Page 64 of The Court of Secrets
“From Kiros?” I asked. “I didn’t see a staff.”
“Perhaps.” His jaw clenched. “We will find him.”
“Hurry,” I whispered. “We cannot have anything go wrong. Not today.”
Adius bowed, then walked away, quickening his steps. Ladies gawked after him as he forced his way through the crowd. He held a strong position at court, commander of my army. He was a prize to any lady here, but Florence was the only one who held his attention.
I moved my gaze to wear she stood, front row, next to Nissa. Her blonde waves had grown out, reaching below her bosom. Her small waist was made tinier by a bone corset, and gray-and-blue fabric flourished out into a skirt.
I could hear scuffling in the distance; a few guards close by gripped the handles on their swords. Voices rose as my people grew restless.
Finally, the trumpets blew, and an organ played. When Adius emerged, a blood spatter on his red coat sent adrenaline coursing through me. I couldn’t react, not with them all looking at me.
I blew out a tense breath. It was time for me to address my court. Sitting on the throne my father had sat on for decades, a lump formed in my throat. I was stronger now, deadlier even, but something sinister bubbled beneath my calm exterior, wanting to claw its way out and lay waste to anything in my path.
“I thank you all for gathering today,” I announced to the crowd, and the chattering silenced. My voice was clear, my tone sharp. No one could detect the hesitance in my words as the threat of a war loomed over our heads. “We are—oh!”
Two guards rushed to my side. I caught Blaise’s worried look ahead of me. “This way, Majesty,” one said.
“Majesty.” The other urged me when I didn’t move. “Please, you must come with us.”
Adius nodded in my direction, so I went with them. Chatter rose as everyone watched us. Panic pinched through the air. I was hurried out the arched doorway and into the courtyard. Guards had gathered, all holding the hilts of their swords.
“What’s going on?”
“Intruders,” one said as they escorted me to a waiting carriage. “They were found with weapons, known to the Crown as belonging to a group who oppose your rule.”
“Oh.” They weren’t Kiros’s people. They were mine, and they wanted me dead.
“We’re not sure how they breached the castle’s walls.”
Only dignitaries had been invited. Someone from the inside must have let them in. The knowledge weighed heavily in my chest. “Where am I being taken to?”
I climbed the step and ducked inside the carriage. “To the manor house.”
Watching the castle grow smaller as we rode away, I let my tears fall. A guard in the carriage didn’t even look at me. I briefly touched my crown. It felt heavier than the last. I thought about Morgana locked away in the dungeons and wondered how I would manage without her. I needed her more than ever, but the necromancer had torn us apart, turning her into someone we couldn’t have faith in. She’d killed Marissa, and they wanted to execute her for it. I’d ordered her to be imprisoned only, but Lord Gregoir would demand her death—the victim was his niece—and other nobles at court would too. It was turning into a political disaster.
The wheels growled when we hit gravel. The road widened and we took a sharp left, turning out of the city. Obsidian buildings and slate roofs were replaced with thatched cottages, trees with low hanging fruits, and sprawling green fields. The smell of manure hit my nose as we were pulled up a hill. The winding dirt path bumped us along until the manor house came into view. Honeydew trees and hummingbirds brought the gardens to life.
Ivy vines sprawled along the house’s cracked front, strangling around the window arches and stone ledges. Gargoyle stone statues watched us, sitting on either side of the entrance. A weathered fountain stood in front of the coved doorway with an old stone knocker. The grass was luscious, greener than even the gardens at court. Trimmed hedges created an entrance into the grounds beyond, stretching as far as the eye could see. It was a home away from home, a place my father had taken André and me when we were children. It had been gifted to one of the lords. Gregoir, I think.
When we halted, I pulled down the handle of the door, my voice trapped. I cleared my throat, then stepped out. “Bring Adius!”
“He’s on his way already, Your Majesty,” the fair-headed guard said. He often stood station at my door. His red coat was pristine, unlike Adius’s. I’d seen the crimson, staining darker than the fabric, when he’d come back. Had he killed one of them, or was it his own blood?
I thought back to Morgana’s reading and how true it had been. Even in her deteriorating state, she’d known. One love gained: Blaise. One death: Marissa. One love lost: Cedric. The final, one traitor: Unknown.
She hadn’t been taking the potion. She’d been keeping the necromancer at bay using only her willpower, and I knew deep down I could never have done it for as long. She’d sacrificed herself so I could have the potion, all of it, because Magaelor needed a queen but also because she loved me. She had acted more like a caregiver to me over the years than my own parents ever had.
“Adius is close,” the guard said as I was escorted inside.
I looked out and saw three carriages on the horizon.
Adius jumped out when the carriage pulled up. His blood-stained jacket had been removed, revealing his white undershirt, which was relatively clean. It wasn’t his blood.
“Tell me everything,” I said.
His eyes scanned the area. He gave a brief nod to the other guards and they spaced out, their swords brandished. He took my arm in his and briskly walked me around the house. His light-brown hair was stuck around his forehead, and beads of sweat shone under the light glow of sunlight peeking through the cotton-candy-shaped clouds.
