First Light (41 page)

At his words my stomach growled with hunger, and I found my spirits lifted at the prospect of both food and sleep. I supposed we’d be safe enough at Castle Rincoln tonight. Tomorrow I would think about Nadamaris and Hale and getting to know my parents and a wedding gown and…

“Adrielle.”

“Mmm.” I opened my eyes and was startled to find myself in Cristian’s arms. A steady drizzle was falling. “What happened?”

“You fell asleep on your feet— literally. It was quite amazing. And a good thing I was there to catch you.”

“Well, why did you wake me up, you big oaf?” I punched him playfully.

“You’re in better spirits, I see." He raised his head, looking past me. “I wanted you to see the first glimpse of my home— our home— well, I guess not, but where I grew up— Castle Rincoln.”

I noted the anxiety in his face and found the way he stumbled over his words endearing. That he should care what I thought of the place he called home was quite amazing, especially considering the humble farm I’d grown up on. Though it occurred to me that Cristian wouldn’t ever think of that as my home. From now on he would associate me with Castle Canelia and all that royalty entailed. I wasn’t yet certain how I felt about that.

I
did
feel elated that it meant I was to be with Cristian.

I followed his gaze across lush, rolling hills— not yet subject to Canelia’s cursed drought— to a stately castle in the distance. Colorful banners waved from its turrets, and there was no threatening wall built to keep others out.

“It’s lovely,” I said.

Cristian snorted. “Castles aren’t meant to be lovely.”

“But it is,” I explained. “Even from this distance, I can tell there is none of the ugliness there that surrounds Castle Canelia. No keeping people out or locking others in, no obsessing about protecting a… princess. With a huge pang of regret I realized
I
was that princess. Because of me, Maggie’s betrothed had been murdered, Mason’s father had run off, no one had married, few had borne children. A terrible weight settled in my chest.

“It’s not your fault.” Cristian set me on the ground but held my arm while I gained my footing. “Don’t go blaming yourself for the past eighteen years. You were suffering, too.”

I nodded, unable to speak for the lump that had appeared in my throat and the tears smarting in my eyes.

“Blame Nadamaris,” Cristian said. “She’s the one who ruined everything, who brought about such misery. You and I— we’re going to fix it.”

I looked into his eyes and wanted to believe he was right. Perhaps he was. Beneath my dress, the pearl was cold.

Dusk arrived as we reached the open gates of Castle Rincoln. The last light of day stretched forth, guiding us along a path surrounded by gardens. Cristian walked faster now, and I could see he was eager to reach home.

“Hello, Arthur. I’m back.” Cristian paused beside an older gentleman who was busy pruning rose bushes.

“Well so you are, young master.” With great effort, Arthur stood.

“And this is my betrothed, Princess Adrielle of Canelia. Tomorrow we are to be married.”

“Congratulations.” A grin spread across Arthur’s face. “Pleased to meet you, Your Highness.”

“And you.” I curtsied.
Your Highness! I suppose I shall have to get used to that.
I wondered if there would ever be a time I felt comfortable being addressed as such. Right now it would have seemed more natural if he’d asked me to join him digging in the dirt. “Your gardens are lovely.”

“Thank you.” A blush colored Arthur’s face. “That is quite the compliment. I hear Canelia’s gardens are positively magical.”

“Oh, they are.” I laughed, and the sound carried on a small breeze stirring along the path. I realized my heart felt light. We had made it safely to Rincoln. Filled with sudden joy, I squeezed Cristian’s hand.

We bid farewell to Arthur and continued on our way. We went a dozen steps more when, instead of pulling me toward the immense front doors, Cristian detoured toward an opening in the hedge and led me into a quaint courtyard.

“We’ll go through here. The chapel is on the other side, and the sooner we speak with the priest, the sooner we can arrange the details for our marriage tomorrow.”

I brought a hand to my hair, feeling the tangles, imagining the wretched mess I must look after the last few days’ ordeal. It was one thing to meet a gardener, but I’d hoped for a bath, change of clothing, and hairbrush before I met Rincoln’s priest. What would he think of me?

We entered the courtyard by a narrow arbor, barely big enough for the two of us to walk through at the same time. Once inside, I paused, looking around in amazement as the not-so-distant memory of our first kiss trailed through my mind. A tall, well-groomed hedge surrounded us. Freshly swept cobblestones lined the walks, and ornate bushes, carved in various shapes, were spaced throughout the garden. A bench sat between two of them. An enormous stone lay past that. And nearest me… a tree, very much like the one I’d stood beneath when Cristian had first kissed me.

“It’s the same,” I said in wonder, walking farther inside the courtyard. “An exact replica of the abandoned courtyard at Castle Canelia.”

“Or,” Cristian suggested, “was the Canelian courtyard patterned after this one?”

“I don’t know. But why do you suppose they’re the same?” I wandered over to the tree and leaned against it, remembering the sweetness of that first kiss.

“That’s easy enough to answer.” He followed me. “Centuries ago, Rincoln and Canelia were one land. It was so large that two brothers shared the ruling of it, each with his own castle. According to the history books, they were the best of friends, and it was a time of great peace.”

“What happened?” I tilted my head, looking up at Cristian. He’d moved closer and stood facing me, one hand propped against the tree as he leaned forward.

“They each had a son, and those sons both fell in love with the same girl— a princess from Baldwinidad. It started a war.”

“Of course.” I sighed. “That kingdom is always causing problems.”

