“Deal,” I declared, before Francis had a chance to reject. The smirk of satisfaction at mydesperation—as William had called it—spread across his face, pride filling his eyes.
“We have a deal,” I repeated, meeting the eyes of my companions. “Bring me a piece of parchment and ink,” I addressed William, uncovering the Royal stamp from my pocket.
The night was in its full glory as we left the Barren’s castle. The dull Moon accompanied us when we walked past the main gate with two guards standing adjacent to it.
“Your Majesty,” Francis mocked, offering me a hand.
I rolled my eyes, accepting the hand nevertheless. “I knew if I demand more than Barren is willing to give up, he would offer thealternativethat we needed,” I said, once the guards were out of earshot.
Francis shook his head as a shadow of a smile touched his lips. “You could have at least warned us.”
“I didn’t want to spoil the show,” I teased, mounting Annabelle as I ordered her to follow after everyone else.
“The show was entertaining indeed,” Francis chuckled, riding side by side with me as we caught up to the rest of our company. “You have gifted him an entire army to command after the war, though,” Francis sighed. “Do you think that was the right thing to do? At the end of the night, someone as ruthless and foolish as William is dangerous for all in a position of true power.”
“It was never mine to give away.” I shrugged as we reached the pathway leading back to Faris. “It was never Barren’s to take,” I said, noting all five ears were listening to our conversation. “People are the ones who choose their ruler, offering respect and trust in return for protection. No one will stand by his side when the war is over: certainly not the Royal army.” I met Francis’ gaze: doubt still written on his face.
“Barren’s personal army—that my mother gifted him ages ago—is loyal to him, no doubt,” I started. “They are more loyal to him than they were to the Queen herself, even though they all answered to her.” I sighed, remembering how I had to pay for her mistakes. “She learned it was harder to control Barren as time passed on. That’s when she came to me.
“Mother wanted the support of his army; William wanted to reach higher in the ranks of Royalty.” The words spilled, freeing me of the burden, and I cared not who listened. “Therefore, the marriage.” I swallowed as the memories of that day shadowed in my mind like nightmares. “As the Queen, Mother could just take his army with no consequence, but she knew better: it would do her no good, not when the people chose Barren as their ruler instead of her.
“Barren can proclaim himself the ruler of all the armies in the Kingdom, and not a single thing will change,” I said at last, meeting the five pairs of eyes looking in my direction as we continued on our path home.
The morning twilight spread through the forest when the six of us stood at the crossway by the line of spruce trees that hid Faris from unwanted eyes.
“What do we do now?” Simon asked, reaching for Ash’s hand when they turned away from the main path—towards Faris. “What is our plan?”
The trip from Silverstone was surprisingly fast, despite the growing storm nature gifted us with. The triumph of our successful mission spread through my chest, though I knew better than to celebrate when nothing of value had been accomplished. Not yet.
“We must still find a way to make Royal steel,” Francis said, brushing off the snow that had fallen on his hair. “That is our priority.”
“The ball is next week.” Florence reminded him. “We can go to the palace the day after.” She wrapped her cloak tighter as a visible shudder swept through her shoulders.
“We don’t have time for a ball,” Francis argued.
“We must find time, Francis,” Simon sighed. The tall spruce tree covered him and Ash from the fallen snow. “Faris is running low on blood: I have people coming to me daily, asking for a meal, for they have nothing left at home.”
Ash nodded, agreeing, “And whatever was stored after the last ball is about to spoil.” They met Francis’ gaze. “You don’twant vampires to abandon the treaty with the human village, out of survival, right before the war breaks loose.”
“Some told me they haven’t had human blood in weeks.” Simon’s voice quieted. “You know a vampire can’t survive on their own kind's blood for long. We need everyone to be strong and ready.”
My brows frowned at his words; my stomach twisted in an unnatural way.What in the Kingdom does he mean?
“Very well then,” Francis said slowly, oblivious to my reaction. “I can go to the palace by myself while all of you tend to the ball.”
“You are not going by yourself!” Roxanne groaned. “We have already talked about this.”
“It would be foolish for us all to show up at the palace’s gates,” Francis argued, his knuckles whitened around the reins.
“I’m coming with you.” My voice broke through the storm’s howl. “I am the only one who knows my way around the palace.”
“We are all going.” Roxanne rolled her eyes. “This conversation is a waste of time, the sun is about to come up.”
“The more people who come, the more likely we are to get caught,” Francis countered.
“You don’t know what’s in the vault!” Roxanne’s voice went up a few octaves. She scraped the snow off her horse’ mane, throwing it at Francis’ face. “We don’t even know how many Wurdulacs are currently at the palace.”
“We need a proper plan before going,” Simon agreed, ignoring Francis, who worked to clean the snow off his face. “Come to the tavern tomorrow and we shall talk about it.” He turned his horse towards Faris, Ash followed after, waving us goodbye. “And don’t you dare leave by yourself.” Simon eyed Francis over his shoulder. “I will not forgive such betrayal,” he said, disappearing into the depths of the spruce.
