Hereafter (The Lost Princesses Book 3) Page 13

  I chanced a look at Rex to find that he was watching me, no longer stiff and unapproachable as he’d been a short while ago. Instead, his face was masked with regret, maybe even sadness.

  Had he come to apologize and make things right? As the future king, he must have some influence and could figure out a way to set my parents free.

  “Emmeline.” He stood in the middle of the room. “I am sorry about your parents’ capture. I had no knowledge the king was even searching for them.”

  The gentleness in his voice beckoned me, and I crawled off the bed, leaving Ruby behind. I wanted to go to him, fall to my knees, and plead with him to help me.

  “I allowed your parents to go free for your sake,” he continued. “I hope you know I had no desire to bring them harm.”

  I took several steps toward him, then stopped. “I believe you.”

  He nodded, but his eyes were still troubled.

  Gaining hope, I crossed to him and reached for his hand. He was attired in his chain mail as he had been the past days. But he’d discarded his gloves, and my fingers made contact with his. The hard contours, the strength, the roughness of his skin, all reminded me of his power and yet his indescribable gentleness.

  As though sensing my reaction, his attention shifted to my hand against his. He stared, his brows furrowing.

  “I love them, Rex,” I said before he could dash my hope again. “They’re the only parents I ever knew. They sacrificed everything for me. And they loved me with body, soul, and strength.”

  “I know,” he said softly.

  “Then you understand why I must save them? Why I’ll do anything to free them?”

  “Anything?” He finally lifted his gaze.

  Something in his eyes and tone warned me that he hadn’t come to apologize or offer to help. He’d come to manipulate me. I let go of his hand and took a step back. He reached for me as though to regain our connection, but I slipped farther away, widening the distance between us.

  “What must I do?” I didn’t care that my voice came out hard.

  He expelled a sigh, paused, then straightened his shoulders. “You must go meet your sisters and retrieve the last ancient key to the hidden treasure.”

  “Then you know for sure that they have both come?” When I’d previously questioned Rex about the impending attack, he’d been uncertain if both my sisters were aboard the ships bringing the rebel army. He’d supposed one might stay behind in Norland for safekeeping.

  “Our scouts have spotted them both. And now you must go to them and get the final key.”

  I stared at him, trying to make sense of his command. “I’m to sneak into the rebel camp and steal it?”

  “You can go under the guise of meeting them and negotiating peace. But then, yes, you must secretly retrieve the key.”

  My mind spun in a hundred directions. “Where will I find it?”

  “I have already sent out my men to capture one of Adelaide’s close advisors or guards. I shall have that information before long.”

  My stomach lurched. I only had to picture the bare back of the man who’d given away my location in Inglewood Forest to know what method Rex planned to use to gain his information.

  I stalked back to my bed, frustration pulsing with every step. I’d thought I was beginning to know who Rex really was. Underneath his fierce exterior, I’d seen a man who longed for peace, a man who wanted to avoid bloodshed.

  However, apparently, a beast lurked within him. Why had I expected anything less from the son of a monster like King Ethelwulf? Though I’d longed to believe the best about him, ultimately he used people to his benefit and didn’t care whom he hurt in the process of gaining what he wanted.

  I stopped at the footboard and wished I could pull the bed curtains around me and hide within. I wanted to get away from Rex, from this battle between our families, from everything. As I closed my eyes, the desire for my forest home rose up so swiftly that for a moment I could almost smell the rich scent of pine and moss and charcoal smoke. I could almost feel the cool air rustling the leaves.

  If only things had never changed. If only we could return—Father, Mother, me, and Bede—to our cottage and live in peace. We’d been content, and life had been good.

  Now my parents were in the dungeons and would soon face Magnus’s torture—if they hadn’t already. They were suffering on account of me. And where was Bede? What would become of my little friend now?

  My shoulders sagged and my head drooped. I had no choice but to do whatever Rex asked. Stealing a key wasn’t the worst thing he could have required. After all, what could Adelaide do with the one remaining ancient key?

