Page 19 of To Wake a Kingdom

The room still dark, the sun was just peeking over the rooftops. When I made my way downstairs, the common room was empty save for Verna, who was polishing glasses behind the bar.

“Can I get you some breakfast?” she asked cheerfully, and I resisted the urge to shush her in her own inn.

“I need to be off. Thank you for your hospitality.” I placed three more gold coins on the counter. It was far too much, and now we both knew it, but I hoped it would convey my urgency for a swift departure. After glancing at the coins, she gave me an understanding look and nodded as she pushed open the door behind her.

“Meet me out front,” she said as she disappeared through it.

Verna was already bringing Slumber toward me as I stepped outside. A thin layer of snow covered the streets, and only a handful of villagers were about.

“Thank you,” I said, taking Slumber’s reins and pulling myself up, before heading through the city. As we exited out the gates, I signaled the horse into a gallop, and we sped away into the forest. With any luck, Ronan and everyone else in Tenby would have already forgotten I was ever there.

When the road leading to the castle appeared, I nearly collapsed in relief.After I dove into the cover of the trees, I finally let out a serrated breath. Since last night, my heart had been loping in my chest, sweat pooling in my lower back, thanks to the truth about the man partially buried in my forest.

Directing Slumber to the stables, I dismounted and unbuckled his saddle, hoisting it over my shoulder. A firepit, where the stable hands once gathered after the day’s work, sat piled with logs. I dumped the saddle on top with a grunt. Inside the stable, I found a box of matches and lit one, holding it to the dry logs.

A neat stack of chopped wood was piled nearby, and I grabbed a log with each hand to bank the fire. It surged to life, the flames consuming the saddle. As I settled on the bench, I watched as the leather dissolved, releasing a distinct and unpleasant odor of roasting flesh.

My head dropped into my hands, too heavy to hold. I was no closer to breaking this curse, and someone had stolen my kingdom while my family slept. I’d killed a king, and his royal son—who carried a very big sword—was searching for him.

At a soft neigh, I glanced up to find Slumber watching me. I should slit his throat and bury him too, but I’d seen enough blood and death to last me many lifetimes. With resignation, I stood and clicked at the horse to follow. He trotted behind me with misguided faith, the poor, hapless beast.

We walked deep into the forest, passing through the clearing with the Fae graveyard. Kianna’s patches of flowers bloomed with color, their cheerfulness belying the brutal deaths of the women they covered.

King Goldraven’s grave was visible through the mound of dirt that protruded above the ground. The glistening white leaves of the royal birch trees formed a canopy that protected the earth from the thin covering of snow that had fallen last night. Frozen for a few moments, I stared at the king’s grave and then shook my head. The foray into Tenby had shaken me. My problems kept mounting like bricks patched with scant layers of crumbling mortar.

Slumber continued to follow as we moved deeper into the forest, my feet crunching over the frosted leaves and branches. The sparkling canvas of winter had always been one of my favorite things. When I felt we’d gone far enough, I slapped the horse on his hindquarters and shouted at him to leave. Slumber cocked his head, and then did as I asked, walking into the trees. I hoped a pack of wolves would finish the task I was too cowardly to complete.

I’d need to find another way to return to Tenby, should the need arise. We only had twenty-nine days, and I was reasonably sure we could make the food last that long if we were careful. After that… Well, I didn’t want to think about it right now.

Returning to the stables, I tossed the full saddlebags over my shoulder. Regardless, I had reason to avoid Tenby. How long would Ronan hang around the city, hoping for a clue to his father’s whereabouts? I was even more grateful the dense forest shielded us from prying eyes.

“Kianna! It’s me! Open up!” I pounded on the castle doors and held my breath, expecting her to have fled or died in some gruesome way while I was gone. A cord unhitched around my heart a moment later when I heard the beam shifting on the other side of the door.

Kianna yanked it open and peered out at me.“Any luck?”

I held up the bulging saddlebags. “Hungry?”

She grinned as I entered. We headed to the kitchens, where I unpacked my purchases. This had become my favorite spot to linger. Kianna kept the hearth burning on a low flame, and it was warmer and cozier here than in the rest of the castle.

I was quiet while we ate, lost in my thoughts.

“Something is troubling you, Your Highness,” Kianna said. “Did something happen while you were out there?”

“My father’s kingdom.Mykingdom—it seems Estria has claimed it for its own.” This was something I needed to unburden myself with.

“That is not surprising. They have always been ambitious, and with your father no longer able to defend his lands, they were bound to take what was left unchallenged for so long.”

“I saw Fae in the town square,” I said, and Kianna visibly reacted to that news, her shoulders bunching to her pointed ears. “Do Fae normally work for human kings?”

“What did they do?” She tremored as I recounted the horrors I’d seen. “They are cruel and unfeeling creatures, Your Highness. I don’t know where their allegiances lie, but you’d do well to stay far away from them.”

“Aren’t they your kin?”

Kianna shuddered as she took a nibble of her bread. “Faeries come in many forms, mostly related to the strength and affinity line of their magic. Fae like me can perform various tasks but usually have no singular tie to any one kind of magic. That’s why my sisters and I have wings. It marks us as those who descended from the union of the Fae queen and king of the Pixies thousands of years ago. The ones you saw in Tenby are pure Fae. Given what you described, they are probably aligned with blood magic.”

Kianna didn’t say much about the bookseller’s proclamation that methods for breaking curses couldn’t be found in books. I showed her the one I’d purchased, but she didn’t look at it as she asked me about the inn and the tavern. I told her about Verna and the ale and my ignorance with the gold coins.

Kianna, too, had spent many years inside the castle, the human world outside a mystery. Before getting saddled with the care of a cursed princess, she had lived in the Faerie realms to the south. “Maybe I’ll come with you next time,” she said. I could tell the idea made her nervous, but I nodded.

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