“Not anymore.” Cristian bent his head to mine as he had in Canelia’s abandoned garden three nights earlier.
Has it been only
three
nights?
It felt as if a lifetime had passed since then. His lips found mine, and time ceased to matter.

I stepped into his arms, wrapping mine around him, returning his kiss with equal ardor. I felt no reservations. I was free to love him. No other stood between us. No dress of armor stole my breath. Baldwinidad’s violent forest was behind us.

Lightning streaked, and thunder boomed overhead. A downpour of rain began. Cristian released me and glared angrily at the sky.

“Enough of this. I ought to be able to kiss you without getting soaked.” He grabbed my hand. “Come on. Let’s find the priest and get married
right now
.”

“
Now?
” My cry coincided with another clap of thunder. “Can we do that? It’s not my birthday yet, and the proclamation says—”

“What difference can a few hours make?” Cristian asked. “If our marriage and uniting the kingdoms is what ends the curse, then why wait? The priest can marry us here, and we can host a celebration at Canelia later.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing as he pulled me along toward a stone building at the far end of a walkway.
Would
our vows end the curse?
Is it really that simple?
Once again my previous unease returned. I didn’t want to think that it was because I was reluctant to wed Cristian.

I love him. I do.
It was easy enough to imagine myself pledging my heart and loyalty, but I still didn’t understand how that would stop Nadamaris. What was to keep her from killing us tomorrow?

We reached a set of tall wooden doors, and Cristian walked up the steps and lifted the iron knocker. I hung back, looking around nervously, almost as if I was searching for a place to run and hide.

Absurd.
I mentally scolded myself and stepped forward, reaching for his hand as the door opened.

My fingertips brushed Cristian’s then fell away as I took in the priest towering over us. My eyes traveled up his brown robes to the hood covering most of his face. He turned to admit us, and the hood slipped back, revealing a grotesquely half-bald head.

“I thought you’d
never
get here.” Nadamaris’s voice cut through the storm and sent a violent shiver down my back. Her eyes were bloodshot, raging. She lifted a hand, her dagger-like nails pointing at Cristian as he grasped the sword at his side.

I took an involuntary step back and pulled the bracelet from my bodice. My hand closed around the last pearl. This was the moment I’d been saving it for. My frantic thoughts formed a wish, placing Cristian’s name first.

“I wish Cristian and I were back at Castle Canelia with the fairies.” I opened my hand, thrusting it skyward, expecting the pearl to whisk us to safety.

Nothing happened.

Nadamaris paused, the curse about to fly from her lips changed to a high-pitched cackle as she focused her gaze on me.

“Foolish girl. An ordinary pearl will not grant wishes. It cannot save your beloved.” A flick of her hand, and mine flew to the side as if she’d slapped it. The pearl tumbled to the cobblestones below, nearly blending in, completely lacking any luminescent glow or other-worldly luster. Sickening fear washed over me. Either Merry Anne’s bracelet had lost its magic, or this was not the last pearl.

But it has to be.
Something else had to have happened to stop the magic. But what? Unless—

Did something happen to the fairies?

My head snapped up, and I met Nadamaris’s intense gaze with my own, a burst of anger overtaking my fear. “What have you done to Merry Anne?” I cried. I thought of her smile, her kind, encouraging words, and imagined all that joy extinguished, crushed beneath Nadamaris’s stronger magic. “I’ll kill you!” I surged forward, knocking my shoulder into her stomach, taking us both off guard and sending her sprawling.

No more. No one else is going to die for me.

“Adrielle, move,” Cristian shouted.

I rolled off the queen as she floundered in the priest’s robes.

Cristian’s sword flashed beside me, plunging straight into Nadamaris’s middle, then coming out again, red with blood. Her piercing scream tore through the air until I cried out, too, pressing my hands to my ears to stop the pain throbbing through them.

“Run.” Cristian shouted over her screams and pulled me to my feet.

I clung to his hand, and we fled, retreating through the courtyard, making our way toward the far side and the narrow archway that would return us to the main castle grounds. Halfway there we both slowed, my heart sinking as I saw that the opening had been covered in stone.

“Look.” Cristian’s head tilted back, and I followed his gaze, staring up at what had been the hedge. It was now a solid wall— at least three stories high and still growing, rising into the sky before our eyes. “We’ll have to climb it,” he said.

I felt myself pale, my old fear of heights resurfacing. But there was no time to dwell on it. A glare of color appeared in my peripheral vision, and we turned toward a great red beast towering over us. Smoke oozed from its nostrils, and sharp talons, each longer than Cristian’s sword, clawed the air. Glistening scales covered the beast’s body, and a long, pointed tail slithered behind it. “We’ll have to get past
that
first.”

A blast of hot wind knocked us to the ground. A wave of heat ten times that of the kitchen ovens washed over me. I felt like I was back in our farmyard, facing the fire that killed my father.

Cristian was already on his feet again, sword ready to strike. “Stay behind me.”

“No.” Ignoring the stinging in my eyes, I crawled toward him. “She wants me alive. She won’t let the beast kill me. If I’m between you—”

Cristian’s agonized scream rent the air. One of the creature’s claws had struck with lightning speed— so fast I hadn’t even seen it. Cristian’s sleeve was torn open, the flesh of his shoulder ripped away where the beast had clawed him. His sword lay on the ground out of reach. A blast of fire spewed from the dragon’s mouth, just missing him.