  Though I didn’t relish the idea of befriending my sisters only to betray them, I prayed they would come to understand I’d had no choice, not if I hoped to save my parents.

  Finally, I turned to face Rex, resigning myself to my fate. “Do you vow to release my parents if I get the key?”

  The sadness was back in his eyes. “The king will allow you to save one of them.”

  “One?” Surely I’d misunderstood him.

  Rex didn’t answer except to lift his chin.

  Cold fury rushed through my veins. “You’re despicable.”

  “I may not like every decision the king makes.” His voice turned low and steely. “But I must obey him the same as everyone else, perhaps more so, if I hope to prove myself worthy of being his heir and have any chance of someday being a better ruler.”

  “You will never be a better ruler unless you learn that winning loyalty is best achieved through mercy rather than fear.”

  “How can a girl as sheltered and naïve as you presume to give me advice?” His tone sliced as sharply as the glint in his eyes. “You know nothing about being a leader.”

  Before I could formulate an answer, he pivoted, strode to the door, exited, and slammed it with a force that rattled the furniture.

  I stared at the door, and a wave of anguish pummeled me. A sob expanded in my chest. It burst out, but not before I caught it within the confines of my hand.

  I wasn’t sure which hurt more: knowing no matter what I did, my parents were still in grave danger. Or knowing I’d lost Rex and that whatever love we’d developed was now gone.

  The following dawn, my servants awoke me at Rex’s command and passed along his message that I was to be ready to ride to Adelaide’s camp at full light. He’d clearly gotten all the information he’d needed regarding the location of the third key. I could only pray the poor person he’d seized and tortured hadn’t suffered for long.

  After a restless night of thinking about Rex, about his sweet gifts, about the tender moments we’d shared, the pain had swelled and at times had been difficult to bear. So had the pain over my parents. I alternated between panic regarding their fate and fury that they’d been captured in the first place. In addition, I couldn’t stop thinking about meeting my sisters for the first time and the fact that I would have to betray them.

  When I’d finally fallen asleep, my nightmares of being chased and captured by men in black chain mail came back in vivid detail so that upon waking, I was listless and tired, my anger mingling with sorrow.

  My maidservants did their best to transform me into a regal woman worthy of being the next queen. But now that I knew how Rex really viewed me—as a sheltered and naïve girl—all their fussing only made me feel more inadequate.

  When Rex’s guards came for me, I offered no resistance. They led me to the inner bailey where the prince had assembled a group of armed soldiers attired in their finest armor and wearing the standard of Bryttania. Thankfully, I had a horse of my own, for I wasn’t sure I could have borne sitting with Rex on his steed, so close and yet so far apart.

  As one of his men aided my mount, I glimpsed Rex watching me, but like his men, he’d donned his great helm, shielding his face. Though his eyes were visible behind narrow slits, I turned away from him so I wouldn’t be tempted to look into them and search for any hint of the warmth and a
ffection he’d shown me previously.

  I needed to focus on the mission at hand, retrieve the key, and then get my mother out of the dungeons. While I loathed the prospect of leaving Father there, he was stronger and would be able to endure the torture for longer, until I could figure out a way to free him. Once I came up with a plan, hopefully, he wouldn’t be too weak and injured to make the escape with me.

  As we rode into the outer bailey and through the gatehouse, I studied every wall, tower, window, and crenellation with renewed awareness. The fortifications were strong and crawled with soldiers. How would Father and I sneak past all of them? I’d just have to pray Father remembered every nuance and crack in the castle from his days as an elite guard, and that he’d have a plan for making our escape.

  A long wooden bridge spanned the moat—a moat that had once been full of poisonous snakes and maybe still was. Father and Mother had loved to tell me the story of their running through a tunnel that ran under the moat while the snakes hung down from the ceiling like vines. From what I’d been able to glean from castle servants, the king had filled in that passageway long ago.

