Page 28

Chapter 28

Beatriz

Rushing air tugged at the corners of my dress as a force yanked me forward. My boots landed on the hardwood floor within the corridor of my guest suite in the palace of Aracibel. Torches cast long shadows in the corners of the decadent passageway. Hugo’s dark eyes burned in my memory. He must be the Black Prince. His presence could only mean that he’d prepared the way for the death of Giddel. My brother’s execution. My death.

Laude swallowed me in a hug. “Prince Cosme?”

Zichri landed a step behind me, boot catching on my heel. He righted himself before tumbling. “Let’s get your trunks.” He swung open the suite door and lugged my trunk out.

“I’ve got Laude’s.” Jaime grunted and dropped the garish trunk on top of mine.

Minerva arrived, curls fluttering, cheeks flushed. Her brown eyes appraised our heavy luggage. “Is there any more cargo?”

“See, this is why I prefer to sleep on the ship over a palace.” Zichri’s ardent nod gave him a boyish appearance.

“The rose bath was terrible and so were the petal soft linens.” I kept a flat tone. “True torture.”

“That’s how they get you to feel in your element before”—he snapped his fingers—“they trap you.”

My face pinched.

“I’m opening a blind portal. Hop in.” Minerva stepped in the space between Zichri and me, waved her hand in a wide circle, and spread her fingers. The air rippled around the two trunks, and they disappeared. “I’m guessing that means no more cargo.”

Hand in hand, Jaime and Laude jumped into the rippled space and vanished. A faint ai-yi-yi drifted from Laude, followed by a clunk. Though I heard a garbled version of Laude’s high-pitched voice, only hardwood and elegant gilded doors stood before my eyes.

I blinked several times, still unbelieving. Yes, we had just transported from the dining hall balcony to my guest suite and Laude had gone somewhere else. But this was still beyond imagination. Never had I met someone who could teleport or even talked of portals. I had seen the results of Minerva’s ability when she saved herself from a dousing, but seeing the portals and traveling through them myself was almost too much.

“Give me a minute.” Zichri hopped into the rippling air.

His strands of hair whisked back with the phantom breeze through the doorway. Minerva gnawed on her bottom lip, looking over her shoulder. What would Zichri’s brother do if he knew Zichri was here? What would he do to Cosme? Worry clawed in my stomach.

“Is Cosme in trouble?” I asked in a flat tone though every fiber of my being wanted to panic.

Minerva turned her head toward me and visibly swallowed. “Lucas is with him.”

“What does that mean?” The words came out harsher than I had intended.

Her shoulders seemed to cave. Of course, the trepidation in her demeanor turned my heart into a maraca. I glanced at my knuckles. My powers had escaped unbeknownst to me and with an efficiency that resurfaced fears about what could happen if I lost control.

“Lucas is like me, Princess.” She dashed a glance at my eyes, but returned her stare down the corridor, waiting for someone.

My ceremonia danced through my mind when I first met Lucas again after years. He’d had many oddities in his behavior similar to Minerva’s, but I’d assumed his nerves had more to do with him trying to woo me. Plenty of suitors tripped over themselves in an attempt to make the best impression possible. Cosme had made it clear that he wanted to match his friend with me too. Now, I wondered if Lucas’s oddities had more to do with his gift.

I craned my neck to block her view of the corridor, trying to regain her attention. “That can’t be. Lucas makes wards. That’s what my brother told me. I clearly—”

A hand grabbed my wrist, and I screamed loudly enough to wake the dead.

The undulating air enfolded my body, and I jerked forward to land on solid wood planks. To my left, a gangplank invited us into the assumed safety of La Lavia . The starry night stretched overhead in complete peace, while my heart tried to break free of my ribcage.

Zichri hugged me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean … I came back for you. Laude knocked into the trunks. We moved your luggage onto La Lavia .”

Minerva appeared from thin air and waved a hand over the space. The distorted air vanished. “Is Cosme with you?”

