Page 112 of The Court of Secrets
I sucked in a deep breath. “Ready the horses. We’ll ride without a carriage. We can get there faster.”
He nodded. “Nissa and Florence are waiting with the horses. They were feeding and tending to them. We had some bread and apples. Have you eaten?”
“I’ll eat when we arrive.” My stomach grumbled in protest, but I didn’t have time to wait. I glanced back at Lepidus one last time and sighed. The peace treaty would surely be lost with Neoma missing and me leaving with no notice. Blaise would be upset for me taking the Dagger and Sword and not breaking the curse, and with the necromancer on the loose, I felt as if we were fighting a losing battle.
Adius helped me out, and we hurried to the stables. Nissa and Florence looked at me, fear pinching their features. Florence’s blonde waves looked frozen at the tips, and her eyelashes were dotted with spots of white. Nissa shuddered under her thick jacket, and both of my ladies were holding the reins to gray horses.
“Did you tell her?” Florence asked Adius, who nodded and took the reins to his small black horse.
Nissa cleared her throat, pointing at a small white horse. “These horses are the fastest. We need speed if we’re to get you home before…” She trailed off, looking at Florence and Adius.
Morgana climbed on the back of another horse. She carried the Dagger and Sword and her spell book. She placed the sword on her belt and the rest in her sachel, then gripped the reins. “Hurry, Winter.”
“You’re coming?”
“I can look for him from Magaelor.”
The others looked quizzical as I footed the stirrup and heaved myself onto the white horse’s back. We took off, trotting through the gardens, then rushed out the gates. Guards called after us, but the crown on my head halted them. Racing against the winds and snowfall, we traveled blind for most of the way. The skirt of my dress snagged on a passing thorn bush, cutting my leg. Morgana still had her staff, and I guessed we’d need it in case we ran into any feral fae. We’d relied on magic too much in our lives, and it would be hard to imagine a life without it. Many would fight for it. It would be foolish to think otherwise.
The road narrowed out of the tree line from the forest and led south. We’d made it past Enchante and along the narrow road through the snowy peaks with surprising ease. The pine-laced air pinched into a manure-lingering smell as we rode past a farm up on a hill. We emerged from the last of the sparse trees on the forest’s edge. It veered left and into an inky evergreen against the horizon, opening us to the dark buildings of Imperia.
Hooves thudded against the dirt roads as we galloped into the city and through the streets of neighboring villages. I could see men gathered by the entrance to the sacred part of the forest. They were tiny against the backdrop, and ahead of them, the castle stood gray-stoned and weathered, beckoning me back to my throne and a crown I wasn’t sure I held any longer.
***
Louis stood by the arched doors. He sneered when he saw me. I jumped off my horse and onto the courtyard. I rushed toward him, anger lacing my every word. I didn’t care who saw us. “You are committing treason, you vile, pathetic excuse for a man,” I spat between gritted teeth. “You are destabilizing your own line of succession by trying to topple me from mine.”
Morgana hurried to my side. She tried to grab my arm, but I pushed her away. My voice went up a whole octave. “If you think you’re safe because you’re of royal blood, then you are wrong!”
“I would say the same to you,” he spat, disgust twisting his mouth. “Your own court is turning against you.”
I called over three guards who were hovering nearby. “Arrest him.” My heart pounded as I waited… waited to see if they were loyal to me or to him. I breathed relief when they hesitantly took him. He shouted at them, cussing as he was stilled.
“You just signed your own death warrant!” Louis shouted as he fought against them. “Vahaga told us you killed King Amos!”
Gasps escaped those around us, and my stomach knotted. “That’s a lie.”
He scoffed. “Maybe we were wrong, and it wasn’t Berovia who took Vahaga but you!”
I swallowed thickly. “Take him to the west wing. Lock him in the tower room.” He wouldn’t be placed in the dungeons under the castle but in a room that was befitting to his station, at least until I could figure out what to do with him.
Hushed chatter and suspicious glares showed me the waning loyalty of the Court. Morgana matched my pace, and Adius walked behind us with Florence and Nissa.
“You have control as of this moment,” Morgana whispered. “Use it. Do not lose that control. If the guards turn on you, it’s over. You need to act now.”
“Bring Abor and Edur to me. Have Gregoir arrested,” I told Adius, glancing over my shoulder. Guards accompanied us to my office.
“Right away, Your Majesty. If you need me, I’ll be here.”
I couldn’t have Penelope arrested for telling a secret, but I would have her sent home, disgraced, later—if things settled. “Florence, Nissa…” I waved for them to continue following me as Adius walked in the opposite direction. “You both will come with me. I need people I trust.”
We reached my office. The city looked calm through the lead crisscrossed window, but a storm was brewing, and I hoped I could stop it before it got too bad. “Morgana.” I took the seat behind my desk. “You will go and begin working on our other problem.”
Nissa arched an eyebrow. “Is it something we can help with?”
“No. Morgana has it handled.”
Morgana gave me a curt nod and left the room. I didn’t want to give any more bad news, so it was best the truth about the necromancer remained under wraps with everything going on. I already looked incompetent to many. I stood, feeling the crushing weight of my circumstances on my shoulders. Rolling them back to relieve a fraction of the aching, I looked down at the papers stacked on my desk. I had to think fast and show strength. I was their leader, and this was a test. I couldn’t fold under the pressure, else I didn’t deserve the crown on my head.
