First Light (37 page)

“There is a shallow cave on the north side behind the castle.” His lips hardly moved as he spoke; his voice was a mere whisper. “One of Canelia’s fairies risked her life coming here to charm it, so that Nadamaris cannot see or hear anyone hiding there.”

Zipporah.
As the fastest, the task would have fallen to her. I prayed she was all right, that she had made it home safely.

“When you escape, go there, and you will be well until nightfall, when you can travel under cover of dark.”

“When I escape—”

“Shh.” He silenced me with a look. Up ahead the gates swung open. “She hears exceptionally well,” he whispered.

Gemine nudged his horse and caught up with the others. I dared not say another word but concentrated on observing everything around me.

When you escape…
I didn’t trust Gemine, but his words lent hope. I was not finished yet. I had my wits about me, and beneath my dress, I had one pearl left. Though were I to use it here, I should certainly wish myself much farther away than a supposedly enchanted cave behind Nadamaris’s castle.

The gypsies delivered Hale and me to the guards at the tall, spiked gate, where I watched as bags of gold were exchanged. As Gemine took a bag of gold, fresh doubt sprung up in my mind. Where were the women he’d said were held prisoner?
Has he lied yet again? Have I been betrayed for a few bags of gold?
I hated him even more than when I’d been a prisoner in the gypsy camp. Seething with anger, I gave him one last glare.

“You’re despicable. A snake and a— a coward.” I would have spit at him, but one of the queen’s guards turned me roughly around.

The gypsy horses thundered off, and the gates swung shut. I looked to Hale, hoping we might speak freely now, that he might have some idea how we were to get out of this mess. After all, it was his home.

But a pair of guards took him one way and pulled me the other.

“Hale,” I cried. He didn’t answer, and the guards soon had me out of shouting distance. Doing my best to conceal my fear, I walked between them as they led me through a tall door of a side tower.

Steps wound upward in a dizzying spiral, and it took what energy I had left after the long ride to place one foot in front of the other and climb. But I refused to be dragged. Finally we reached the top landing and another door— this one made of iron.

One guard inserted a key and swung the door open. I was pushed into the darkness and heard the finality of the metal thudding closed behind. The cool air of the chamber enveloped me, sending a shiver down my spine. Forcing myself to stand perfectly still, I waited patiently for my eyes to adjust. Gradually the choking darkness lightened enough that I was able to make out the shape and details of the circular room.

Thick stone walls made up the narrow space. There were no windows in the walls, no bars on the door that had shut behind me. Save for the faint waft of air beneath the door, I was entombed.

There was no furniture in the room that I could tell, but there also didn’t appear to be any rats or other creatures inhabiting the space. Giving into my exhaustion, I slid to the floor, curled up on my side and fell asleep.

Sometime later, an agonizing scream awoke me.

I sat up, cold sweat breaking out along my forehead and gooseflesh on my arms as the grisly scream came again. Pulling my knees to my chest, I buried my head and covered my ears with my hands, but I could not drown out the sounds— torturous, grinding noises followed by continuous, blood-curdling screams.

Someone is being murdered.

I thought suddenly of Hale and his casual remark about his heart being good enough for his mother to take her temper out upon.
Is that—
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to think of him laid out on a table, a blade plunged repeatedly into his chest.

And still the screams continued.

I began humming to try and cover the noise. I told myself it wasn’t Hale being murdered, as surely his wails would have ceased by now. I prayed silently and aloud for the victim. Oh, how I wanted to be back on our farm, safe in my gentle father’s arms. What a simple, wonderful life I’d had, and I had never appreciated it.

I had no notion of how much time passed, but at last the terrible noises ceased, and only the faint cries of someone sobbing reached my cold, dark cell. My heart swelled with pity and then fear as footsteps sounded on the stairs. Someone was coming for me. Terror held me in its clutches, so that I was unable to move until the door swung open and a guard reached down and hauled me to my feet.

As before there were two of them— massive, hulking, vile-looking men. This time they carried chains attached to two metal bands, which they clamped roughly around my wrists, tightening them to the point of pain, the edges biting into my skin. I winced with each step as the guards marched me down the stairs. Only when we’d reached the bottom did I remember the lone pearl I still wore.

This brought a little peace, and as we exited the tower and entered the main castle, I sorted through wishes, wondering which was the best to see me safely away from here. I knew I must wish fast, before whatever plans Queen Nadamaris had rendered me incapable of coherent thought. But again I hesitated. Should I not first discover Hale’s fate and see if I could help him? And should I use the last pearl on myself when it was so vital to the whole of Canelia that the princess survive and marry Cristian?

Cristian.
Since my crying spell after the ball, I had not let myself think of him. But I did now, with an ache even greater than my fear. I had believed it would be unbearable to see him wed to another. But the thought of seeing him harmed became even more excruciating. I finally understood my destiny and knew I would do whatever required to keep him safe.

I must endure whatever the queen planned for me. If nothing else, I could occupy her time, keeping both Cecilia and Cristian safe. The pearl must remain hidden beneath my gown.

We came to the end of a particularly long hall and stood before an enormous, jewel-encrusted portal. The guards paused, waiting as the doors slowly swung open of their own accord. The men released my arms but indicated I was to enter the chamber. I walked ahead of them.

The room appeared to be a chapel, though I found it difficult to believe that my hostess encouraged the worship of anything other than herself. Rows of rigid pews lined either side of a long, narrow aisle. As I’d both imagined and dreaded, the queen waited for me, behind a pulpit of some sort at the head of the chamber.

“Welcome, Adrielle,” she said when I was close enough to hear her. “I trust you found your accommodations satisfactory.”

