri and Jaime. I’d recognize Zichri’s face anywhere. What could they possibly mean by chasing us down? Are they upset? Each muscle coiled tight enough to crack a bone.

Zichri came to a stop and dismounted in one swift movement. A glimmer reflected off the hilt sheathed at his side. Is he here to detain me? He drew nearer, and the forest blurred in my peripheral. I held my breath, keeping my head high.

“Princess Beatriz.” The breathy way Zichri said my name awakened goosebumps all over my skin. He petted Muck, nuzzling up to his neck. Muck wrapped his head around Zichri in a hug.

I ground out between my teeth, “I overheard everything. About how you helped plan an attack. About how the war is imminent. Did you follow me to take me captive?”

“Yes. Would you have me betray my father, brothers, and people? I am a man of my word.” Zichri massaged his brow. “What did you hear? Gonzalo said you looked distressed.”

My throat thickened. “You came all this way to ask me what I heard?”

“I came because I did my duty, and I said I’d come for you.” He placed his rough hand on mine.

Unsure if I should yank my hand free, scream, cry, or ride away, I swallowed a lump blocking my throat. “I didn’t want … Why did you follow me? You saved me from those unsavories, won my heart, then you broke it.” I blinked back tears, upset at myself.

“Do you trulymean that?” He tipped his head to the side, trying to get me to meet his gaze. A pleading marked his eyes.

My bottom lip quivered.

Something inside me snapped, and guttural sobs trembled out. I plunged my face into my hands. It was all I could do to hide this raw emotion.

“Beatriz, come down.” Zichri’s fingers grazed my knee.

My fingers pressed into my forehead and my thumbs into my cheeks. Slick palms remained in place. I inhaled a quavering breath.

“I’m sorry, Beatriz.” Zichri’s voice grew huskier. “I’m sorry for not being forthright. I’m sorry I hurt you.”

An ache swelled inside my chest and crushed against my rib cage. Would this pain ever go away?

“Please, put yourself in my place,” he said in earnest. “I had been doing my duty. I went with you into Valle de los Fantasmas because I believed you were called to it. I wouldn’t be here chasing after you if the last week hadn’t meant something to me. Please, come down so we can talk one last time.”

My hands dropped partway down my face. I so badly wanted to believe him. Did it even matter anymore? Zichri and I would never court, and he proved that he would never cause me physical harm. He had such a sincere expression on his face that I decided to trust him.

I brought my leg around and hopped to the ground. He gathered me into his arms, and we hugged so tight his warmth melted into mine. The heat reached deep into my soul. An invisible something sprouted out my skin, and I shivered. It was foreign, yet a familiar impression. Is this love ?

“Tell me what you’d have me do?” Zichri’s chest rose and fell.

Warring emotions tugged in my chest. A strange sensation sizzled along my arms. I jerked away, confused, and looked up into his doleful gaze. “Could you stop the attack?”

He tucked a frizzy puff of hair behind my ear. “Even mentioning it could be considered treasonous. Would you have me forfeit my family?”

I wet my bottom lip, wishing I could say yes, but I said, “No. You wouldn’t ask that of me either.” I sensed his understanding just as strongly as I felt his hands pressing against my back.

Him letting me go could mean failure for his people, yet he nodded, resigned. “I guess I knew all along. I cannot hold you captive. My reasons for wanting to keep you are different now than before. Do you hate me?”

I searched his dark eyes and glanced at Laude, who spoke with Jaime. What would I have done or thought in his predicament? I felt my eyebrows crinkle and turned back toward him. “I want to hate you, but I can’t. How could I?”

He squeezed my elbows affectionately, brushing his hands along my arms before releasing me from his embrace. His touch lingered on my skin, and his inner battle tugged in my consciousness. But that was impossible. It must be the tension marked on his drawn brows giving me that impression. He ambled to his horse—no possibility of returning to each other.

“Which road should we take?” I lifted my chin out of habit, swiping my cheeks.

“Take that one, beloved.” He pointed to the path on the right. “You have little time. We have ways of getting there faster.”

That could only mean a powerful, gifted person helped them—a portal maker. I climbed on my horse’s back. We needed to speed away.

Jaime cupped Laude’s face, and her arms were around his torso. Laude whispered in his ear the last words they might ever exchange. The look in Jaime’s eyes spoke of devotion, pain, and dreams that would never come to pass. Zichri’s whistle pierced the sky, hurrying his friend. Jaime kissed her forehead, and they parted.

I positioned myself on Muck, and my heart tightened. My last words to Zichri will be a practical question. What if he goes away not knowing what I still feel for him? I called out, “Prince Zichri of Himzo.” I tightened my grip on the reins when he turned his gaze on me. “If things were different, I’d choose you.”