So Jade took the time waiting for a report on Theo to rest as much as she could. She got herself as comfortable as possible in one of the chairs in the waiting area and shut her eyes. She would need every ounce of strength to get her to Castle Venemer by the start of the coronation.
Scenes flashed through her mind, images of the past twenty-four hours. Alanna crumpling to the floor and dying. Nicolas on one knee with a ring between them. Theo struck with a bullet from her own gun. The memories were vivid, haunting, brutal. She didn’t want to see them, but she couldn’t force them away. They played continuously in her head until her mind gave in to a restless sleep.
Forty-Five
“Captain Ni’ihm.”
Jade awoke to a gentle hand on her shoulder. She blinked several times before seeing a blurry figure in front of her. Through bleary eyes, she finally made out the face of Doctor Bethle. She bolted upright in the chair, then regretted it, her neck stiff from being lolled over.
“How is he?” Jade asked, her voice thick with sleep.
“Stable,” Doctor Bethle replied. “I had to administer two units of blood, and after that, he improved significantly.”
Jade angled her head to the side, cracking the frozen joints in her neck. “Can I see him?”
“He’s sleeping now. He did wake briefly as the blood was being administered, but I urged him to rest. His body has been through a lot.”
Her heart lodged in her throat, and she tried to swallow it down.Your fault, her mind told her. But she couldn’t dwellon such things.
“Will he stay here?” she asked.
Doctor Bethle nodded. “I’ll keep him here for a while under observation.”
Jade cast a quick glance at the clock and licked her lips. Ten till hour four. She had to leave if she was going to make it to the coronation in time. “When he wakes up again, will you tell him that I left for the coronation? And that I’m sorry.”
“Of course, Captain,” Doctor Bethle said with a downward tilt of his head.
“Thank you,” Jade murmured, then she turned and headed toward the door with a deep inhale. Theo was in good hands. She had to shift her focus.
Once outside the medical ward, Jade ran to the stables, where she saddled a fresh horse capable of the long journey ahead. She ignored the rumbling of her stomach as she rode through the gate and off base. Eating could happen later. She’d lost enough time as it was.
She turned out onto the road and guided the horse into a canter, settling in for the long ride ahead of them.
The ride to the capital allowed for too much time to be alone with her thoughts. Jade recalled every interaction she’d ever had with Nicolas, every note from her informant, every encounter with the assassin. The more she studied the details, the more things fell into place. She saw his hand in everything now, the presumed long-dead prince come back to haunt those who had killed his mother and tried to kill him. Setting the royal family against each other and causing enough dissension and pointed fingers that he could step in and easily claim his throne. Jade had just been unfortunate enough to capture his attention, which got her involved at a much deeper level.
Some of her biggest unanswered questions lingered in her mind. Why now? Where had he been for the past eleven years? Obviously, he was little more than a child when he’d escaped with his life, but where had he turned and how long had he been planning this? Why had he decided now was the time to strike?
They were questions she may never get answers to.
The rising of the sun brought a renewed hope, even though nothing had changed. She still had about three hours of travel, and there was no guarantee she would arrive before the ceremony began.
Her progress slowed as she reached the outskirts of the city and the number of travelers grew. People crowded the streets, hoping to get as close to the cathedral as possible or waiting along the departure route to catch a glimpse of the new king, queen, and princess.
Jade stabled her horse just inside the city’s perimeter and continued on foot, but she made faster progress that way. As small and lithe as she was, she was able to slip through gaps in the crowds and inch her way up to the cathedral.
People along the streets smiled and chatted and waved Marrani flags. Despite the recent loss of the king and even more recent loss of one of the new king’s daughters, the people were joyful. No doubt they saw the coronation as an end to the strife plaguing their monarchical system as well as a new start for their kingdom.
Jade didn’t echo their excitement. Her pulse raced, her heart a stampede and an anxious trembling reaching down her limbs. She prayed she wasn’t too late. Sweat cascaded down her forehead and back, the summer morning already stifling with the amount of people so close together. The muggy air suffocated Jade, and she was desperate to break free, but she was even more desperate to make it to the coronation and stop whatever Nicolas had in mind.
The tolling of a bell grabbed Jade’s attention and gave her a beacon to follow. She edged her way through the crowds until the tall spire and belltower of the cathedral came into sight. The ninth gong rang as she pushed her way up the wide marble steps and slipped inside through the open double doors.
A priest was speaking in the ancient language, now only used ceremonially, and Jade had no clue what he was saying. He was dressed in heavy red and white robes, with a boxy head piece and semi-sheer facial covering, as was tradition. The humility associated with the garment represented his service to the new monarch.
Jade squeezed her way into the long, high-ceilinged room until Prince Reynauld, Lady Fellsrin, and Lady Arabella came into view. Even from this distance, the anguish and weariness on Arabella’s face was visible. Though she had been dressed in the ceremonial coronation robes, regality dripping from every inch of her, it wasn’t enough to mask her despair. The empty space beside her gaped without Alanna. Dark bags circled under Arabella’s eyes despite the cosmetics she wore, and the corners of her mouth turned downward. Not in her usual haughtiness or irritation, but in true sadness. Grand General Devereaux had insisted they go on with the coronation despite Alanna’s death to once and for all establish their line as the new line of succession.
A shimmer of gold caught the morning light that streamed in the stained-glass windows. Under the royal robes, Arabella wore the gold dress she and Alanna had discussed when Jade had been spying on them prior to the masquerade. The gold dress that Arabella believed was more fitting for a coronation. But Alanna wasn’t here to see it.
Jade pulled her attention away from Arabella, checking every inch of the cathedral for anything that seemed out of place. Castle guards lined the walls and the center aisle, standing at attention. Military officers witnessed the coronation from their own dedicated section of the cathedral, where Jade would be sitting if she’d remained at the castle and helped prepare for the day. Matherson sat with them, but Grand General Devereaux stood at the front of the cathedral off to the side of the platform where the future rulerssat. Her hands were clasped behind her back, her eyes constantly scanning the crowd. She must have expected something too.
