Page 31 of Her Dark Promise

You mean the injuries that you caused.

“That’s beside the point.”

He has a lot of fight in him, doesn’t he? Remind you of anyone?

“Leave it to you to find a way to talk about yourself, again.”

If I don’t, then who will?

I ignored the pest and walked out of the tower, placing a locking spell over the door and windows, ensuring he couldn’t escape.

“Sleep tight for tomorrow the real fun begins.”

Chapter seven

Then

The sun was so bright in the sky that I had to squint my eyes against it.

“Dreadful.”

“Your highness, the food is ready.”

I turned to find one of the servants bowing, the smell of fresh bread hit my nose from behind her. My mouth was watering as I rushed to the amazing picnic underneath the shade of the oak tree they had set up for us: mother, sister and me.

Our kingdom used to be quiet and simple. We thrived, our people were happy, and the days were boring but so very peaceful.

As a girl, I used to dread the routine of it all. My father only had two daughters, meaning every day, I was being trained in something new. Something I could use to help lead the people when he was gone. I complained often about it, but now, with my father’s war on magic, I longed for those simple days again.

He was often in the war room, his advisors preaching hysteria, traveling from village to village outside the castle grounds to hang the accused. My mother sat so beautifullyon the ground, picking at the greenest of grapes on her plate, savoring the juices, while women, children, and men were swinging in town squares.

Sometimes at night, I could hear them screaming.

I gripped the handful of flowers that I had picked and handed one to each of them before sitting down. Mother smiled before bringing them up to her face, inhaling deeply.

“What a thoughtful daughter I have! Lovely of you to join us.” Mother’s voice was as lovely as a lullaby. So lovely that I could listen to her talk every second of every day.

“Let me smell, Mama!” Belle looked just like our mother, voice just as lovely, but with father’s strong will. A dangerous combination.

Mother lowered the flower down to Annabelle’s face and she inhaled just as deeply as mother had and sneezed.

They laughed, and I did try to smile with them.

“Your tutor tells me you’re daydreaming more often lately,” my mother observed. “What’s wrong, my darling? Is it the arranged marriage proposal? Your father would never make a decision without your approval. And it’s not for almost an entire decade. You have time to get used to the idea. Don’t fret.”

“It’s not that,” I said, but that wasn’t entirely true. I had no interest in my suitors because my interests lied in books, travel, and…magic. Three things my father would never tolerate. “It just seems like the hangings are getting worse.” I swallowed, carefully navigating the topic. “I’ve read some of the documents on the accused. The things they are executing people for are just,” my voice dropped to a whisper, “silly. They hanged a man for witchcraft because he used a tonic of his own invention to save his newborn babe from a sickness.”

My mother’s body straightened. “You shouldn’t be sneaking into your father’s office and reading that.”

“I shouldn’t?” I challenged her. “I’m going to be queen one day, aren’t I? Is Father expecting me to travel from village to village and hang people without proper evidence? I’ve read the books on magic, Mother. It is not tonics or strange looks, or even people who behave oddly.”

Her mouth went agape. “Stay out of the forbidden rooms.”

We both heard a noise, a cough. A strange woman that seemed to appear out of nowhere stood beside my mother. Mother looked over her shoulder and sighed with relief.

“This is Circe, and starting today she will be your governess. I am certain you are in good hands, and she will help with all this daydreaming.”

“Another one already?” The last one didn’t last but a month. And the one before that had disappeared into the night after looking after me for an even shorter amount of time. I knew my mother was desperate, but I couldn’t allow this one to stay, couldn’t let them find out my secret.

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