Xander doesn’t linger, walking to the other side of the ship where a staircase leads below deck. I stay for a moment longer, letting his words seep into me as guilt roars within, before I decide to explore the ship to pass the time. As I make my way across the deck, following the same path Xander took, my gaze snags on a few of the posted guards. One looks at me with outright curiosity, his eyes roaming over me like doing so will show him the inner workings of my body.Of my magic. Another’s stare is more condemning, his light blue eyes narrowing harshly as I pass.
The farther that I go, the more looks I receive, some so sharp they prick right between my ribs. I abandon the idea of exploring and head back to my room, collapsing on the bed once more and forcing my eyes to close. But sleep eludes me, and instead, the faces of the guards play on repeat behind my lids. They have a myriad of reasons to be wary of me, none greater than that I hadkilledso many of them not long ago. And now? Now I hadmade it so an enemy that they cannot defend against is able to walk unharmed through the Spell. Of all the things I have done, forced or not, I can’t help but feel like those moments on the beach will be the ones that haunt me most of all.
Chapter Forty-Six: Rhea
Whentheshipdocked,I wasn’t expecting to be greeted with unnerving silence. Instead of a bustling port filled with other ships, we landed somewhere private. I suppose it made sense, given who was on the ship with me, but I had dared to hope that a busier location would be easier for someone to get lost in. Tohidein. That it would be easier for Nox to wait in the shadows. It’s those thoughts that hover over me as I walk at King Dolian’s side in the sand, a swarm of guards protecting us from all sides.
There are trees that surround us as we cut a path through the beach, though I wouldn’t call it a forest like in the Mage Kingdom. They are more sparsely planted, certainly not leaving many places for someone to hide. Especially not with how many of the King’s Guardsmen are spread throughout the landscape in all directions. My shoulders slump unbidden as realization settles.
“I see you are beginning to understand that there will be no rescue today.” The king’s breath is warm against my ear, and I close my eyes against him and the confirmation that Nox isn’t here.But of course he isn’t here. At the sound of marching steps, my eyes open again, and I watch as guards trickle out from the treeline ahead.
One of them walks to where Xander leads our procession, the two men dipping their heads to speak quietly before Xander nods and the other man returns to the other waiting guards. “The area and path to the palace are secure, Your Majesty.”
The king looks to me, his eyes slowly dragging down my body and back up again, making sure I feel their caress as thoroughly as I have felt his fists. “Then let us returnhome.” His emphasis is a reminder that is not needed. Despite being the place where I lived the majority of my life, it willneverbe home.
King Dolian wraps his fingers around my arm and tugs me towards him, my chest bumping into his as he leans down and whispers in my ear. “I want to make something abundantly clear. You will follow all the same rules as at the residence. You will not be able to leave any part of the castle grounds without me at your side.” Magic infuses his words, a roaring filling my head at his commands. “I have been too soft on you, Rhea. I see now. That changes here.” Placing a kiss on my cheek, he steps back and walks to join Xander at the front, leaving me alone as his guards surround me again.
We climb worn wooden stairs to a road, carriages pulled by horses waiting for us. I expect to be put in the same one as King Dolian, my body already tensing at the idea of being stuck in such close quarters with him, but instead, I’m led to the one behind his. The carriage is a pristine white, gold details in the shape of flowers and vines are painted along its edges. Taking my seat on one of the small velvet-lined benches, I pull the matching curtains back and stare out of the window into the surrounding trees as a guard closes the door. But moments later, it opens again, and Eve climbs in.
“Hi,” she says, taking the bench across from me, an easy smile gracing her face. “I figured you might want some company as we ride through Vitour.”
“We’ll be riding through the city?”
“Sort of. The king prefers to travel on the outskirts of the city center. Mostly because it is safer to do so.”
“Safer?” I look back out the window to the guards that mount horses and the ones that line up on either side of the carriages. You’d have to be a fool to attack when this many guards are present.Or extremely powerful. My chest heaves as I push that thought away.
The snap of the reins ring out before the carriage lurches forward. The journey is long in the sense that my anxiousness makes it difficult for me to sit still and short in the way my anticipation builds at what might be waiting for me when we arrive.
The first portion of the trip is filled with meadows, tall trees dotting the landscape every so often. But, after a while, it morphs into a collection of rugged looking homes, smoke curling from chimneys and people milling about as they tend gardens. Children run right up to where the guards walk alongside us, but the men ignore their smiling faces until the children are called back. My fingertips press against the cold glass as I watchthe families study the king’s procession, looks of uncertainty marring their faces.
