Page 1 of The Princess of Nothing
CHAPTER ONE
Distance was all thatmattered against the rising sun. I ran down the winding, rain-soaked cobbled streets, hoping for an escape plan to materialize in the time it would take me to reach the docks.
Dark clouds beat heavy drops onto the slate roofs of the shops lining the road. Sweat dripped down my face and into my eyes, stinging them shut. I blew out a pained breath, then forced my eyes open and looked up at the gray horizon that merged with the rising waves at the port. Boats rocked side to side as rain lashed onto the decks and the waves licked the hulls. Seagulls whipped through the air like swashes of gray against the stormy canvas. My breath fogged in front of me as lightning flashed the sky blue and purple. I was certain the thunderstorm was an omen, marking the day I had become a murderer.
My chest tightened as I carried my new identity, charging toward freedom. Darting glances at the traders setting up their stalls, I felt as if everyone were judging me. As if they could somehow see through the girl and to the killer beneath. The morning’s events weighed heavily on my shoulders. I pushed forward, using the spike of energy to ignore the pain tearing through my soul. I couldn’t stop. Not yet.
The Ring of Immortalem, which I had torn from my father’s finger, was heavy in my pocket. Clanking against it was the rune Morgana had given me to protect me from the power of foresight. It cloaked my whereabouts from the forest nymph still at the castle.
Strands of hair stuck to my cheeks. I was shaking, from adrenaline, the cold, or both. I did my best to stop my teeth from chattering, but the truth was I wanted to break down in the middle of the street, to cry and wail, but I kept pushing forward.
I pulled the hood of my best traveling cloak forward, casting shadow and anonymity over my features. The princess who was believed dead could not be seen. One rumor could ruin everything. All that mattered was for me to right the wrongs my family had inflicted through their rule and take back Magaelor.
First, I would have to shed all suspicion. After all, the king had been found dead in my room, and we had publicly fallen out not long before, while in Niferum. I’d be suspect number one if anyone knew I was alive and in Magaelor when he was killed. I had to flee, as Morgana had insisted, then return before month’s end with yet another heroic tale of survival, ready to claim my throne.
I had to be strong, more so than ever before. My people needed me. I saw it more with the rising tide of homeless wandering the streets staffless, unable to use the magic that was their right. There was change coming, and I would bring it. No more would those with little coin not have access to their ancestral roots through magic. I had no idea, until Morgana had told me, that anyone even had to pay for their staffs. Mine was given to me when I turned seven, like everyone else at the academy. Granted, it was a school for nobles, which most likely had something to do with my ignorance.
My foot sank into a puddle, squashing a discarded newspaper. I took a moment to catch my breath. I’d stolen what I could carry without being detected: precious gems, gold coins, the key to the shadow market, and the dagger André had gifted me. The drawstring bag bounced over my shoulder when I broke into a run once again.
The road turned sandy. I sucked in a deep breath, then paused and placed my hands on my knees. How was I going to get out of Imperia without detection? Everyone thought me lost to the harsh winter in Niferum. No one but Aquarius and his crew knew I was back in Magaelor, except Morgana.
My heart sank.
Morgana. My only friend, now rotting in a dungeon.
She’d been locked away for treason after coming to where the king lay dead, to warn me the guards were on their way. She begged me to run before anyone saw me, and I did. I watched from behind a stone pillar, just making it out before they reached my room, as she was dragged to the dungeons. It took everything I had to turn away, knowing we’d both be dead if I didn’t. If I hadn’t left it would all have been in vain, but no matter how I justified it, a piece of my heart was left behind with her. I wanted to go back, to save Morgana, but what use would I be? I wondered if they’d execute her. Treason was punishable by death, but there had to be a trial first, which would take time. They knew she’d visited the king’s chamber to give him a message, then she was found by his body. What choice would they have but to presume her guilty? Perhaps I should have turned back. There was still time to save her, no matter the cost, my only real friend. The thought of her trapped in the dungeons, labeled a treasonist, made me choke on a cry.
“You there.”
I froze. My mind raced to a halt.
“What’s that?” a guard shouted. He had thick brown hair and held a sword in one hand and his staff in the other. He was pointing at my bag.
