Page 79 of Cruelest Kiss and Fairest Blood
“Are you sure this is from the apple tree here?”
Catreena lays a graceful hand over mine atop the apple. “I’ve heard Queen Elowynne was a gentle and just woman whose beauty was spoken about across the land.”
More tears pool in my eyes. “She was. There was no one like her. I have her face, but I worry I’m not good enough to fill her shoes.” Why am I spilling my private thoughts and deepest fears with Catreena? The words puff out of me as easily as the next breath. “I miss her.”
Her fingers close over mine. “I’ll never be able to take her place and I’m not looking to be your new mother, but I would like to call you my friend.”
Her words elicit such conflict in me. “It’s all so sudden. She’s just barely passed.”
“I know it will take time. I’m not asking for anything right away. I’m just hoping you’ll give me a chance to prove my love for your father and for this kingdom.”
“I… It’s… Time. I’ll need time.”
She nods and removes her hand. Scooping the apple up, she holds it beneath my chin. “How about a bite?”
I haven’t had much of an appetite since that soup killed me but memories of the tart, sweet flesh of my mother’s golden apples has my mouth watering.
Taking the apple from her, I cup it in both hands. “One bite, in memory of Elowynne Roseheart.”
My teeth bury into the crisp flesh, biting clean through. Every muscle in my face tenses, mouth puckering as the first taste washes over my tongue.
The familiar sweetness isn’t there. Something is not right.
I look down at the apple again. Horror spreads through me as the luscious gilded apple transforms. Reflective golden skin melts into beaming crimson. The white inner flesh that was revealed when I took a bite turns black before my eyes.
Spitting out as hard as I can, the apple chunk flies from my mouth. It lands on the table in a mashed pool. The piece I bit off is turning black too. My mouth is burning. The small amount of juice I swallowed feels like its flaying its way down my throat. The room spins and my head drops, slamming onto the table.
Catreena leans down, her voice icy. “Poor, fair creature. Do you feel death approaching?”
Pain splinters through the spot where my forehead hit the wood. I can barely turn my head to look at her. “What did you do to me?”
“Never fear, I shall not kill you. Though I dare say where you’re going will have you praying for death.”
The room vanishes from my sight as everything goes black. It reappears a moment later, blurrier than before. Catreena’s sneering gaze pierces my soul. A shot of adrenaline lends movement to my weakened limbs. Struggling to my feet, I battle the sluggishness trying to take over my body. I need to get to a healer. Every nerve is sizzling with a hot, merciless pain. Was that even an apple I bit into?
Catreena’s guards block my path, swords drawn. “Why are you doing this?” I scream. My shouting is followed by a ferocious coughing fit. Blood sprays onto the wall nearest to me. I’m bleeding. Why am I bleeding?
Catreena’s laughter fills the oversized room. “What’s wrong, lovely princess? Bite off more than you can chew?”
Turning on my heel, I dash away from the guards and toward the back hallway that leads to the ballroom I met Harrow in. There’s a door to a balcony there. If I can make it outside, I know I can find help.
My hopes are crushed when more guards pour in, blocking my escape path. I spin in circles, frantically seeking another way out. Another cough shreds through my lungs. So much blood. Has the new queen poisoned me?
“Princess!” someone hollers. “Over here!”
One of the maids, Winnie, waves her arms at me from a small open panel in the servants’ quarters. I take off toward the new exit, ignoring the screeching sounds of Catreena’s irate voice as she belts out orders. The opening is small but large enough to squeeze through if I duck.
Winnie slams the panel shut behind me, pushing a large pipe in place to block it from opening again.
“This way. Hurry!” She veers into the darkness. “I heard the guards. The queen means to lock you up. They’re going to do things to you.” Her voice quivers. “Things I can’t even speak.”
“Can you take me to the healer?”
“You have no allies left in this castle, Princess. You cannot stay here. The few servants still on your side are powerless against the new guards. They’re cruel, ruthless. I saw the stable boy’s body strung up in the entryway on my way here. The castle is beyond saving. Leave now. Please.” We arrive at another of the many hidden panels. My ancestors were clearly paranoid. Or maybe all castles have this many secrets. Regardless, I’m grateful for it today.
The panel groans. The outer wall has been taken over by ivy, all of which has died since my mother’s passing. “What of my father and Prince Cassius?”
“There are others helping them.”
