“It’s late. Most everyone is asleep, so it’s the perfect time. . . . covered by darkness.” I was sweating beneath my cape despite the chill outside. I was nervous as hell of getting caught and punished for illegal actions. Being the potential savior of the princess would only get me so far.
As always, the guards didn’t pay me or Dris any attention. What mischief could a book nerd and a human servant really get into?
We walked up the servants’ stone stairs. I had been stuck cleaning the bottom level of the palace, so this was quite an adventure for me, seeing more of the exquisitely designed home of the queen. The hallways were carved with swirls and patterns. Each metal torch handle was custom-made to match the walls they were nailed into. The floor had a purple rug all the way down the hall. My floor was bare basics of stone walls and stone tiles on the floor. The royal section of the palace was lavish in every way.
I heard guards mumbling from the direction of the queen’s quarters, but unless we made a loud ruckus, they wouldn’t be alerted to our visit.
“Perfect timing, ladies,” Emrys whispered behind us. I had to reach my hand over Dris’s mouth to stop her scream from echoing down the hall to the guards.
We stilled, listening for signs they had heard us, and they still mumbled.
“You jerk,” Dris said to Emrys and smacked his shoulder.
These two were going to be a handful for me, although I had to admit their back and forth was entertaining.
“OK, spider goat Fae, do your stuff.” I pushed Emrys toward the princess’s door. Emrys rolled his eyes and began picking the lock with a criminal’s finesse. It popped open almost as soon as he got started, and a smug grin appeared on Emrys’s face.
“I’ll make sure they put you in the books as the criminal who once opened a door.” Dris pushed him out of the way, and we entered the room together. Emrys grabbed a torch from behind us since the room was very dark, and no light could enter past the thick, closed curtains.
Nyx’s tomb was pretty and didn’t feel final in many ways, like she was sleeping, waiting for true love’s kiss from the storybooks to wake her. But looking at her room, it was like she’d been dead for centuries. The real tomb was here, in her quarters. Spider webs and dust covered every inch of this once magnificent place. Her bedspread of gold and blue had swirls sown in across its comfortable material. A canopy of silk hung from her large wooden four-poster bed, and beside it was a pile of books resting on a table. Books were also scattered across the floor, like she’d been unable to sleep. She had a wardrobe bursting with fancy clothes covered in dust and dirt and strings from the material fraying.
“This place looks like the real tomb,” Dris murmured and I nodded. It was creepy, and it felt wrong seeing her things.
“Let’s look around and get out of here,” I whispered, ignoring the state of this room. Even though it gave me the chills, I peered in every direction to see if any details stood out as mystery-solving worthy.
“I’ve been looking for these books!” Dris hissed, her fingers running over the books piled on the table.
“I think you can forgive her for not returning them,” I replied.
“She was reading some heavy stuff. Core anatomy and scientific experiments by Gregory Debaru. A genius but a madman. She was researching our history, too. Trying to find something. I think she—yep —took notes in these books. Who does that?” Although the librarian in her was upset, there had to be a huge clue in those notes.
“Anything, Emrys?” He moved around items on her vanity. Brushes and makeup sat in their organized place, waiting for the princess to begin her morning routine.
“Didn’t the princess have purple hair?” he asked.
Both Dris and I nodded. I’d stared at her sleeping body enough to know that she indeed had lavender-hued hair.
“What did you find?” Silently I walked over and looked at the brush he held. It was not purple but a darker colored hair.Odd.I thought of excuses or an answer to this new piece of the puzzle, but I couldn’t come up with anything. The princess’s room was as mysterious as the woman in the tomb.
“Guys, I think I found something.” Dris waved us over to the collection of pretty dresses.
“There’s something under there. Look, see those markings,” she continued, pointing toward the floor of the expansive wardrobe.
“I see it.” Emrys reached over and pushed the petrified dresses out of the way.
“Oh, my heart tree.” Dris gasped, her owl eyes widening at the madness before us, written all over the wall of the wardrobe.
“No one said the princess was mad, too.” Emrys’s low voice of confusion mirrored the thoughts in my head.
Scribbled on the wardrobe were words of a madwoman. Over and over. Every warning bell in my mind told me to run. Run far and run fast.
He knows.
He’s coming for me.
Must split it. Must hide it.
He knows.
