Page 29 of Within the Hollow Heart

“Your brothers. The fae curse turned them into birds, and you were blamed.”

She nodded. “I asked for the price and was given a… I cannot say. But the price, you now know. I could not do it. But I could notnotdo it.”

To break a curse was always an impossible task, Etta had said. Or a choice in which either option was impossible to permit.

“And your people intended to throw you into a cell when you had a curse to break?”

“It was precisely what they intended. So I escaped. Ian helped me. I never would have made it, otherwise. We rode into the night on horses stolen from the king’s stable.”

“Murders,” he said. “How many brothers do you have?”

“Six in all. The others flew free. As long as I’m… if I agree to the terms… they will be well. But Frederick was injured. He could not fly because he had defended me. I bundled him up, kept him at my side the entire journey.” She squeezed Nickolas’s hand. “I was granted only the standard betrothal period of the fae. That time is running out. If I do not agree, they will be trapped forever inside their new forms. If I do agree, I will be… it will put…” Her face pinched in determination. “Entire kingdoms will be in danger.”

“You’ve been trying to set Frederick free,” Nickolas said. “Because you believe you’ll not be able to save him before you’re whisked away.”

“He won’t save himself. He refuses to leave me. Seeing him like this, it makes me… I know that I…” Her hand tightened into a fist.

“You’re not afraid that you’ll be unable to make him whole,” Nickolas guessed. “You want him to leave, because you plan to cross the wall and go through with the betrothal.”

Her eyes shone in the candlelight. “Not if I can prevent it. It’s only that time is running out, and I see no other answer. If I can save my brothers, if they can be returned to themselves...”

His thumb slid over the back of her hand. He could feel the warmth of her leg where it pressed against his, the touch of her breath over his skin. Unable to stop himself, he reached toward the ring that hung from the chain about her neck, wondering if its magic was what prevented her from speaking freely.

“Nickolas,” she said softly. “I must confess something else.”

His hand froze.

“My post in the chancery was chosen not simply so that I might have access to research. It allowed me to find those who might be best positioned—or perhaps induced—to help.”

His hand lowered to her lap, where his other still cradled hers. He watched her for a long moment. “Why do I have the feeling you’re preparing to reveal extortion?”

She did not so much as flinch. “I can help you with your problems. Just as I’ve promised.”

He pulled his hands back. “In exchange for?”

“Not in exchange. You’ve satisfied our agreement. I can help you, but I need you to help me.”

Saints. Shewasextorting him. There was something very wrong with him, because this close, it didn’t matter. He wanted to put his lips somewhere on her. Badly. Perhaps the soft bit beneath the corner of her jaw where her pulse jumped. Or an earlobe. Or her mouth. Without a doubt, her mouth. Or, fate save him, that neck.

She’s betrothed to the prince of Rivenwilde, he reminded himself. “Still doesn’t matter,” he mumbled back.

“You’re saying you knew my situation,” he said. “You mean financially or…” At her level look, he sighed. “What else, then? Did you know I’d be trussed up and—” He sat straighter. “You did know. You knew about the plot against me. That I’d end up in Carvell’s courtyard. You—you asked permission to use the man’s gardens in front of themagistrate.”

Her steady gaze never wavered. “There are very few in Westrende who are aware of curses and fae magic. After all, I could not ask Etta or Gideon.”

He ran a hand over his face.

She said, “I cannot explain more, but the terms of the bargain are no small thing. I had to use whatever I could to my advantage. I had to find a way out.”

Nickolas watched her for a very long moment. Jules was a princess. He should have known. She was too graceful, too clever, too impossibly beautiful to be anything else. He understood what came along with that. Royalty accepted that they must do whatever it took to protect their people. Jules would go to the ends of the earth to see it done. Perhaps she was nearly there already.

Nickolas stood, straightened his torn jacket, and strode to the door. “Gentlemen,” he called to the guard outside. “Fetch Lord Beckett, if you please. I have a bargain to uphold.”

CHAPTER15

Jules was in a private room, questioning Lord Beckett about interkingdom law, when Etta and Gideon finally arrived, Frederick’s cage in tow.

Nickolas stood. “Did you find the lord from Norcliffe?”

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