“This is Amnois, a small town that provides much of the produce that the palace consumes,” Eve says into the silence that’s filled the carriage.
“The fields are so large,” I respond, looking at the rows and rows of land dedicated to growing fruits and vegetables. “I know I have no reference for this sort of thing, but it seems like enough land to supply the kingdom.”
“Maybe not the kingdom, but certainly a large portion of it.” At the bitterness I hear in her voice, I turn away from the window to regard her. “The king does not allow them to sell to anyone outside of nobility. There are smaller farms dotted throughout the landscape, but Vitour and its outskirts have the biggest population. They have limited options when it comes to food.”
“Can they not grow it themselves?”
Eve’s eyes soften, but the pity in them makes me shuffle in my seat. “They can if they have enough land. They also need someone to tend it, but that task falls to the children since, in most instances, both parents work. Even then, there are limitations put in place by the Crown. You can only grow enough to feed your family, and if you are caught with more than is deemedappropriate,then you’re punished.”
“I had no idea.” Even with my brief freedom in the Mage Kingdom, I never took it upon myself to learn how life operated for those not in the vicinity of the palace. Part of that was circumstances outside of my control, but part of it was because I had been, selfishly, content in my own little bubble.
Eventually, we reach the outskirts of Vitour. We aren’t close enough to see more than the tops of the establishments, trees obscuring some of that, but it fills me with a longing that isreminiscent of my time in the tower. I hate that my first glimpse at the city is while I’m trapped within a carriage.
The paved road turns to cobblestone, and the castle looms in front of us like a menacing beast made of depressing gray stone. Its peaks reach high into the sky, rounded windows of stained glass breaking up the stone and depicting images that are too far away to make out. A stone wall encircles the perimeter of the castle, connecting to a portcullis, the spiked gate already drawn up and guarded heavily.
We enter beneath a stone archway into a scene that looks like a fairytale pulled straight from the pages of a book. A garden filled with more flowers than I know how to name stretches far, red cobblestone walking paths visible in each row. Branches from wide trees dotting the gardens hang low enough to brush your fingers against their deep green leaves. Stone benches are scattered throughout—as are fountains that showcase statues of men and women, each one more intricately carved than the last.
As I take everything in for the first time, it’s easy to forget exactly what this place is. What it represents. It’s a confounding sort of beauty—one that easily draws me in like a well-timed distraction. For so long in my tower, I fantasized about what the castle might look like. Without even stepping foot inside, I can admit that not even my imagination paid homage to the grandiosity of this place. That realization frightens me because it only solidifies the knowledge that the power King Dolian has isn’t just limited to the ring on my finger. His threat from earlier plays in my ear, making the hair rise on the back of my neck as the carriage rolls to a stop.
Eve exits first, standing off to the side while a guard extends his hand out to me. His brown eyes are kind when they meet mine, not holding any of the hostility I felt from his companions. “Lady Rhea, my name is Brisk, and I’m to show you to your rooms.” Taking my fingers in his, he guides me out into the coolafternoon air, my next inhale laced with the scent of flowers and something even sweet, like a dessert. King Dolian and his Trusted guards must have already exited, but his absence doesn’t bring relief, instead making my stomach ache as I follow Brisk with Eve at my side.
My steps are less sure-footed the farther inside the castle we go, my attention bouncing from one corner of the entrance to the other. If I thought the outside of the castle seemed monstrously big, the inside somehow feels bigger. Draped in red and accented in an unfathomable amount of gold, the Mortal Kingdom’s castle is a monument to opulence. The stone walls are painted white and covered with tapestries and art. Windows framed within pointed arches let sunlight stream in abundantly and rugs of woven gold and crimson line the tiled floors, the stone beneath them glittering white and tan.
Brisk guides us to the left towards a large spiral staircase, the banister a gleaming wood that is soft beneath my hand as we begin to climb. By the time we reach the third floor, my heart is pounding in my chest as I pathetically struggle to keep my breathing even. Muscles burning as we continue forward, I take in this wing of the castle. It’s far quieter than the levels below us.
“This entire wing is for the king’s betrothed,” Brisk says as we pass a wide tapestry depicting a woman with long blonde hair lying on the beach, the water splashing around her hips. Her face is serene, a gentle smile tugging on her lips as her arms are thrown above her head. “Eve will remain at your service whenever you have need of her, though there is a team that will be fully dedicated to you for bigger events. The king’s quarters are on the opposite side, if you turn back towards the staircase and then follow the hall to the west.”
