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CHAPTER 36

“P RINCESS , I ’M ALREADY RECEIVING lashings for our time away. Please have mercy on me and take your bath.” Laude clasped her hands together, scrunching her nose. “I will be in more trouble than you know if you don’t get in the tub.”

“I’ll get in the bath when I return. No one will found out I disappeared. I’ll only be gone a short time.” I pulled on the invisible connection to Laude and spoke to her through it. Be at peace .

Laude unclasped her hands. “But what if your mamá comes here? What do I say?”

“Blame it all on me and cry. She likes to spoil you.” I chucked Laude’s chin. “Mamá loves you like a daughter. She may even hold back Myla’s hand from all those lashings.”

The edges of her lips snapped upward with delight. “Be quick about it and tell me everything that happens.” She lit my bedside lamp with the tap of her finger and passed it to me.

“Thank you.” I placed the lamp on the table again. Opening the entrance to the hidden passage would require both hands. I strode into the closet and shoved a giant chest along the floor grooves. Underneath, a staircase led into darkness. I ran back into my room for the lamp. Laude leaned on the balcony railing, looking out at the road.

I rushed into my closet, determined to save my kingdom and prove the whyzer wrong. The candle flame flickered, causing a tremble of apprehension through my bones, but I descended the stairs anyway. I set the lamp on a stair and yanked on the handle beneath the chest. It clunked along the grooves until it shut me in.

Spider webs lined the corners of the stone corridor, and a stale scent permeated through the darkness. The few servants who knew about these corridors cleaned and repaired the passageways each year, but not often enough for my liking. I continued to make my way through the stairwell, boots scuffing the stairs until I reached the bottom. A shadowed passageway led deeper into the palace.

My stomach squeezed as though a spider had captured my stomach and wove its sticky cords around it. Every shadow marked an unknown danger, possibly readying to attack. An intersection crossed ahead. I turned to the right. At each doorway, I climbed a ladder set in stone, with one hand holding the lamp. My body bumped the stone more than I would have liked.

Papá used to say that we made so much noise thathe didn’t need to use his gift to sense us. I doubted that. Only two more doorways .

I climbed and counted the doorways. This should be the room. Please, let them be here. Tiptoeing to the chimney hole between the walls, I stopped to keep myself from falling three stories down.

Mamá spoke in a neutral voice. “Our kingdoms have a long history. What changed?”

“Father believes we need a new order to ensure all the kingdoms get equal resources.” Lux’s voice remained steady. It held no emotion or bitterness. His father always wanted more power, as Papá always said after each visit with the King of Pedroz. But Lux was nothing like his father.

“Forgive me, but I disagree with you on your assertion that Giddel unfairly distributes resources. We allow commerce among our kingdoms without interference. Our alliance has always been a peaceful one. You leaving the alliance will cause strife between more than just our two kingdoms. I beg you to reconsider.”

Someone shifted in their seat. I leaned my head toward the grate to peek into the room. Mamá maintained a dead stare, and Lux walked toward the window behind Mamá. That broke societal rules. No one should ever cross the desk of another unless invited. I let out a shaky breath. What an insult.

“Queen Cottia, you misunderstand me,” Lux said without turning toward Mamá.

Neither did Mamá turn toward him when she said, “We speak in circles. If I didn’t know better, I’d believe you hold me hostage in my ownoffice. Himzos will arrive, and the confirmation is in my daughter’s words. One might assume you had something to do with it, though you claim you merely will not assist us in battle.”

Lux ignored her statements and continued to peer out the windows toward the sea. His eyes scanned the horizon in such a way I imagined that he waited for someone to arrive. But who?

“I also assume you had something to do with my husband attending to matters across the sea. We both know that if he were here, he’d squash any skirmish before it even began.” Mamá said it as a matter of fact.

My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. Lux would never betray us. He simplycould not be Zichri’s contact. His father yes, but Lux no. He loved me and Mamá. He even told me he aspired to be like Papá one day.

If I could speak reason into Lux, he’d even go against his father for me. I know it. He was willing to break ties with Alexa to form a betrothal with me. That would have caused much strife between him and his father. Without reconsidering, I kicked open the grate.

Mamá howled. “What are you doing here?”

I crawled through and ran toward Lux. His mouth hung open in, and his eyes grew playful. I grabbed his hands. “We’ve known each other since infancy. As a best friend, would you reconsider your plan of action? I’m certain we could come to an agreement that will leave us both happy.”

“Bea, you know me. I don’t have that much influence over my father. He makes decisionsas he pleases. I am but a loyal servant to the crown.” He searched my face in the same way he always had done. “This is nothing personal.”

While his gaze twinkled with affection, I felt something different through our touch. A pulse of something malevolent swam in his heart. He must not have known that I had a gift to sense others. Was this what Uncle had done when he distinguished truth from lies? He had never told me how it worked.

Trying to smile, I said without considering my words, “Is this why you sent me away?”

He pulled his hands out of mine and looked out to sea. “Do you accuse me of leading you astray?”

“No, I’m asking if you had other motives for having me seek my gift.” I bit my bottom lip. All this wasn’t going the way I hoped.

“Did you get what you desired?” His mouth tipped to one side.

“No,” I lied.

“Oh?” He lifted a brow and peered out the windows. I reached for him through invisible means. Any attempt to grab hold of him deflected. He grinned in my direction. “You lied to me about your gift.”

My heart raced. How did he know? I shrunk back. “What do you mean?”

“I can feel you trying to use your gifting on me. Like I just finished telling your mamá, I cannot be manipulated by others.” He looked past me.

Mamá pushed her chair back, scraping it along the hardwood floor. She stood up and flipped out her train. “Beatriz, you need to leave this room. I said I would be with you as soon as I could. You see that we wait for someone. We will not get anywhere with Prince Lux until his ship arrives.”

A sharp pinch took hold of my ear and dragged me to the door. “I want to stay here.”

Mamá opened the door and called for a servant. She scowled at me while we waited for a person to scramble up the stairs from the main floor. “Take her to her room by whatever means necessary. Make sure two guards stand at her door. They may use whatever is in their power to subdue her.”

My eyes snapped wide open. “Mamá, please don’t do this.”

She pulled me in for a hug and said over my shoulder to the servant, “I want guards at her door. Get Myla.” She hugged tighter, watching another set of servants sprint down the stairs from the third floor. “I know about the Himzos. They still cannot defeat us without support from other kingdoms. You will be safer up in your room than with our enemy. Myla will lock the secret passages connected to this hidden corridor so you stay put. He can use you against me, and I won’t have that.” She let go.

Strong arms dragged me backward. Mamá nodded in agreement with the guard’s method. My boots slid along the floor. I wiggled to get out of the man’s clutches. “I’ll walk on my own.”

He released me, and I raced up the last flight of stairs, up to my room. There was no doubt in my mind that this man would do exactly as Mamá requested. Orders directly from the queen would not be disobeyed.

I sprinted ahead. The guard’s feet pounded the steps trying to catch up. Upon reaching my room, I hammered my fist on the flower-carved surface.

Laude cracked the door open. “She isindispose—”

I wedged through and slammed the door shut in a guard’s face. The man’s stunned expression reflected my sentiments. Thrown out of the meeting room by my sweet mamá. Jailed and expected to sit by and do nothing. That may have been me before, but it was not me now.