“We’ve provided you with enough root for one dose,” Theo adds, almost like he can read my thoughts.
“The sun is setting. The king will be attending his nightly feast in the great hall. This is where you need to go. Bat your eyelashes at him and promise him a wild night of adventure,” Malachi says.
“With my floof,” I mutter.
Theo opens the satchel and a long emerald green dress sweeps out. Okay, I raise that risk number to fifty-four. Long dresses with trains seem unnecessarily dangerous for a maiden like me. I suck in a breath. If I’m going to seduce a king and steal his special knife, I need to look the part, even if it kills me.
“No one is dying,” Hart grumbles.
I glance around at the long beach. “Where am I meant to get changed?”
Malachi jerks his head, and I follow him around the cliff to reveal an entrance to a cave. Unless you knew it was here, you would never find it because it’s tucked back on an angle from the ocean. Theo follows behind us.
Malachi threads his fingers with mine and leads me into it. Darkness claims us, and I squeeze his hand tighter. Hopefully, this isn’t the way into the castle, although scaling a sheer cliff face also seems perilous. Flames burst into life along the walls, making me shriek.
“It’s okay, Daphne. It’s just the torches,” Malachi mutters as I draw closer to him. We edge around a pool and into a tunnel. Must be a spell they used to ignite them.
“You can get changed here,” Malachi says, waving at the tunnel and turning his back to it. Theo does the same. I inch into the narrow passage and double-check the Stirlings are keeping their backs to me. I peel off my blouse and skirts before slipping on the dress. Oh no, there’s a train.
“Are you doing okay back there, pretty mouse?” Theo asks.
“You got me a death trap dress.”
Theo chuckles and glances over his shoulder. His gaze scans me appreciatively. “I also need the corset tightening,” I explain.
“I’ll get the others,” Malachi says, stalking out of the cave. Theo strides towards me, and I turn and lift my hair. He pulls on the ribbons, causing my breasts to plump up.
“All done,” Theo says as he trails his fingers down my bare arms. Goosebumps erupt across my flesh. I turn to face him and my foot gets caught on the train. He reaches out to steady me.
“I have zero chance of making it into the castle without landing flat on my face,” I explain. Theo drops to his knee, and I give him an amused look. “I don’t believe praying to the Idols will save me from a tussle with gravity.” It’s never worked before.
He lifts the train of the dress and pulls out a loop of ribbon, then he takes my wrist and slips it over it. I spin in a circle, finding the dress no longer tangles around my feet.
“Clever,” I mutter just as Theo rises and the others appear in the cave.
Nash pushes past Theo and points down the tunnel. “You keep going along here. It will take you less than ten tempos. There’s a grate on the right. Push against it and it will bring you into the castle’s library. From there, go through the double doors and you will be in the grand hall.”
“Ten tempos, grate on the right, lots of books, double doors, feast. Wait, will they have sausage?”
“Idols save us,” Hart utters.
Nash hands me a small bag and glances over at me like he’s trying to decide where I should put it. I roll my eyes and stuff the bag of root in between my breasts. Trust me, nothing is escaping from inside there.
Nash swallows, and his gaze sweeps up to my face. He reaches behind me and unties my hair, letting the curls spring over my shoulders. “You need to be back here before the diurnal begins.”
“Why? I am no Cinderella with a nasty squash for transport that gives up at the diurnal.”
“Because then the tide will block our exit, and we will be stuck in the cave until low tide.”
I blanch. Being stuck in a nasty tunnel with the Stirling brothers is not my idea of fun. “Got it.”
I turn and edge my way along the tunnel. More torches erupt the deeper I go, lighting my way and chasing the damp chill from the air.
The light from the library filters through the grate and illuminates the tunnel as I reach it. Pressing my hands against the cool metal, it swings out easily. It appears the brothers come through this entrance often. I turn and close it almost all the way, because I fear locking myself inside a strange castle with a randy king.
I pause for a moment to glance around the library. This king obviously cares more for pretty maidens than learning, because it can't hold a candle to the one at the Hallows Palace. Gwyneth wouldn't be so happy to work here. Luckily, no one is around to question my presence, and I dash through the room to the double doors.
Wow, this theft is going to plan. Who would have thought? I carefully twist the handle and open the door. Hundreds of people crowd in a grand hall decorated in white and gold. I rush into the room and shut the door after me, side-eyeing the crowd to the left and to the right. I release a breath. Nobody shouts, ‘stop that maiden and her thieving floof!’ I weave my way between the fancily dressed people.That’s right, nothing to see here. Just a maiden and her floof on a quest.Closer and closer I get toward the table at the far end of the room, where I can hear great bellows of laughter pealing in the air. I emerge from the crowd unscathed and I give myself a pat on the back for achieving that much. My eyes collide with one of the kings who had appeared on stage back at the Hallows Palace. He’s older than the brothers but certainly related. Father, I imagine. Ew, that just makes me feel gross. His green eyes trail up my body and he grins, his crown declaring him as king. I freeze. Wait, there’s a flaw in this brilliant plan. I can’t seduce anybody, not the frogs at the pond, nor a king with a cocky grin and wicked intentions.
