“
It
’
s beautiful,
”
I whispered, staring down at it. I rolled it over in my hands and smiled.
“
This means so much.
”
“
It does.
”
I faced him and arched a brow.
“
You
are unpredictable, Ayden Grey.
”
“
And you drive me absolutely crazy, Echo Abbeny.
”
He smiled, leaning in to kiss me.
“
Thank you,
”
I whispered against his lips.
“
You
’
re welcome.
”
“
No.
”
I
slid my
arms around his neck and I pulled him closer.
“
Thank you for saving me. I think I found where I
’
m supposed to be.
”
“
Oh, really?
And can I—
”
“
Shut up.
”
I kissed him, a feeling overwhelming me that had
become memorable. I didn
’
t have to be alone, at least not
for the moment.
I smiled and dr
op
ped o
nto the
sand
. Ayden stared down at me and my heart skipped a beat.
“
This is love,
”
I said aloud.
His smile faltered for a second, and then he touched the corner of my eye. His next words could have set my body ablaze.
“
This is love.
”
His lips
found mine again and,
as we held each other in an everlasting embrace and the world slipped away
from the both of us
, I knew we had no intentions of moving for a very long time.
T W E N T Y-
T W O
Echo
T
he wood splintered on impact
.
Tiny pieces of the chips flew up around us as Shadow smiled and patted me on the back.
“
You
’
re getting better,
”
she said.
We were in the park of the market again, and people around us busied with their lives.
Ezily had taken the day off with her husband, but Shadow was determined to teach me something today regardless. Though I could admit I was seeing great improvement in my skills to wield a sword, it wasn
’
t anger this time that fueled me, or even perseverance. It was the thoughts of freedom that
beleaguered
me to no avail. T
hey were virulent
, and I allowed them to whisk me away. My mind barely remained focused on the job at hand for long before it began to drift.
Last night with Ayden had been
amazing
—no,
magical
.
If my mind could have come up with anything other than
Ayden
, I was sure there were over a million words in the New Latin vocabulary that could
’
ve explained my night with him sufficiently. After kissing him good-bye until the sun had begun to rise, I stumbled back to the palace and snuck in through the back doorways by the gardens. I hadn
’
t slept at all. I was too excited to think of sleep, actually, and the necklace he
’
d given me, beautiful in every possible way, begged for so much attention it wouldn
’
t allow me rest.
The heart now lay hidden beneath my dresses where it would only be knowledgably noticed by me. I hadn
’
t an idea what it meant, Ayden presenting me with such a gift, but it was another puzzle piece to the
ever-growing
conundrum
of this world.
Just like Ayden, I would keep the necklace a secret for as long as possible. I
’
d decided last night that New Haven wasn
’
t going to deprive me of my newfound hope. My father be damned, I was going to live a life of my choosing.
“
I suppose I am,
”
I sputtered. I reached into the back of the leather satchel tied around my back and quickly drew out a dagger. The hilt was golden and adorned in jewels. It was Shadow
’
s, but I held it with possession.
“
Practice has been paying off after all.
”
I narrowed my eyes at the large tree in front of me and flung the dagger at its trunk. A dull
thud
resonated from its splintered timber and I smirked.
“
Or…
”
Shadow moved to retrieve the dagger from the tree.
“
Something else has been paying off? What
’
s gotten into you?
”
She handed back the dagger and I stared down at it, refusing to meet her eyes.
“
How
’
s Everlae?
”
I asked instead.
“
She
’
s fine,
”
Shadow answered
curtly
. I looked up at her and grimaced. She must
’
ve known, she had to. There was no way Shadow would stand for something so atrocious and do absolutely nothing.
Though, all Shadow had to say was,
“
Leave it alone, Echo. It is not your problem.
”
“
But—
”
I bit my tongue to avoid screaming at her and swallowed down the anger with a shaking breath. I was learning more and more about my family now than I ever did in the past seventeen years. I was newly turned eighteen and I expected more clarity—more reason—to come to me, but all I got was this. A lot of
‘
leave it alone
’
and
‘
it
’
s not your problem
’
.
Shadow, the woman who I
’
d looked up to all my life, was unveiling to me a truth I did not want to acknowledge. New Haven people were all the same—condescending and bias.
“
Hearsay has it that Father
’
s invited the King of Delentia and his wife to watch
today
’
s trial in the chambers. Of course you must know that the Prince will be there, so—
”
I flung the dagger at the tree again and Shadow
’
s words were cut off by the sharp edge that nearly hit her head. She sighed and I said,
“
This I did not know of. I received no kind of invitation, so I am sure the party will go on without me.
”
Contempt rimmed my tone and I didn
’
t bother hiding it at all. Hell, I was angry now but definitely for all the right reasons.