I didn’t dare look up. Keeping my face hidden beneath my thick hood, I let out a long exhale. My heart hammered. If I was caught, it would all be for nothing. Morgana’s capture, my father’s death... Trembling, I grabbed my staff, feeling the gentle pulse of magic beneath my fingers. I searched my mind quickly for the incantation of a sleeping spell. I recalled the words, letting them roll off my tongue, caressing the magic from my staff as they spilled into the distance between us. Silver and blue streaks of magic snaked toward the guard. My lip twitched and my knuckles tightened around the ash wood. The spell reached him, but he countered it using his own magic. I clenched my jaw, then closed my eyes for a moment. I had mere seconds to concentrate. Saying the words aloud packed more force into the delivery.
Other guards clamored behind him, uniformed in blues and silvers. Unlike the guards at the castle wearing red and gold, who were charged with protecting the royal family, these men defended the people and enforced the laws of the land.
Casting my eyes downward, praying they wouldn’t be able to see my face behind the rain and the shadows of my cloak, I bit my lip.
“Arrest her,” the first guard ordered.
On his command, they all rushed at me.
I ground my teeth, then cursed under my breath. The scuffle was drawing the attention of early morning traders and shoppers. A crowd swelled as the guards closed in around me. I flexed my fingers, the icy blade of the wind cutting all feeling from the tips.
This was my only chance. I couldn’t be recognized. They needed to be stopped.
The guards closed the distance between us. When they reached me, I uttered the words of an ancient spell I’d always been curious to use, but never had the right opportunity until now. I let the magic course through me, fueling my rage into a thunderous boom. Splints of gold waves exploded out the end of my staff, throwing the men backward. It looped around their necks and limbs as they stumbled over the wet cobbled stone. The magic weakened me temporarily. The spell would give them amnesia, making them forget what had happened once they awoke from a small bout of unconsciousness. However, some of their memories up until that point could be altered too. It was a magic I would only use sparingly, but they couldn’t be allowed to remember.
I mustered what energy I had left, then headed toward a narrow alleyway. I squeezed through centuries-old stone, down what had to be the narrowest street in the whole of Magaelor, then emerged out the other side. Darting to my left, I heard the bellowing of men who’d either just entered the nearby tavern or hadn’t yet left. I was at the harbor’s edge, standing in front of the shopfronts of supplies, eateries, and inns, the first stop for sailors and fishermen. My hands gripped the railings, and my eyes flitted to the grandest ship with tall sails and a mast that swayed against the blue backdrop. I let go of the railing and pressed my hands against my knees, leaning over to catch my breath. I had to leave, and I knew the best place to go. It was somewhere I could lay low and where I could get information that could save my kingdom, but it was risky.
I turned around. An eerie feeling of being watched washed over me. I squinted, craning my neck to see around the side of a taffy shop. A man with pointed ears wearing a blue silk cloak was staring at me. His head was poking out, but as soon as I blinked, he was gone. I could have sworn he was a faery, but it was impossible. The fae would never venture into our kingdom, aside from the court ambassadors, but they’d only head straight to the castle.
I shook my head, then puffed out my cheeks. “Get it together,” I urged myself. I’d been thinking abouthimagain, even among all the fear and uncertainty. His presence was so strong in my mind, it made me hallucinate fae.Blaise.I was still so angry at him, and in a cruel twist of fate, he had become an enemy, a threat to my crown and throne, but a naïve part of me still clung to a curiosity, an idea of him, wondering if he would change his mind or even help me.
I shook my head. It was a ridiculous notion to believe I was ever more to him than the game piece he needed to rule two kingdoms. I reminded myself he wanted to take my kingdom from me and dismantle the Mortis family rule. My people would fall to ruin under the fae’s unorganized, pleasure-seeking monarchy. He couldn’t even keep the fae in his own kingdom under control. We were anointed by our ancestors and the energy that ruled them. It was my birthright, and no one was going to take it away from me. I had an opportunity, a chance to change things, and I owed it to my ancestors, to my people, and to my brother, André, who believed in so many things but was taken from the world before he could enact any of them.
I clenched my fists and looked around. I needed to be smart. I needed to get out. The longer I stayed there, the more the future of my crown slipped through my fingers and into Edgar’s. I couldn’t hide in my kingdom. I was without a friend in Magaelor. While the place that held everything that mattered to me was right here, my home, it was also where I was most alone.
