Page 52 of A Cage of Magic and Darkness

“Why did you not marry, Princess? Surely in all these years you’d have had suitors. Other princes from distant lands keen to offer their hand in marriage. Did you never want to start up your own home and family far away from here? You’ve stayed at Highdrift Castle the whole time.”

He’s right. I have had many suitors, but none ever seemed right. I wouldn’t have left Highdrift to start a home elsewhere, however. Highdrift is my home, and, if I were ever to marry, my new husband would have to accept that I’m the ruler of Askos and would never even consider leaving.

Was that the reason I’d never accepted a man?

Or was it that I’d been waiting? Waiting for what, exactly?

Him?

My heart stutters at the thought. No, surely not. We’d only shared that one dance, yet the memory of his intense dark eyes has lingered in my heart and mind. He was like no one else I’d ever met, and he made quite the impression on me at the time.

I still recall the plunge of disappointment I’d felt after hearing he’d been banished. I hadn’t wanted to believe it. After the dance, I’d gone to bed with my heart racing and my blood feeling as though it was on fire in my veins for the first time in my life. I’d never known my skin to be sosensitive, as though merely his presence lit up a million nerve endings.

Then I found out he’d been plotting to kill us, and that he was no longer allowed anywhere near Highdrift, and I’d been forced to re-evaluate my impression of him. It had never occurred to me that both the story that he’d been banished, and that he’d been plotting to kill us, might have been untrue.

I lift my chin and focus on the ground ahead. “Some people are not made for marriage.”

He lets out a small laugh. “I would have said the same about myself. Interesting.”

I cock my head. “You never plan to marry?”

“Who would marry me?” he says. The corners of his lips quirk in a not-quite-smile. “I’m definitely not marriage material. Besides, up until a few days ago, I believed I would spend the rest of eternity locked away alone, so it’s not as though I’d planned for any long-lasting relationships.”

“What about before then?” I can’t help it, I’m curious. “Did you have any longer relationships?”

“No, Princess. I never met anyone who interested me for long enough to want to stick around.”

“I see.”

Does he plan to stick around now? Highdrift is his home. Where else would he go? Perhaps he could leave for another kingdom, find someone of royal blood there who he could make his own.

The thought jabs spines of jealousy into my heart.

I hate how much I want him. I should be focusing on our mission, and instead my thoughts are crowded by his face and his touch and his filthy words. They set my nerveendings alight and warm my skin. I’m craving more, but I can’t give in to my desires.

The cost is too great.

“Princess Taelyn,” Balthorne says, interrupting us, “look ahead.”

I do. In the distance, beyond the flat expanse, the ground rises sharply. It’s like a woman’s breast risen out of the moorland, several of the strange, stacked granite rocks at its peak, like a nipple.

“Could that be it?” I ask in wonder. “The place where the Mage resides?”

Balthorne nods. “I believe so.”

I draw a breath and kick my horse’s flanks so she breaks into a trot. Those around me do the same. My heart beats faster in anticipation. Will the Mage even be able to help us? I have no other plans if this one doesn’t work. I’ll just have to accept I will lose Askos to the rot and do whatever we can to save as many of my people as possible.

The horses cover the ground quickly, seemingly happy to have picked up the pace. Plumes of white breath snort from their nostrils, and hooves pound the moorland, the rhythmic thudding filling the air.

Will the Mage have used magic to protect themself? It’s possible. There’s a good chance I won’t be able to simply walk inside. My stomach churns with anxiety. I know I need to do this, but I’m allowed to be nervous.

The distance is farther than it looked, and it’s still another hour before we reach the hillock. We dismount and tie the horses up on one of the gnarled trees that has somehow managed to cling to life despite the thin, rocky soil of the moorland. The horses seem uneasy, eyes rollingto show the whites, hooves pawing the ground. I reassure my mare with a couple of pats and then stroke her long, velvet nose. Intelligent brown eyes study me in return, and I could swear she’s silently asking me if I really want to do this.

“Search for the entrance,” Balthorne tells the other guards. “It most likely won’t be easy to find.”

Ruarok comes to join me. He sees himself as too high up to be searching with the guards.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he says.

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