  The fortress stood on a slight northern rise with the town spreading out below like a footstool. Beyond the town walls, at an even lower elevation, the churning waters of the East Sea crashed against the rocky shore. In the distance, dozens of ships blockaded Delsworth’s harbor, trapping King Ethelwulf’s ships as well as merchant vessels.

  Even if the king’s fleet was cut off, the sea and its high crags provided a measure of fortification, particularly on the southern and eastern sides. To the north of the castle, a heavily wooded area acted as another defense.

  The only direction an advancing army could easily attack was from the southwest. However, the invading army would first need to conquer the town before being able to take the castle. Apparently, that was Adelaide’s strategy because her camp spread to the southwest as far as I could see. The plains were covered with hundreds of tents, horses, and campfires, the smoke curling up into the early morning, and crews assembling siege engines along the perimeter of the camp closest to Delsworth.

  The early-morning sunshine turned the bright-red royal standards into flaming flags. With the golden lions rearing up, I recognized the insignia. The emblem belonged to the House of Mercia, my family.

  My family. I sat up straighter and examined the tents more closely, searching for the larger ones that would signify royalty. I’d finally meet Adelaide today and possibly Maribel. What would they think of me? After I’d already sabotaged their rebellion with my marriage to Rex, would they despise me? Consider me weak?

  As I looked out over the plains, the magnitude of Adelaide’s resistance efforts impressed me, even if I didn’t agree with her methods. She’d gone from a young, unknown woman in hiding to a respected and revered queen in a little over a year.

  What was the secret of her success? Would she be a merciful ruler? Better than Rex? A part of me wanted to cling to the hope that Rex could yet be different, that he might let himself be controlled by goodness instead of by evil. However, as he rode ahead of me with his shoulders and back stiff and proud, I feared I’d misplaced my trust.

  Our ride through town was solemn. The cheering crowds from just days ago were long gone. Most were hidden away behind closed shutters. Only a few shopkeepers dared to show themselves.

  The king and Rex had to be taking some satisfaction in their successful scheming, since the people of Delsworth hadn’t thrown open the city gates to welcome Adelaide. They’d effectively used the public wedding and display of affection to manipulate the emotions of the people the same way they’d manipulated mine.

  The very remembrance served to stir the anger in me once more so that by the time we reached the southern city gates, my determination to fight had started to return.

  When Rex drew his steed alongside mine and lifted his visor, I was ready to hold myself together. I could sense him waiting for me to turn my attention upon him. Instead, I looked straight ahead at the imposing iron grill of the closed gate.

  “We shall ride out together,” he said, “with the white flag signifying our peaceful intentions.”

  “Very well,” I replied with equal formality.

  “If your sister agrees to give you an audience, I and several others will accompany you to the meeting and will request the privacy of a tent. Though the key belonged to Maribel, the queen now keeps it in a pouch at her waist. That means you will need to figure out a way to cut it loose when she is not aware.” He held out my knife.

  I took it without looking at him. “I pray I succeed, not for your sake, but for the soul of the poor innocent man you tortured, so his suffering will not be in vain.”

  Rex didn’t respond. He hesitated as though wanting to say more. But after a moment of tense silence, he urged his horse forward and signaled to the gatehouse guard to begin raising the portcullis.

  As we rode out of the city, several knights moved to the front and unfurled white flags. Across the grassy plains, shouts rose from Adelaide’s camp and within seconds a small party of armed knights gathered and began to ride toward us, their swords drawn, their shields positioned.

  Though I was surrounded by Rex’s men, a knot twisted in my stomach. This wasn’t what my parents had risked their lives for—so that I’d betray my family and undermine the fight to regain the throne. They hadn’t raised me to cower in fear and bow to the demands of my enemy.

  But here I was, married to the enemy and plotting with him to steal from my sisters. A braver woman wouldn’t have placed herself into this situation. A woman of valor and integrity would have stayed strong amidst the pressures and done what was right no matter the consequences.