“
I want nowhere near those awful chambers, Shadow. People are slaughtered mercilessly while Father watches! Can you imagine the duty of the guards? How much sorrow it must bring them to clean up entrails of the innocent day after day?
”
I unsheathed my sword once more and sliced it deftly through the air.
“
It
’
s disgusting. I curse the day Father asserted those rules.
”
“
And who are you to curse anything, more less our father?
”
Shadow asked, watching me
attentively
.
“
I
’
ve been watching you closely, Echo.
Your values are slipping. When do we
ever
doubt Father?
”
“
We never do,
”
I answered, eyes still on the sword before me. I caught my reflection and scowled.
“
This is why I am now. What if the person is innocent, Shadow? They aren
’
t even given a court hearing in order to exp
lain themselves. They are judged
indifferently and then thrown to the dogs. Our people place bets on who will lose the fights, but it is them who are the true losers. Those who seek happiness and complacency in other
’
s misfortunes.
”
I stopped swinging my sword around and sheathed it in my waist. A passerby stopped to gawk at me, no doubt identifying me as the Princess. I arched my brow at him and he staggered away.
“
You
’
ve grown wise, my sister,
”
Shadow mumbled as she drew closer to me. She placed a heavy hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes.
“
Though, please do remember if you play with an unkempt fire you w
ill get burned. The wages of the war you fight are high, I see it within you. You lose yourself time and time again, but never forget where you
’
ve come from.
”
“
Never
,
”
I said with a nod of my head,
“
because this place you call home is not my own. I will seek refuge and victory in a land of integrity, not lies and arrogance.
”
My last words fell from my lips like venom, and though the taste was bittersweet, they were my own. I owned them.
“
I refuse to go.
”
Shadow
’
s jaw
clenched.
“
Make sure and notify your father.
”
I pushed away from her, raking my fingers through my shoulder-lengthened
hair
, and prodded back towards the gates of the market. Little girl
s
begged for my attention and, a
s
much as I wanted to stay and talk with them, I had no time.
Shadow and I stormed back through the palace doors and I immediately searched for Father. But as I rounded a corner and entered the ballroom, I was grabbed up by Noah and he planted a quick kiss on my lips.
“
I
’
ve been looking for you,
”
he whispered into my neck.
I pushed away and completely ignored him.
“
Where
’
s my father?
”
“
In his study room, why? I thought maybe we—
”
I faced him just as he was going to reach for me again and snarled,
“
Shut up,
”
and then left in search of the King. Shadow followed in not too far behind and we both froze at the door. Everlae and Silas stood in front of Father
’
s desk with him sitting just behind it. His eyes were on a piece of paper before him and, for once, he looked studious and not so
threatening as he so frequently did.
“
What is this about?
”
I asked. Everlae turned to me and shook her head vehemently.
Father looked up from his desk and smiled slightly at me.
“
Is there a good reason for this intrusion, Echo?
”
Yes, I—
”
I caught Silas
’
eyes and felt the need to spit in his face.
“
I just wanted to let you know that I—
”
“
That she
’
s excited to join you this evening in the chambers with the Prince and the King and Queen,
”
Shadow interrupted.
I growled.
“
No, I—
”
“
That
’
s nice, Echo, but can you give us a moment of privacy?
”
he asked. His last words came out strong and I winced. I glared at Shadow and
rolled my eyes.
“
Yes, Father.
”
I made for the door, my hands clenching into fists. Shadow followed suit and I was quick to turn on her the second we were away from the door.
“
Why did you do that?
”
“
We have a duty here, Echo. Your duty is to rule, and you fail to realize the importance of your role.
You will be Queen in days and you can
’
t go to a simple trial. How do you think the nation will view you?
”
She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.
“
Those things don
’
t interest me, Shadow,
”
I said incuriously.
“
You
’
ll never get it! I
’
m not purposely trying to be defiant, I am trying to get you to understand.
”
I calmed my voice and started again.
“
Perhaps you
’
ve driven yourself too deep to see the clarity of it anymore.
”
I shook my head at her and walked away.
Feeling ashamed and put out, I ran up the spiraling staircase and headed blindly for my chamber doors. I would talk to Mother when she returned from her shopping trip with Aunt Janelle.
My heart just couldn
’
t take seeing something as gruesome as murder.
I stopped at the top of the staircase at the sight of Caesar.
“
Little sister,
”
he said, shaking his head.
I sighed and arched a brow at him.
“
I was told to never talk to strangers. Who are you again?
”
Caesar had a belly now and a beard. For his mid-thirties, he looked rather haggard and old. I couldn
’
t imagine his wife, Angelina, being okay with thi
s. A little boy in nothing but
trousers came crawling down the hall and I noticed the resemblance.
“
You have a son.
”
Caesar scratched his beard
, and
then grabbed for the little boy.
“
That
’
s what adult
s
do, Emilia. They make babes.
”
“
It
’
s Echo,
”
I spat.