Page 11 of To Wake a Kingdom

Kianna nodded slowly, eyes edged in silvery tears.

I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead, pressure building in every crevice like water against a dam. “Well, that’s just fucking perfect.”

Chapter Five

BANG.

Another book slapped the wall with a crack, dropping to the floor like a butterfly knocked unconscious. Books stood in unbalanced towers, strewn about me where I sat in the castle library, legs crossed on the floor with my back against a black velvet sofa.

The room was small and cozy, with dark wooden shelves that lined the walls and a large arched window filtering in the light by which I was furiously flipping through pages. My movements abrupt, I’d already ripped more books than I’d saved. I’d been here for hours, waking up while the sky had been dark, my dreams punctuated with metal-tipped claws and blood-red lips twisted into macabre sneers.

It was here Kianna found me, amongst the toppling ruins of my paperbound frustration.

“What are you doing, Your Highness?” Her voice was cautious as she wandered the room and picked through the stacks.

Pain throbbed behind my eyes as I hunched over the book I was currently assailing with my thumbs.

“Researching curses and spells,” I said, not looking up.

“You are trying to find a way to break it.”

I glared up at her. “Yes, I’m looking for a way to break it. Don’t you want to? Or are you keen to end up with your head mounted over Mare’s fireplace?”

A hand fluttered to Kianna’s mouth. “The things you say, Highness.”

Issuing a grunt, I slapped the book shut. “This library is useless. There are hardly any magic books, and the ones I have found don’t tell me anything. They’re full of pointless spells on how to hex your mother-in-law or enchant your neighbor’s pig. Nothing about breaking curses.”

Kianna slid onto the plush sofa, picking up a slim volume and flipping through the pages. “Curses can be tricky things. Sometimes they demand an impossible price, one you might not be willing to pay.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Kianna shrugged. “Magic doesn’t always work the way we intend. Hence, why we’re here now. Magic this powerful won’t break with the flick of a wrist. It will require a sacrifice or a profound and immutable alteration of your life’s path.”

“What kind of sacrifice? What sort of alteration?”

She placed the book back on the table and stood to look out the window, brambles slashing across the view. Her voice was distant when she finally answered. “I don’t know, Princess. I’m sorry.”

Resentment fractured inside me, releasing a billowing fog of yearning. This wasn’t only about saving Kianna from Mare.I wanted to speak with my parents. Feel the warmth of my grandparents’ love. Relive the stolen moments of Adrian’s kisses.

My life had been experienced in segmented pieces. A wall of impenetrable granite had spliced the years, dividing the time before the curse would fall and after. But the impossible had happened. I’d woken up on the other side, and this was a second chance at a life none of us had ever dared dream could exist.

Using both hands, I hurled the book against the wall, where it hit with an echoing crack. Kianna flinched, her forehead furrowing. I stood.

“Well, that’s extremely helpful,” I said as I stormed out of the library.

In need of air, I headed to the back of the castle, finding the rear courtyard doors. They stuck as I shoved against them, brambles barring the way. With my father’s sword, I sliced them down like paper streamers.

Why had anyone tried to climb up if they were so easy to cut down? Had they lost their power when I awoke, too?

More brambles snapped and tumbled at my feet as the door swung open. Stepping over the detritus, I entered the courtyard banked against Lake Ravalyn. The glassy surface stretched for miles, disappearing over the horizon. It would freeze over soon. Already, I could see the edges of frost forming on the rocky shore.

Here was where my father’s guards had trained. Racks of gleaming weapons still lined the walls.His sword came with me everywhere now—a lifeline to my survival. Faced with Mare’s threats, brute strength was my only defense. Though she possessed magic I could never match, yesterday had proven she could still bleed. When she returned, she would be more furious than ever. I had to be ready to strike without hesitation.

I dragged one of the sparring dummies into the middle of the courtyard and whacked it with a practice sword. It teetered and then righted itself, mocking me. This was so stupid. I couldn’t learn how to use a weapon by myself, against an opponent who couldn’t fight back. Maybe I could convince Kianna to train with me, though I imagined that would be a hard sell. I didn’t remember the Fae ever getting their hands dirty.

A bow and quiver of arrows caught my eye, and I retrieved them next. Across the courtyard, I faced the dummy, one eye closed. The bow was stiff in my hands. My arms protested when I pulled the string with an arrow nocked and let it fly. It went wide. Extremely wide as it plunged into the lake with an impertinent plop.

A memory came back of a day when I had stood in this same spot, watching my father’s soldiers train as a young recruit was reminded to shoot with both eyes open. So, I tried again.

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