  “I’m sorry, Father,” I whispered. This wasn’t his fault. He’d done all he could to shape me into a worthy princess. But somehow, I’d failed. Instead of being courageous and daring the way he’d wanted, I’d only brought trouble on everyone.

  Ahead, Adelaide’s soldiers drew to a halt and shouted something to Rex. He responded by motioning his knights with the white flags to cross the remaining distance to deliver his message.

  As the soldiers handed over Rex’s sealed note, I held my breath, praying that perhaps Adelaide would refuse. Maybe she’d realize the king was plotting something, that he wouldn’t send me to negotiate peace without having ulterior motives.

  Long minutes later, the knights carrying the white flags trotted back. “Your Highness,” one of them called. “They have agreed to a meeting with the princess. They will set up a tent here outside of camp.”

  As the rebels made short work of erecting a tent, I wished for Inglewood Forest where I might disappear. But with nothing around except open sandy grassland with opposing armies on either side, I had to move forward, plunging further into the deceitful plans.

  Finally, Rex nudged his horse ahead of the rest, and the soldiers accompanying us gave me little choice but to move with them. With Adelaide’s small army of men watching our approach, I made myself sit higher, knowing they must despise me for marrying Rex. The closer we drew, the more my stomach churned with the need to be sick.

  When we halted several lengths away, a broad-shouldered man at the front and center of the group lifted his visor. He bowed respectfully toward Rex. “Your Highness, I am the Earl of Langley, the husband of Queen Adelaide.”

  Adelaide’s husband? I focused on him more intently, studying the little bit of his face I could see through the opening of his great helm. He seemed a young and handsome man with strong features and even an aura of dashing. His eyes—a light brown—shifted to me.

  “This is my wife, the Princess Emmeline,” Rex said in a hard, almost superior tone. “The future queen of Bryttania.”

  One of my guards nudged my horse forward, giving me no choice but to pull alongside Rex. Was I imagining things or did the earl’s eyes seem to soften upon me, perhaps even grow tender? “It is good to see you, Princess Emmeline.” He spoke with warmth. “Your sisters
have been awaiting this day for a very long time.”

  “Both are available?” I asked.

  “Yes. And they will be thrilled to meet you.”

  Thrilled at meeting me? The notion was new and disconcerting. Nonetheless, my racing pulse slowed just a little.

  “She is here to negotiate peace,” Rex said brusquely. “Not engage in a reunion.”

  “Can we not accomplish both?” the earl asked.

  “With so much at stake,” Rex said, “peace talks must take precedence.”

  Why was he opposing it? He must know the extra time would allow me more opportunity to steal the key.

  His eyes met mine in a warning glance, bidding me to remain quiet. Was he offering a mild protest so they wouldn’t suspect we were scheming?

  “The queen will want to spend time with her sister first.” The earl’s voice took on an edge that showed him also to be a man of power and strength.

  Under different circumstances, I might have appreciated Rex’s ingenuity. He’d gotten the earl to give me the perfect opportunity to steal the key. But at the moment, the sickness in my stomach returned. I was an awful sister, and if Adelaide and Maribel only knew it, they wouldn’t want to meet me.

  As it was, I’d have to go forward, engage in the introductions, and pretend to be friendly, all the while plotting how I might further undermine and destroy them.

  Chapter

  15

  Emmeline

  My lungs constricted at the prospect of finally meeting my sisters. Although my parents had always talked fondly of my family, I’d never developed an interest in finding them. I suppose in some ways I’d known the introduction would thrust me into danger and bring an end to my idyllic life.

  In the distance, the rebel camp was already busy with men assembling siege engines, along with squires and their knights engaged in various morning rituals—breaking their fasts, sharpening weapons, polishing armor, and drilling for battle. Others stood at the edge watching our proceedings, vying for a glimpse of the crown prince and his wife.