Zichri shook his head. “No, but I’m sure he’ll meet us here soon.”

She nodded and hugged herself, not making eye contact. Part of me wanted to get to know the girl. Another part of me chafed at Minerva’s docile presence that had somehow ensnared my brother in a way I had never seen before.

“Princess!” Laude shouted from somewhere on the deck. A shadowed figure waved wildly, bouncing up and down.

I waved back, assuming it was Laude. Another tall silhouette made its way down the gangplank. Judging by the calm gait and the way he tipped his head to the side, it was Ignacio.

“How bad is the situation?” Ignacio asked.

“I don’t think we’re caught but …”

“Don’t worry. I’ll listen in on what I can find out.” The man raced toward the palace and entered a back doorway.

“Get on board.” Laude called.

But I couldn’t force myself to move from the dock. A shock of cool wind swept across my face. Something sour twisted my gut.

Shadows approached from the palace. I held my breath.

The figures made their way onto the dock and into the lamplight where I recognized them as our Giddelian sailors. I exhaled. Zichri nudged me to the side as a dozen sailors hurried along the gangplank, complaining about the quick turnover. Confusion buzzed like gnats through the night air.

Energy sparked around my shoulders and shot to my fingertips. I curled my fingers, holding back the powers like a dam.

The stampede continued as a dozen more of our crew members readied to leave. The only faces missing were Cosme, Lucas, Ignacio, and Fermín. Eventually, Zichri, Minerva, and I stood by ourselves at the end of the dock. Torchlight cast an orange light over most of the planks of the dock and the path from the shore to the palace. In contrast, the mysterious new ship remained in deep shadow alongside the other galleons stationed there.

Waves slapped La Lavia and the other ships. The smell of fish, seaweed, and salt should have brought me calm like it usually did. But the eerie quiet from the palace didn’t give me confidence that Cosme was holding his own. Ignacio also hadn’t reappeared, which meant something had caught his attention.

We shouldn’t simply wait for a perilous outcome. I rocked on my heels, a wooden slat creaking under my weight. We had to do something.

Zichri weaved his hand into mine. He set his lips into a smile, but it didn’t bring comfort. Minerva clasped her hands over her bosom as if praying.

I leaned toward Zichri. “We should go back for them.”

He squeezed my hand. “We might cause more trouble if Prince Cosme is handling the situation. He might even gather the information we need.”

“What if he isn’t? What if he needs help?” My voice trailed.

Another set of boots stomped down the gangplank. It was the tall fellow with curly hair and light-brown skin, Fermín. “I’m going to walk the perimeter. Something is off.”

I met Zichri’s gaze, and his expression mirrored my thoughts. Others sensed foul play too. Perhaps Zichri’s brother had decided to expedite the plans. A lump the size of my fist lodged itself in my throat.

“We can’t leave Cosme.” I turned toward Minerva. “Can you transport me to the dining hall?”

“Beatriz,” Zichri reprimanded, “You can’t.”

Minerva bobbed her head. “You’ll be on the balcony. I’ll leave the portal open until you return.” She lifted an arm, transforming the space beside her into a pool of liquid air.

With one sad smile, I rushed through the portal with no further objection from Zichri.

My boots hit the hard stone floor, and determination marked every one of my strides. A couple chatted across the large balcony, too consumed with each other to notice my sudden appearance from thin air. I turned into the humid dining hall. Two dozen couples twirled in unison in a merry round, but I knew better than to believe all was well.

Six guards clad in black and gold positioned themselves at the main doors while another four lounged beside the servants’ entrance. Cosme was trapped.

King Sebastian perched at his high table, watching the dancers before him with a smug expression that tipped the corners of his lips. He shifted a glance at Cosme who stood across the room from me. The malicious contour of the traitorous king’s features deepened. I could gather more information and try to glean his intentions, but controlling my gift wouldn’t come easily. Nerves wound in my gut the more I thought about igniting my ability, and I decided against it.

