Page 12 of Blood of the Fairest

"It is odd to see you so…grossly unkempt."

"Take me now, sailor."

"What?"

"Just a bit of sarcasm. I know I look like shit, but you try waking up from an assassination sometime, and we'll see how kempt you still look."

If he's surprised to hear that someone tried to kill the queen, the executioner isn't bothered by it. He just nods like his curiosity is satisfied. Neither he nor the miserable-looking boy says anything else.

Until the carriage rolls to a stop and waits for a long moment.

"We've reached your private entry to Isemere Castle, Your Majesty," the executioner prompts, like he finds it strange that I haven't moved.

He wipes the still-drying blood on his gloves onto his black pants. The blond teenager sees that and tears up all over again, even though he's trying to keep a stiff upper lip.

If I wasn't the blood-covered evil queen who just did this to him, I'd give him the biggest hug ever.

"Will the boy be okay?" I check.

"Don't act so fucking concerned now, after all you've done to me and mine," the kid spits vitriol.

"I will ensure he is kept under close watch in the lower guest quarters until Your Majesty decides what to do with him," the executioner confirms.

"Make sure he gets food, too. And a clean change of clothes. If I find out he's being treated like shit, it won't end well for anyone involved, got it?”

I'm sure I don't sound as scary as the real queen must be, but seriously—I will raise hell if this sixteen-year-old suffers any more. I couldn't save his family in time, but I can look out for him now.

At least, until I figure out a way back to my world.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the executioner intones.

One of the guards opens the door from the outside for me. He offers a hand to help me down. I still have no idea if my dried blood will fuck someone up the way it did the Three Stooges, so I keep my hands to myself as I get out.

The sun has set behind the clouds, the rest of the world growing dim. The carriage is parked by a massive grey stone wall with a single door on the side, embellished with a pane of stained glass depicting an apple tree. It looks like we're at the base of the castle.

When I glance at the guard, he's carefully averting his gaze from my face.

"Do I just…walk through that door?"

"I believe so, my queen." He sounds nervous and strikes me as being a much newer guard than the others I met earlier. "May I ask…is it truly enchanted, as the rumors say? I've heard that only you can step through that door into the secret passage. They say it connects to your private chambers and…other places that no one knows."

Well, then. That's ominous.

Unless the other places are a bathroom with plumbing and hot water, which I would do just about anything for at this point.

"I guess I'll find out," I mutter, once again resisting the urge to rub my tired face.

Thanking the guard, I twist the handle and step through the door. It doesn't feel magical, but what do I know?

Soon, I'm walking through a chilly, vaulted stone passage lit by flickering sconces. It smells strangely sweet in here—almost floral.

After a few minutes, I pass a tall, green-painted wooden door to my right.

Then a blue door.

Then a red one.

I don't open any of them, because I have no desire to do a one-woman reenactment of The Other Side of the Door. As much as I like clichéd horror movies in my world, I'm way too shell-shocked right now to blindly explore a creepy underground tunnel in another dimension.