Page 59 of Crown of Briars
The cycle would continue forever. For hundreds of years, the Earthen Court would be sacrificing princesses all for the sake of appeasing these toxic shadows.
All to savetheircourt. For reasons Varius couldn’t even tell me.
My hands began to shake as I turned to face him, hatred boiling my blood. “You bastard,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “All this time, andthisis why you demand brides? My people have no idea what they are giving up, or why! You have led us tobelieve that marrying a princess from my lands is meant to keep peace between our people, but really it is tosave your ass!”
Shadows darkened the room, clouding the white lights from the sconces. Varius loomed over me, expression lethal. “You knownothing, human.”
“You’re right,” I said, unfazed by his show of power. “I know nothing, thanks to you and your deception.”
I strode for the door, pushing past him with no regard for the way his dark mist swirled around me.
“Sybelle,” he said angrily.
At the door, I turned to look at him once more. “I will have to take some time to consider your request,Highness. But if your people die tonight from those shadows, it is onyou, not me.”
I stormed out of his chambers. Fury pounded in my veins as I made my way back to my own rooms, ignoring the black shadows that crept along the floor in my wake, a sign of the king’s venomous rage.
Azure was gonefrom my balcony when I returned to my rooms. I checked in with her through my amber stone, and her talon was healing nicely. She was spending the night behind the stables, as usual.
My relief was short-lived as I once again thought about my argument with Varius, and the true reason behind his contract with my kingdom.
I paced the length of my room, hands balled into fists while I muttered to myself all the hateful things I should have said to his face. By the time Ramia arrived to dress me for bed, my temper had abated, but not by much.
Earlier, I had been hesitant to move forward with my plan to track down the enchanted rose and kill Varius. But now that I knew how many secrets he’d been keeping, and that he had no regard whatsoever for me and my kingdom, I felt differently.
He should have been honest from the beginning. He should have given my people achoice. Instead, he used the threat of his shadow magic to coerce them into sacrificing a royal daughter. Every generation.
For hours, I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts racing. It was too much to comprehend. There were too many details I didn’t know.
I slept restlessly, tossing and turning and dreaming of the Necro Shadows coming for me, suffocating me in my sleep.
I woke before dawn and dressed myself in a simple burgundy gown, tied my hair in a loose braid, and made my way down the hall. Though I wasn’t sure where I was headed, I only knew I couldn’t keep to my rooms any longer. I couldn’tbreathein there. Not with Varius and his secrets residing next door.
Out of curiosity, I opened the first door I passed in the hall, just to see where the castle wished for me to go.
On the other side was the vast library where I’d first seen Varius’s true form.
I faltered, frozen in place, my gaze sweeping over the large space before me. Was Varius sitting by the fire, like he had been that night? I waited for any sound of movement, any sign that the library was occupied.
Nothing but silence awaited me.
With a deep breath, I stepped over the threshold and let the door shut behind me. I stood next to the pair of wing-backed chairs, expecting Varius to appear from the shadows. A fire crackled in the hearth, indicating a servant had been tending to this room recently. I drew closer, warming my hands by the flames and letting the heat wash over my cold skin. The constant presence of shadows made this place far cooler than my home, and I hadn’t yet adjusted to the temperature change.
After my fingers were nice and toasty, I turned to face the bookshelves, remembering how the library had magically provided me with the books I’d asked for. It had been days, and Varius hadn’t once mentioned Azure or questioned me about her. Was it possible the castle could keep my secrets?
Perhaps I could start small. Surely there was nothing damning about researching gardening tips.
“Um, castle?” I asked hesitantly. “Could you give me a book on roses?”
The shelves trembled, rattling against the walls. I waited fora book to fall from the ceiling like it had before, but instead, it spontaneously appeared on the table in front of me.
I almost laughed. Clearly, the castle liked to play games. I wondered what other ways it liked to present its books to me. Drawing closer to the table, I fingered the forest green cover of the book labeled,A Gardener’s Guide to Rosebushes.
I smiled. “Thank you,” I murmured before bringing the book to one of the chairs by the fire and settling in for a long read.
An hour later, I knew the best soil properties and sunlight-to-water ratio to produce the most lush roses. I made a mental note to ask Enzira if there were any gardens in the castle. At least I would know the area in which to look for them. A section of the garden that got the most sunlight in the morning would be ideal. And any rosebushes would be planted in the richest loam.
I looked around for a piece of parchment to write on but found nothing. A smallpopdrew my attention to the table where the book had appeared.