Cosme, Lucas, and Monserrat had somehow ended up in Hugo’s circle. The conversation between them had Monserrat clutching handfuls of her dress skirt and Cosme wearing a scowl.

I maneuvered between the inside tables and the outskirts of the dance floor. If I wanted to extract my brother, I’d need to play the dolt. I lifted my chin high in the air, rushed in between Cosme and Hugo, and said “Brother”—my voice sounding too high pitched—“no one will dance with me. Will you join me in the danza ?”

With a smirk, Cosme shrugged. “Little sisters.” His tone bespoke annoyance, but the easy way he let me tug him away told me I was right about his predicament. Cosme had been trapped.

“Wait.” Hugo stepped in front of me. His round eyes, the shape of his nose, and his full lips all reminded me of Zichri. But unlike Zichri, hardness chiseled onto Hugo’s cheeks and the sharp edges of his jaw, and his eyes were cold. “No sister wants to dance with her brother.” He lifted my knuckles to his lips and pressed a warm kiss on them.

The hair stood on the back of my neck. I swallowed hard. My tongue twisted with an excuse I couldn’t quite form, and the music shifted into a slow rhythm.

“Don Hugo of the North. To whom do I speak?” His mouth tipped into a crooked smile like Zichri’s, but far more calculated.

“Princess Beatriz of Giddel.” I rounded my head toward Cosme, pleading with wide eyes for him to save me.

Cosme cut a look toward the balcony. What in all the Agata Seas was he trying to tell me?

Hugo led me to the circle with all the other dancers. I continued to look over my shoulder when I caught Lucas staring at me and using his index fingers to stretch his mouth into a smile. My nose crinkled. I think he was trying to tell me to appear happy. My mouth contorted into an amused expression that felt anything but natural.

“Is something the matter, Princess?” Hugo studied me.

I relaxed my facial muscles and settled into my typical pout. A smile was far too much effort with Zichri’s malicious brother in front of me. Wasn’t he the one who’d declared himself more fit to be king than his older brother?

The danza Pedroz began. It was a fitting song, since Pedroz had been the instigating kingdom that had betrayed Giddel. Prince Lux’s kingdom. The backstabbing best friend I’d mistakenly murdered with my gift.

My body moved with the memorized motions. Hugo’s grip remained firm, with one hand behind my back and the other a cage trapping my hand. We stepped forward and backward, I did the required wave of the hand, and on and on it went. Hugo pulled me in closer as expected for the next segment of the song, but his fingers dug harder than necessary.

“You are beautiful, Princess,” Hugo said.

My upper lip stiffened.

He continued, “I can see why Zichri is taken with you.”

Annoyance vibrated up my spine at his previous act of ignorance about my identity. I hardened the set of my chin and flared my nostrils, unwilling to hide my disgust.

“But I’m afraid you’ll only be disappointed with my brother.” His eyes squinted with sadistic pleasure.

“What are you trying to say?” I enunciated each word.

“He’s weak, and you need a man.”

I pushed away from Hugo, but he locked his grip on my body, squeezing hard. “Let go.” The command in my tone did nothing to stop him.

“Calm yourself.” He smirked and brought me so close I could smell mint on his breath. “Tell Zichri he won’t outlive Papá, and you’ll be mine.”

Prickly goosebumps coated my skin as his meaning settled.

He released me with an airy chuckle.

I stalked toward the balcony, heat burning where Hugo had touched my hand and back. The crowd around me continued to twirl, bow, and strut through their moves. Others chatted at the tables, downing pewter mugs. I quickened my pace, not able to get to the balcony soon enough.

Air. My chest tightened.

I glanced over my shoulder and couldn’t find Hugo’s dark, cropped head. Worry clawed my insides. My heart pumped faster. I spun back around toward the balcony and slammed into someone. A scream leapt up my throat.