“Delightful,” I purred, my voice dripping with sarcasm, refusing to let her see how frightened I felt. I raised my face to meet her gaze. It hurt my eyes to look at her— there was something about the beauty of her skin and the shine of her half-bald head that was nearly blinding— but I kept my chin up. “Sleeping on stones was most comfortable. And these chains are an especially nice touch.” I held out my fettered hands.

“Ah, yes.” Her face broke into a dazzling smile. “You have a reputation for being rather quick on your feet, and I couldn’t risk you running off this morning.” Her eyes narrowed briefly, and the bands fell from my wrists, clattering loudly on the floor.

I pulled my hands to my chest, rubbing the chafed skin.

“Shall I tell you what I’ve planned for today?” Queen Nadamaris asked.

“Please.” I’d already imagined several possibilities.
Feeding me to some dragon kept in a hillside cave beyond the castle? Locking me in the nethermost tower and keeping me there without food or water while I suffered a slow, agonizing death? Sending me out into the forest just ahead of a pack of her favorite archers?

“Today, you’re going to be married.”

“
What
?” My hands ceased their movement, and I knew the shock was as evident on my face as it had been in my voice.

“To Hale, my son.”

He’s alive.
Immense relief washed over me, but I felt it important the queen not see it. “I’m not interested in finding a husband,” I said. “But I appreciate the offer.”

She laughed, a high-pitched squealing that made my ears hurt. “You
are
amusing.”

She didn’t look amused, though, once the laughter stopped.

“Nevertheless, you
will
be married. Of course, you need something more suitable than those rags.” Her eyes narrowed again.

This time mine attempted a match. I glanced down at my dress— the one Florence had created for me, the nicest garment I’d ever owned. Before I could disparage the queen’s opinion, a loud crack sounded behind me, as if lightning had struck and thunder followed not a foot away. I turned and watched, horrified, as a shimmering ball of silver rolled up the aisle. As it came, it uncurled, almost like the carpet beneath it, leaving a jagged, sparkling trail behind.

I jumped to the side to avoid its path; it altered course, following me. I climbed up on the nearest pew, and it adjusted again, bounding over the pews between us.

Queen Nadamaris laughed, clapping her hands this time. “Amusing, amusing. I haven’t had this much fun since you were a baby.”

What? She knew me as a baby?
Before I could voice my question, I felt some invisible pull, towing me back to the aisle to face her. Without looking, I knew the silver ball was still coming. I closed my eyes and grabbed the nearest pew, bracing for the impact. A second later the ball surged into my legs, nearly knocking me over. I gasped as it jumped onto my back, then rolled up my shoulders and divided, spreading along each of my arms. It felt as if a terrible, heavy weight was pushing me through the floor. I opened my eyes and tried to lift my arms, fighting back.

Except that I couldn’t— couldn’t move, except to take the barest breath, and the thing nearly squeezed even that out of me as it rolled down my front. And then it was no more.

My eyes widened as I looked down at my arms and my dress— or where my dress used to be. Now I was very literally encompassed in armor in the form of the most hideous gown I’d ever seen. It fitted down tightly to my very wrists. The waist cinched with every breath I took. The front flared out into a perfect arc around my feet. I craned my neck and saw a weighty train trailing behind me.

“Hmm.” The queen brought a finger to her chin as she studied me carefully. “You’re missing something… ah yes.” Her smile was triumphant. She opened her palm and tossed a small, silver ball at me. It struck my forehead and shattered, splitting into a hundred shards of metal that circled my head as a veil, with chain mail like links hanging down my back.

I stood there, trying to stay upright as I struggled for each breath, too shocked to say anything, unable to move.

“And now for the groom.” Nadamaris shifted her gaze from me to the back of the chapel and the sudden noises therein.

With the heavy veil weighing me down, I could not turn and look, but I strained to listen, recognizing my guards from earlier as well as several other voices I did not know. Hale’s voice rose above them all, cursing and shouting— threatening his mother. Apparently he wanted to get married even less than I. With every breath I took, the metal bodice grew tighter. My ribs felt as if they were going to crack from the pressure, and black spots were forming in front of my eyes. Loath though I was to marry, if it came down to saying, “I do,” in order to acquire more air, I feared I might be persuaded fairly easily.

Cristian, my true love, was lost to me forever and, I prayed, would soon be safely married to Cecilia. At least Hale and I were friends now. A lifetime with him could be bearable— whereas this armor wedding dress would not be much longer.

From the corner of my eye, I watched Hale come into view. Six burly guards dragged him up the aisle, shoving him roughly the last foot or so, until we were nearly shoulder to shoulder.

He wasn’t dressed in metal-wear as I was, but his leg and foot were perfectly straight and wrapped in bandages from thigh to toe. I gasped, giving up some of my precious air.

“Your leg— your foot! What have they done?”

“Not they—
she
.” He looked at his mother with such hatred that I felt myself recoil inside the metal frame.

“Yes,” Nadamaris said. “I did do it. For his sake— for
yours
.” Her eyes focused on me once more. “I knew you wouldn’t marry him with that deformity. It’s been terrible enough being his mother… but to be married to such grotesqueness…” She shuddered. “I couldn’t ask it of you, dear.” Her wicked smile was back. “But magic has no power on things given us from birth— whether they be lovely…” she looked at me “— or hideous.” Her gaze wandered back to her son. “I did the only thing I could. We broke every bone in his leg and foot, and we cut off the excess flesh. Now, at least, he’ll be able to wear a shoe like a normal man.”

My mouth was open, appalled and trying to suck in more air, while I tried to keep from retching at the same time. I managed to turn enough to look in Hale’s eyes. His pain was naked and blazing, barely contained. It
had
been his screams of agony I’d heard throughout the long night. It had been he, being tortured beyond belief.